Denver, CO On Friday, the national PBS series Exposé: America's Investigative Reports will feature the 9Wants to Know Team. 9NEWS Investigative Reporter Deborah Sherman broke the story in March 2007, after sources revealed that tests had been conducted by a secret undercover unit of the Federal Aviation Administration, called the "Red Team." The team smuggled fake bombs and weapons through TSA checkpoints at Denver International Airport. They found that security screeners missed 80 percent of those materials.
Following the story, Colorado Congressman Ed Perlmutter launched a congressional inquiry about security at DIA, exposing problems caused by low staffing levels in the TSA.
This summer the Exposé crew came to Denver to interview Sherman, as well as 9Wants To Know Executive Producer Nicole Vap, and 9NEWS Vice President of News Patti Dennis. The story shows the process the 9Wants to Know team went through from receiving the news tip from sources to confirming the information. Then they documented the ethical discussion the 9NEWS staff had while deciding whether to air the story and how to protect the whistle blowers.
Exposé focuses on good examples of journalism, especially those that make a difference. 9NEWS is the first broadcast news station featured on the program. While the show will air in most markets, it is not yet scheduled to air on Denver's PBS stations KRMA and KBDI. Denver viewers will be able to see the story on online at: www.pbs.org/expose. You can also watch the original 9NEWS Red Team story at: http://www.9news.com/rss/article.aspx?storyid=67166