A team of editors and producers from "Exposé: America’s Investigative Reports" converged at SF State last Wednesday to talk to journalism students about investigative reporting.

Created in 2006, "Exposé" (originally titled "AIR") is a PBS documentary series that focuses not only on top investigative cases, but on the process and the reporters themselves.

“Very, very important stories are reaching very, very few people,” said Tom Casciato, executive producer of "Exposé." “A lot of them are just not that interesting to read. Investigative reports can be very dry, even though the reporters aren’t.”

Click the play button on the right to listen to the podcast...

"Exposé" showed one of their recent episodes, in which Stephen Henderson, a Supreme Court reporter for McClatchy (formerly Knight-Ridder) went through four states and 80 cases to reveal inadequate defense for death row inmates. Henderson talked with attorneys in the four states who stated there was not enough funding to investigate their clients’ background.

In his reporting, Henderson documented what defense attorneys could have done if they had enough resources. Cynthia Allen, an inmate who was charged with killing four people in Georgia, was taken off death row when her attorney found out she has a low IQ and past sexual abuse.

The future of investigative reporting is positive. “We’re in a transitional period, it’s hard to know the future, but I’m optimistic,” said Oriana Zill De Granados, a writer and producer for "Exposé." “The U.S. public is very supportive and they want to hear these stories.”

Though readers may want to read about investigative stories, many newspapers are not dedicating resources to the stories because of the length of time it takes to investigate the story. On the flip-side, these are the stories that win awards, said Granados.

There is currently a movement in which some newspapers are going non-profit such as the Pro Publico in New York, which will be ready by next year, she said.