Okay. I have to admit that I’m not a grammar nazi, and I don’t know how the quotation marks and question mark in the title to this post are supposed to be placed….so if they are wrong, I’m admitting it in advance.

But on to today’s post.

I took part in a panel discussion this week around questions concerning the future news, and sustainable business models for assuring the public gets the news we need in the future. The panel–actually, two back-to-back panels over a two-hour period–was sponsored by ThinkTech Hawaii.

I didn’t want to be embarrass myself by being totally unprepared, so I did a bit of thinking beforehand, trying to think of ways to explain problems that I see in the way we deliver news.

Back when I was employed as an investigative reporter, I used to periodically go through an exercise that, I hoped, would help identify important issues that were being underreported and might therefore benefit from my digging in and taking a fresh look.

The question I start with is pretty simple. What are the “sacred cows” in town, powerful institutions, agencies, or people that impact the public in major ways but manage to remain behind the curtain of silence, for whatever reasons not subject to the kind of ongoing news reporting that leads to both public understanding and public accountability.

The dictionary defines “sacred cow” as “one that is often unreasonably immune from criticism or opposition.”

During Thursday’s ThinkTech Hawaii panel, I explained what emerged at the top of my list of current sacred cows.

I’ll get around to presenting it here, but first let me ask: What would be your answer to that question? What sacred cows would you identify as useful areas for focused investigation and reporting?

Share your suggestions here, please.