The Washington Post and msnbc.com are going to pick up an investigation on American transportation safety, which was conducted by journalism students from eleven universities "participating in the Carnegie-Knight Journalism Initiative in partnership with the Center for Public Integrity," according to Editor and Publisher.

The multimedia package consists of 23 stories and a dozen photos, videos and interactive graphics and was created by News21, "a journalism initiative funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation of Miami to promote in-depth and innovative journalism," states the article on the program.

The investigation found that the National Transportation Safety Board (the federal panel that investigates accidents and brings forth different ways to prevent them), has "given up on 1,952 of its safety recommendations," states the article.

Plus, the study found that federal agencies, states and transportation industries are taking a long time to act on recommendations that the NTSB brings forward and "in the past decade, the average number of years to implement recommendations went from 3.4 to 5.4 years," according to Editor and Publisher.

Also, the study found that over 2,300 people in the past were killed from ice buildup on aircraft, runway problems, faulty aircraft maintenance and repairs and overtired pilots even though there were many NTSB recommendations saying those problems should be addressed. "The NTSB has issued 138 fatigue-related safety recommendations since 1967, and only 68 have been implanted; and for four decades, the NTSB has investigated accident after accident that investigators said could have been prevented with automated train control technology," said Editor and Publisher.

Eric Newton, vice president of the Knight Foundation's journalism program, said that with the right teachers, student journalists can produce major investigative stories as well as get them done in more innovative ways.

Kristin Gilger, a veteran editor and associate dean at the ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, helped lead the investigation. Leonard Downie, Jr., former Washington Post executive editor; Knight Chair Steve Doig; Cronkite News Service Director Steve Elliott; and Dean Christopher Callahan also helped--they are faculty members at the school. "Michael Pell, the center's deputy data editor, and staff writer Nick Schwellenbach provided data analysis and support," stated Editor and Publisher.

Bill Buzenberg, the center's executive director, said the investigation shows everything that is wrong with America's transportation system and that a number of lives could be saved if it were fixed. "It's mind-boggling to think how many lives could be saved if we just did things right," he said.

How many more news companies are going to start using student work in their publications? What does this mean for the news industry? Could this create new opportunities for professionals and students to learn from each other and open new doors for future media?

Sources: Washington Post, ASU News, Editor and Publisher