Investigative Journalist / Wikipedia :
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, which is time-consuming and therefore expensive. Journalistic investigations are increasingly carried out by news organisations working together, even internationally (as in the case of the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers), or by organisations 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] The empirical evidence for this is consistent with the conflicts of interest between the revenue sources for the media conglomerates and the mythology of an unbiased, dispassionate media: advertisers have reduced their spending with media that reported too many unfavorable details. The major media conglomerates have found ways to retain their audience without the risks of offending advertisers inherent in investigative journalism.
An interview is a conversation where questions are asked and answers are given.[1] In common parlance, the word "interview" refers to a one-on-one conversation between an interviewer and an interviewee. The interviewer asks questions to which the interviewee responds, usually so information may be transferred from interviewee to interviewer (and any other audience of the interview). Sometimes, information can be transferred in both directions. It is a communication, unlike a speech, which produces a one-way flow of information.
Watchdog journalism informs the public about goings-on in institutions and society, especially in circumstances where a significant portion of the public would demand changes in response. This might involve:
- Fact-checking statements of public officials and corporate executives.
- Interviewing public figures and challenging them with problems or concerns.
- Beat reporting to gather information from meetings that members of the public might not otherwise attend, and to observe "on the ground" in broader society
- Investigative journalism, which involves information-gathering on a single story for a long period of time
Like a literal guard dog that barks when it notices an intruder, a "watchdog" role involves alerting others when a problem is detected. Common subjects are the government decision-making process, corporate fraud, illegal activity, immorality, consumer protection issues, and environmental degradation.
Watchdog journalism can be located in a variety of news media, such as radio, television, Internet, and print media where it may be seen as "a unique strength of newspapers",[1] and additional new media and concepts such as weblogs and citizen journalism. Watchdog journalists also are called "watchmen",[2] "agents of social control", or "moral guardians".[3]