Anatomy of an Investigation: "The Electronic Wasteland"

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After months of work, CBS's 60 Minutes aired this story on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2008. Producer Solly Granatstein and correspondent Scott Pelly found that some American companies who advertise safe collection and recyling of hazardous e-waste were actually dumping those products in developing nations whose people often work at great risk to salvage valuable but toxic metals from the waste.

The story built on an investigation done last summer by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. GAO officials posing as foreign buyers found eager sellers among 43 American companies trying to circument EPA regulations in the disposal of e-waste.

CBS reporters found themselves under surveillance when they followed a container of such waste from its collection in Colorado to its eventual home in a badly polluted Chinese community near Hong Kong.

Here's a link to a print version of the story.

"unSpun" Assignments

The Presentation Schedule

Nov. 24:

Chapter One - From Snake Oil to Emu Oil, Chris Arneson

Chapter Two - Bridesmaid's Bad Breath, Megan McLean and Mike Gerrity

Chapter Three - Tall Coffees and Assault Weapons, Karen Garcia and Jessica Whalen

Dec. 1:

Chapter Four - UFO Cults and Us, Danielle deBouver and Andrew Dusek

Chapter Five - Facts Can Save Your Life, Allison Maier and Heather Roussi

Chapter Six - The Great Crow Fallacy, Brenna Braaten and Ashley Klein

Dec. 3

Chapter Seven - Osama, Ollie and Al, Matt McLeod and Erin Gallagher

Chapter Eight - Was Clarence Darrow a Creationist?, Charles Pulliam