Investigative Journalism In Changing Times

This book offers new insights into the crucial role of investigative journalism at a pivotal time of technological changes and upheavals. It surveys innovations and unexpected impacts of the field, from past and present challenges and what may be in store for the future of the industry. The book begins by exploring the increasingly investigative innovations in political and independent reporting, along with a comparison of the rhetoric and reality of a so-called golden era of investigative journalism in the past and the present. It goes on to analyse the growth of creative and sports investigative reporting, as well as the ability of contemporary conflict journalism to overcome surmounting challenges. It also examines the capacity of groundbreaking investigations, including data reporting, to expose injustices involving women, indigenous communities and other minorities. In interviews with key industry and research professionals, this book presents the reactions of four media experts to the crises faced by investigative journalism in a digital environment of escalating disinformation, legal restrictions and popular interest in the news. The book concludes by reflecting on previous and current challenges and offers insights into the prospect for investigative journalism of the future. Presenting unique views on the diversity, resilience and transformative power of investigative journalism, this book will be a valuable resource to students and scholars of journalism, communication, media and politics, as well as professionals already operating within the field of journalism.

Now a major motion picture, starring Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan "An instant classic of investigative journalism...‘All the President’s Men’ for the Me Too era." — Carlos Lozada, The Washington Post From Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, the untold story of their investigation of Harvey Weinstein and its consequences for the #MeToo movement For years, reporters had tried to get to the truth about Harvey Weinstein’s treatment of women. Rumors of wrongdoing had long circulated, and in 2017, when Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey began their investigation for the New York Times, his name was still synonymous with power. But during months of confidential interviews with actresses, former Weinstein employees, and other sources, many disturbing and long-buried allegations were unearthed, and a web of onerous secret payouts and nondisclosure agreements was revealed. When Kantor and Twohey were finally able to convince sources to go on the record, a dramatic final showdown between Weinstein and the New York Times was set in motion. In the tradition of great investigative journalism, She Said tells a thrilling story about the power of truth and reveals the inspiring and affecting journeys of the women who spoke up—for the sake of other women, for future generations, and for themselves.

This book makes the case for the enormous potential embodied in investigative journalism if reporters collaborate in the digital sphere and engage with emerging techniques and technologies. Bringing together personal narratives from investigative journalists who have successfully found, verified and published stories using social media platforms and Web based communications, Disrupting Investigative Journalism explores the risks and benefits that come from this kind of digital collaboration. Citing how digital connection has enabled reporters around the world to form the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which in turn led to such global news sensations as the Panama Papers and the Paradise Papers, this book makes a practical argument for how the daily work of investigative journalism can change to capture enormous latent potential. This is a valuable text for students and scholars in the fields of investigative journalism, media and digital communication.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter details “how the U.S. business press could miss the most important economic implosion of the past eighty years” (Eric Alterman, media columnist for The Nation). In this sweeping, incisive post-mortem, Dean Starkman exposes the critical shortcomings that softened coverage in the business press during the mortgage era and the years leading up to the financial collapse of 2008. He examines the deep cultural and structural shifts—some unavoidable, some self-inflicted—that eroded journalism’s appetite for its role as watchdog. The result was a deafening silence about systemic corruption in the financial industry. Tragically, this silence grew only more profound as the mortgage madness reached its terrible apogee from 2004 through 2006. Starkman frames his analysis in a broad argument about journalism itself, dividing the profession into two competing approaches—access reporting and accountability reporting—which rely on entirely different sources and produce radically different representations of reality. As Starkman explains, access journalism came to dominate business reporting in the 1990s, a process he calls “CNBCization,” and rather than examining risky, even corrupt, corporate behavior, mainstream reporters focused on profiling executives and informing investors. Starkman concludes with a critique of the digital-news ideology and corporate influence, which threaten to further undermine investigative reporting, and he shows how financial coverage, and journalism as a whole, can reclaim its bite. “Can stand as a potentially enduring case study of what went wrong and why.”—Alec Klein, national bestselling author of Aftermath “With detailed statistics, Starkman provides keen analysis of how the media failed in its mission at a crucial time for the U.S. economy.”—Booklist

