Looking forward to the future of journalism

Reporter’s notebook: Tips for putting together the pieces of a puzzling, complex story

Jigsaw puzzle

On March 26, City Hall reporter Josh Baugh got an adrenaline-pumping tip: FBI agents had seized files at the office of Fernando De León, a city official who reviewed permits for real estate development in San Antonio. The tip sparked a frantic series of phone calls that afternoon as Josh and I tried to figure … Read more

Using LucidChart to connect the dots between people and organizations

Ties between Rapid Permit Services and Fernando De Leon

When City Hall reporter Josh Baugh and I worked on this story about fired city official Fernando De León, Josh found a nice online tool to help us connect the dots. LucidChart lets you create flow charts and organizational trees that you can share with your colleagues and publish when you’re done. Here’s the chart … Read more

Firm tied to San Antonio official landed plum job at the Rim shopping center

City hall reporter Josh Baugh and I learned a few more scraps of information about fired city employee Fernando De León; the permit company owned by his sister; and possible reasons why the FBI and police are investigating them. First, some background: On March 26 — a lazy, Friday afternoon in the newsroom — Josh … Read more