Investigative Journalism

For our final content lecture, we talked about Investigative Journalism. We all intuitively know what it is about- looking deeper into a story and finding out the real truths that people want to keep hidden.

I think this is a fascinating branch of journalism. And as a few of the quotes Bruce mentioned talked about- shouldn't all journalists be investigative journalists? I think in answering that question we come to the answer that I posed at the beginning of the semester- Isn't everyone a journalist? Everyone is publishing stories, doesn't that water down real journalist's work? I think journalists that are really passionate about their work and telling a worthwhile story and spreading the truth, are real journalists. That is what separates the average Joe blogging on the Internet to a full-blooded journalist. They are dedicated to going the extra mile to get the story.

Investigative Journalism is about giving people a voice that are not heard, it is about telling what is important and making sure the public knows what is really happening and making people accountable for their actions. In a way, I think it is the purest form of journalism. It is separate from agenda setting and news values and government control, it is there as a service to the public. 

One example of Investigative Journalism that has really changed the world is the Watergate case, where Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncovered the political scandals of President Nixon. It is still remembered as one of the most famous cases of Investigative Journalism. There have been many other reporters to uncover truths through their investigation. It is all about following you gut and seeing the story behind the story.

I have an incredible respect for Investigative Journalists. It is not an easy task, to go after a story that could be dangerous and to risk so much to find out the truth. And it is a very important task, one that is journalists' responsibility. These journalists really have to be passionate about their work to go in search of a story.

It is sad that Investigative Journalism is under threat because of the lack of money in journalism. And the constant newscycle puts more pressure on journalist and media companies to get a lot of story NOW, instead of there being time to get a real story. But I believe that as long as there are people passionate, and there always will be, Investigative Journalism will still stay alive.