Opinion: WaPo names top ten investigative journalism pieces

"I think [investigative journalism] is going through a difficult transitory period," said Emily Bell, editor-in-chief of guardian.co.uk, in a May interview, as part of The Guardian's "Future of Journalism" series. "The funding now available for people to concentrate for long periods of time on single subject stories, which may or may not come to fruition, has been greatly undermined by the restructuring of professional media."

Meanwhile, online news makes it harder than ever to hold onto an exclusive. As bits of the story are more likely to leak from different sources, the investigation loses its proprietary value.

But even as bloggers and journalists fret about the fate - and funding - of investigative journalism (and both hope ProPublica provides salvation), the Washington Post honors the year's top ten investigative pieces (in alphabetical order):

1. Charlotte Observer, staff, Sold a Nightmare

2. Chicago Tribune, staff, Hidden Hazards

3. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, David Umhoefer, Abuse of county pension funds

4. National Journal, Edward T. Pound, Investigation of HUD Secretary Alphono Jackson

5. The New York Times, Walt Bogdanich and Jake Hooker, A Toxic Pipeline

6. Palm Beach Post, Tom Dubocq, Palm Beach County's Culture of Corruption

7. The Salt Lake City Tribune, Loretta Tofani, American Imports, Chinese Deaths

8. The Seattle Times, staff, Victory and Ruins

9. The Washington Post, Dana Priest and Anne Hull, Walter Reed and Beyond

10. The Washington Post, Bart Gellman and Jo Becker, Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency