Mark Vogler

Background

About Mark Vogler

I see watchdog journalism as an important role of any newspaper, whether a small community newspaper or a major daily. I have been involved in numerous investigations in a newspaper career that spans over 40 years. While investigative reporter at The Winter Haven (Fla.) News Chief, I reported and wrote "The Bad Apples of Education" series, which then-Gov. Bob Graham credited with the passage a 1984 law requiring the fingerprinting of teacher applicants. The series exposed flaws in the screening process which allowed dozens of convicted felons to become certified school teachers. The series won numerous journalism commendations, including a Sigma Delta Chi Award and Bronze Medallion for Public Service from the Society of Professional Journalists, a Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association and a citation from the group Investigative Reporters and Editors. The "Bad Apples" series also won the Grand Prize from the Florida Bar for best reporting of any Florida newspaper in 1984. A follow-up series focusing on how Florida compared to the rest of the country in background checks of teacher applicants and enforcement action against "bad apple" teachers was published in the Congressional Record at the request of Florida Sen. Paula Hawkins. The stories, which included a nationwide study, influenced the introduction of reforms in more than a dozen states. My investigations on nursing home abuse and oilfield pollution in 1977 and 1978 led to investigative reporting awards from the Texas Press Association and a commendation for environmental reporting from Southern Methodist University.