While definitions of investigative reporting vary, among professional journalism groups there is broad agreement of its major components: systematic, in-depth, and original research and reporting, often involving the unearthing of secrets. Others note that its practice often involves heavy use of public records and data, with a focus on social justice and accountability.
Investigative Journalism
Excerpted from Global Investigative Journalism: Strategies for Support, David E. Kaplan, Center for International Media Assistance, 2013. Kaplan is executive director of the Global Investigative Journalism Network, Kaplan is executive director of the Global Investigative Journalism Network. He has worked as an investigative journalist for more than 35 years, reported from two dozen countries, and won or shared more than 25 awards.
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Practitioners sometimes use the terms "watchdog reporting" or "accountability reporting."
Most investigative journalism has traditionally been conducted by newspapers, wire services, and freelance journalists. With the decline in income through advertising, many traditional news services have struggled to fund investigative journalism, due to it being very time-consuming and expensive. Journalistic investigations are increasingly carried out by news organizations working together, even internationally (as in the case of the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers), or by organizations such as ProPublica, which have not operated previously as news publishers and which rely on the support of the public and benefactors to fund their work.
The growth of media conglomerates in the U.S. since the 1980s has been accompanied by massive cuts in the budgets for investigative journalism. A 2002 study concluded "that investigative journalism has all but disappeared from the nation's commercial airwaves".[1]
University of Missouri journalism professor Steve Weinberg defined investigative journalism as: "Reporting, through one's own initiative and work product, matters of importance to readers, viewers, or listeners."[2] In many cases, the subjects of the reporting wish the matters under scrutiny to remain undisclosed. There are currently university departments for teaching investigative journalism. Conferences are conducted presenting peer-reviewed research into investigative journalism.[citation needed]
British media theorist Hugo de Burgh (2000) states that: "An investigative journalist is a man or woman whose profession is to discover the truth and to identify lapses from it in whatever media may be available. The act of doing this generally is called investigative journalism and is distinct from apparently similar work done by police, lawyers, auditors, and regulatory bodies in that it is not limited as to target, not legally founded and closely connected to publicity."[3]
American journalism textbooks point out that muckraking standards promoted by McClure's Magazine around 1902, "Have become integral to the character of modern investigative journalism."[4] Furthermore, the successes of the early muckrakers continued to inspire journalists.[5][6]
The Investigative Reporting Workshop, an independent, nonprofit newsroom, based at the School of Communication at American University, was founded in 2008 by longtime investigative journalist Chuck Lewis and began publishing stories in 2009. Lewis retires on Dec. 31, 2022.
Seattle Times investigative journalism has a direct impact on our community, changing lives and public policy and resulting in action at the highest levels of state government. Your support of the Investigative Journalism Fund will enable us to expand our coverage and accomplish even more.
The Seattle Times is proud to be one of the few remaining local, independent news organizations and the oldest family-owned daily metro newspaper in the U.S., as well as the most-visited digital information source in Washington state. A trusted local institution since 1896, The Seattle Times remains deeply rooted in public service and committed to serving our region with principled, quality journalism. Rigorously reported, in-depth investigations have helped earn The Seattle Times 11 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other news organization in the Northwest.
Inspired by Associate Professor DeNeen Brown's reporting on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, the Howard Center published more than 40 stories on the subject after teaming journalism students from Merrill College, Hampton University, Howard University, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and the University of Arkansas.
To do that, the Howard Center created an unprecedented collaboration among seven university journalism programs spanning the country: Merrill College, the University of Oregon, Boston University, Stanford University, the University of Arkansas, the University of Florida and Arizona State University. The project was published by The Associated Press.
The multidisciplinary program is focused on training the next generation of reporters through hands-on investigative journalism projects. Students will learn to dive deep into data, ask tough questions of those in power and tell the stories they uncover in new and compelling ways.
Fellowships and aid are available for graduate students interested in working with the Howard Center. Undergraduate students will also have opportunities to work with the Howard Center. Howard fellows also can compete for post-graduation fellowships that place them on investigative teams in nonprofit newsrooms.
The Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism closed on December 31, 2018, after 14 years of supporting pioneering investigatory journalism. It was a generous gift from Elaine and Gerald Schuster in 2004 that established the Schuster Institute and sustained it for many years. The Schuster Institute was the first investigative reporting center established at a university and it provided many independent journalists a platform and home base from which to launch impactful investigative projects. This site includes archived materials from its talented and dedicated fellows.
Investigative journalism is focused on bringing influential individuals, officials, criminals, companies, and states accountable for their activities. By exposing corruption and malpractice, investigative journalism ensures that no one is above the law. It is a profoundly democratic practice founded on truth, freedom, and fairness.
Investigative journalism also promotes the public interest by conducting in-depth investigations and reporting on injustices. This is accomplished through investigative reports providing the necessary updates to readers, listeners, and viewers. As a result, investigative journalism functions as a public watchdog against the power abuse by individuals in positions of control. Just because the media is independent, persons in positions of authority cannot use it for personal benefit.
It is clear that without investigative media, this could have gone unnoticed for generations. Hence, investigative journalism acts as a platform for informing the public about what is going on in society.
The process investigative journalists use to uncover the truth is comparable to that of a scientist. After receiving a tip, investigative journalists go deeper into data, and research theories, test hypotheses as they emerge, cross-check material with different sources, and eventually arrive at certain immutable realities.
Previously, investigative journalists only operated for print newspapers, but as technology has advanced, many journalists are now creating articles for social media platforms, blogs, or podcasts. Among the subfields in this area are:
Investigative journalists who work in worldwide and international journalism research, study, and publish reports on current events all around the world, such as significant criminal cases. They can make content for news bulletins, the internet, and television, but they also create documentaries to tell their tales.
Investigative journalists typically work as freelancers or as assistants to editors in news organizations. In any case, investigative journalism stories significantly benefit society by revealing social and economic misbehavior.
Employers typically seek a sampling of your work when seeking opportunities as an investigative journalist. A portfolio displays examples of your most excellent journalistic work, allowing prospective employers to assess your:
Until you obtain professional experience, you can use items you wrote for your school newspaper, journalism classes, or internship. In addition, most journalism programs mandate the compilation of a portfolio as a graduation requirement.
To achieve the big story, investigative journalism depends on considerable investigation, the rigorous pursuit of truth, freedom, and fairness, and an iterative process of hypothesis and testing. Moreover, for a democracy to function correctly, journalists must pursue their subjects independently of outside influence or manipulation to report significant social and economic concerns to the public.
The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the Cronkite School was made possible by The Scripps Howard Fund, which supports philanthropic causes important to The E.W. Scripps Company and the communities it serves, with a special emphasis on excellence in journalism.
Listed here (and in the Essay) are ten noteworthy moments in U.S. investigative journalism. It is neither a top ten list nor a ranking of any sort; many well-qualified media outlets have assembled their own excellent lists. It also focuses on print journalism, though many great episodes of the form have appeared on television. As well, this investigative journalism is but one facet of the vital profession that reports the news.
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