Investigative Journalism

The term ‘investigative journalism’ is one freely applied by many young reporters to what they regard as a romantic if rather shadowy side of the business. They see themselves uncovering wrongdoing and fearlessly exposing it. They have as an example the Watergate scandal and the part played by journalists–particularly Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of the Washington Post-in the eventual downfall of President Nixon in 1974.

But investigative journalism, conducted properly, is a time-consuming and expensive business. Newspapers which treat it seriously accept that it is a team effort, assigning researchers and reporters for weeks, perhaps months, swamping a subject from all sides to produce a mass of material from which the final article will appear.

The difficulty for television

Few but the very rich television news organisations can afford resources on a similar scale. Finding ways of illustrating abstract subjects can be extremely difficult if it is to be accurate as well as informative, and reporters and camera crews are not usually able to roam the world for months at a time in search of material for a project which might in the end turn out to be unproductive.

The need for care

All ‘investigative’ reports must be undertaken with scrupulous attention to accuracy. Above all it is essential to make sure there is something to investigate. Enthusiam can blind even the most fair-minded to deficiencies in a potential story, and a misplaced sense of pride can allow the continued investigation of a subject which it is suspected, deep down, does not really ‘stand up’. It is far better to cut and run at this stage, accepting that any money spent has been wasted, rather than press on with a report which would be unsatisfactory professionally or legally.

When a subject is worth pursuing, meticulous attention to detail is crucial. An otherwise well-constructed, thoughtful item can be undermined by the use of a few seconds of archive footage which gives the misleading impression that it is current. If legally sensitive issues are at stake, properly witnessed affidavits should be sought from interviewees. The advice of lawyers should be taken at all stages to avoid problems later on. All relevant documents should be filed and kept. The same applies to untransmitted film or video material.

In-depth reporting

‘In-depth’ reporting is usually synonymous with ‘long’. Duration should have nothing to do with it, provided a subject is thoroughly researched and properly presented.