Kudos to Sam Stein for writing this up. Checking the record by using Nexis doesn't count as "reporting" under the fairly arbitrary rules governing "real journalism" but it sure can be valuable.
It is a weird thing how so much of the concept of "real journalism" involves getting people on the phone and getting them to talk to you, especially when there are plenty of other ways to obtain and communicate relevant and necessary information to the public.
It's especially weird as the journalist-as-intermediary is an increasingly unnecessary role.