USA Today has published a breakthrough story on the financial interests of members of Trump-owned country clubs and the ethical issues that they create (“Trump gets millions from golf members. CEOs and lobbyists get access to president“).

Although the membership lists are not public, the team of reporters made innovative use of social media to identify 4,500 members, who reportedly pay initiation fees of $100,000 or more to join.

Because membership lists at Trump’s clubs are secret, the public has until now been unable to assess the conflicts they could create. USA TODAY found the names of 4,500 members by reviewing social media and a public website golfers use to track their handicaps, then researched and contacted hundreds to determine whether they had business with the government.

The review shows that, for the first time in U.S. history, wealthy people with interests before the government have a chance for close and confidential access to the president as a result of payments that enrich him personally. It is a view of the president available to few other Americans.

This is amazingly creative reporting, identifying sources of data that have been overlooked by others, and then following up with interviews to confirm and reveal the stories suggested by the initial data. As a former reporter, I love seeing this kind of initiative and reading the results.

The story includes a section on how it was reported.

USA TODAY set out to identify as many members of Trump’s private clubs as possible. We found more than 4,500 names by scouring social media posts, news stories and a public website golfers use to track their handicaps.

Our reporters then reviewed many hundreds of members’ names and used information available online and public documents such as lobbying registrations, corporate records, property deeds and medical licenses to determine the members’ jobs and if they make their living trying to influence the federal government or win contracts with it. Reporters also interviewed dozens of members, though many more declined to comment.

We prioritized reviewing and interviewing members at clubs where the President has spent the most time since taking office. Those are in Bedminster, N.J., Washington’s suburbs in Virginia; and in and around Palm Beach, Fla.

I’m sure this database will be mined for stories for quite some time.