Award-Winning Investigative Reporter Says Fight for the Stories that are Important to You

The state of Maine contained hundreds of guardrails that were potentially defective, causing a woman to remain in a wheel chair for the rest of her life. The state's gun sales spiked more during the election season than ever before. Maine's dental board allowed dentists with repeated violations to keep their state licenses.


That was Maine before Jon Chrisos, a journalist from WGME CBS 13, investigated.

Chrisos and his investigated team fight for the stories that are important to them. He says the opportunity to investigate stories that can ignite change is the reason he is in television.

Working with Data

After Jon Chrisos graduated from Wheaton College near Chicago, he worked as a writer for several years. Eventually, he became a morning news anchor. When an investigative reporter position opened up at his news station, Chrisos quickly jumped on the offer. He is now a member of the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) organization.

Chrisos says it is important to understand how to make pivot tables in Excel to help make sense of extensive data. He says this was an essential element to a story he broke where he exposed how Maine had paid state employees over $22 million in overtime.

Do reporters only look through data while they are investigating a story? He says there are several times when he sifts through data before he pitches a story idea, deciphering whether a potential story exists.

Building a Trusted Network

While Chrisos understands that computer-assisted-reporting skills and working with data is important, he says the best stories he has done are "through relationships." He agrees that data is a solid element to a story, but in television, "without an emotional interview and good video", you don't have a story.

He says the key to building a trusted network in one's market is to always be fair. Chrisos says it can be a challenge always getting people to talk, but "you need to keep pressing it and pursue the story."

Chrisos says the most challenging part of interviewing is that no one actually has to talk to you except the government. If a source is not complying, he recommends relaying them the information of the problem and asking if any of those facts are incorrect.

Making a Difference

A journalist ultimately has the responsibility of bringing a voice to silence. If there is an issue, it is their job to expose the problem with the intention of seeking reformation. Chrisos says his investigative team frequently does follow-up stories to show how the initial issue is improving. 

Chrisos' story that exposed the dangers in the safety of Maine's guardrails was a series of over ten videos. From that story, he won the 2016 Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Journalism. 

He says the goal is "to be able to say we exposed this issue and there was a result or change."

After Chrisos investigated the dangers of the dental board not regulating state licenses, the board "developed a new vision focused on a renewed commitment to protecting the public."

Chrisos manages a blog called "Concerning Consumers" where he has helped Maine consumers recover over $500,000.

Advice for Aspiring Reporters

For students looking to break into the reporting industry, Chrisos recommends that they always stay true to themselves. He says he never wanted to be "the guy walking down the street with the sunglasses and the trench coat." In investigative reporting, he says it is important to never lie or be sneaky with sources. 

He also recommends pursuing stories that one is interested in. He says the best stories come from ones that a reporter is fascinated by, because their investment and passion will show in the end product.