Still, Donovan worries.

“With fewer local papers and fewer local reporters, the more people can get away with,” he says. “It’s a worrisome sign for democracy.”

Even Donovan has left the field, joining Johns Hopkins University just in time to become the public relations point person for its influential COVID-19 tracking map. (“It’s weird being quoted as a spokesperson,” he says, “but I get a similar satisfaction from highlighting work people can benefit from.”)

Such meaningful work often begins with a story.

Fox was there to capture Pugh’s excitement when she won the mayoral election in 2016, just as he was waiting outside the courtroom three years later, taking her photo as she emerged with her head hung low.

“You’re able to freeze a moment in time,” Fox says of photojournalism’s power. “That is what I enjoy most—telling a story while being creative and different.”

Donovan, meanwhile, has been dubbed “the mayor slayer” for his reporting. Before Pugh’s downfall, he uncovered the missteps of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, found guilty in 2009 of misappropriating gift cards meant for the poor.

But his proudest accomplishments reach beyond power politics: One was the story about group homes for disabled foster children that resulted in the closure of the problem home and led to statewide reforms. It was his investigations that helped keep the Preakness horse race in Baltimore, and he helped change rental housing legislation by showing that judges routinely favored landlords over low-income renters.

“All reporting is investigative if you do it right,” he says.

It’s a lesson he first learned at UD.

“The letter said, ‘Congrats, you’re a winner,’ Fox recalls. “So I started reading from the bottom—and found my name right at the top.”

After graduating in 1988, he spent two years freelancing before joining The Sun in 1990, always “trying to find interesting angles and different perspectives.”

It’s a literal goal—Fox climbs up high, lies low on the ground, all in search of a unique image, “something that makes a person look twice.”

But his approach to photography could be said for journalism itself.

“You have to look at every single angle—as a story, as a picture,” Fox says. “Sometimes people look in one direction, so that’s all they see.”

Donovan appreciates that oblique approach.

“Don’t ever make assumptions, or you’ll become blind to other facts,” he says. “A good journalist is honest, responsible and fair. If you’re not, you won’t last long. You also have to get out from behind the desk. Meet people face-to-face. It gets you closer to the real truth.”