Todd Wallack, an investigative journalist with more than two decades of experience in the media, started out in a small Ohio newsroom, later rose to the famed Spotlight team at The Boston Globe, and then moved to WBUR. Wallack’s name is synonymous with public records reporting in Massachusetts. His work has led to numerous precedent-setting lawsuits against government agencies that tried to keep information — like the names of police officers arrested for drunk driving — from the public.
For the ninth episode of Lights Out Mass, we nerd out with Wallack about his never-ending quest to reveal stories that officials would prefer to keep hidden, the confusing Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) law that has allowed police and prosecutors to conceal information about police misconduct and data about the legal system, why striking the right balance between privacy and transparency often means disclosure, and the link between the Spotlight team and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
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You can find links discussed in this podcast here: https://andrewqmr.substack.com/p/pulling-back-the-curtain
Our theme music is “Sun Bleach” by Lifeformed. Music available here: https://lifeformed.bandcamp.com/album/fastfall
Sunlight is the best disinfectant!