Winner of the Goldsmith Book Prize, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Winner of the Tankard Book Award, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Winner of the Frank Luther Mott–Kappa Tau Alpha Journalism & Mass Communication Research Award In democratic societies, investigative journalism holds government and private institutions accountable to the public. From firings and resignations to changes in budgets and laws, the impact of this reporting can be significant—but so too are the costs. As newspapers confront shrinking subscriptions and advertising revenue, who is footing the bill for journalists to carry out their essential work? Democracy’s Detectives puts investigative journalism under a magnifying glass to clarify the challenges and opportunities facing news organizations today. “Hamilton’s book presents a thoughtful and detailed case for the indispensability of investigative journalism—and just at the time when we needed it. Now more than ever, reporters can play an essential role as society’s watchdogs, working to expose corruption, greed, and injustice of the years to come. For this reason, Democracy’s Detectives should be taken as both a call to arms and a bracing reminder, for readers and journalists alike, of the importance of the profession.” —Anya Schiffrin, The Nation “A highly original look at exactly what the subtitle promises...Has this topic ever been more important than this year?” —Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution

This third edition maps the new world of investigative journalism, where technology and globalisation have connected and energised journalists, whistle-blowers and the latest players, with far-reaching consequences for politics and business worldwide. In this new edition, expert contributors demonstrate how crowdsourcing, big data, globalisation of information, and changes in media ownership and funding have escalated the impact of investigative journalists. The book includes case studies of investigative journalism from around the world, including the exposure of EU corruption, the destruction of the Malaysian environment, and investigations in China, Poland and Turkey. From Ibero-America to Nigeria, India to the Arab world, investigative journalists intensify their countries’ evolution by inquisition and revelation. This new edition reveals how investigative journalism has gone digital and global. Investigative Journalism is essential for all those intending to master global politics, international relations, media and justice in the 21st century.

Exploring the deep transformation that journalism has undergone in the last decade, this book provides students, professors and working journalists with the background on the demise of traditional media in the U.S. and the changes happening in the digital newsrooms. Houston discusses today’s changes in journalism in the U.S., comparing and contrasting them with those around the world. Topics discussed include the decimation of the traditional newsrooms, contemporary corporate ownership and investors, the rise of bloggers and digital journalism, finding new audiences, the surge in nonprofit newsrooms and collaborations, investigative centers in the U.S. and globally, new model start-ups, and changing streams of revenue with the expansion of new technologies. The text also looks at the new relationship between journalism professionals and the academy, including the rise in content and stories supplied by university-based newsrooms. Houston, who has been on the frontline of these changes, also discusses the culture clashes and ethical dilemmas in cyber environments accompanied by new challenges to maintaining credibility and creating trust. To fully explore the rapid-fire changes in news media and online journalism in recent years, this book will be of interest to students of journalism and communications, working journalists, and professors helping prepare budding journalists for their future careers in journalism.

Combining empirical methods and media sociology, the authors probe the impact of investigative reporting on public policy, and challenge conventional assumption that investigative journalism is generated within newsrooms without external influences. The authors follow the life span of six investigative stories, written or broadcast from 1981 to 1988, from the story's inception through its preparation and eventual public impact. They find that public officials and other expert policymakers are normally involved at the time of a newsroom decision to begin an investigation. They empirically measure the effect of each story on public opinion, governmental officials, and policymakers. The impact of investigative stories to change public and expert opinion is found to be inconsistent, which results in public policy alternatives ranging from reassessing public employee job efficiency to extensive changes in regulatory law. ISBN 0-89862-314-6: $30.00.

The perfect book for all student journalists, this young readers adaptation of the New York Times bestselling She Said by Pulitzer Prize winning reporters' Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey will inspire a new generation of young journalists. Soon to be a major motion picture! Do you want to know how to bring secrets to light? How journalists can hold the powerful to account? And how to write stories that can make a difference? In Chasing the Truth, award-winning journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey share their thoughts from their early days writing their first stories to their time as award-winning investigative journalists, offering tips and advice along the way. Adapted from their New York Times bestselling book She Said, Chasing the Truth not only tells the story of the culture-shifting Harvey Weinstein investigation, but it also shares their best reporting practices with readers. This is the perfect book for aspiring journalists or anyone devoted to uncovering the truth. Praise for the New York Times bestseller She Said: “Exhilarating…Kantor and Twohey have crafted their news dispatches into a seamless and suspenseful account of their reportorial journey.” — Susan Faludi, The New York Times “An instant classic of investigative journalism...‘All the President’s Men’ for the Me Too era.” — Carlos Lozada, The Washington Post “A vibrant, cinematic read.” —Jill Filipovic, CNN “Deeply suspenseful.” —Annalisa Quinn, NPR

Conducting computer analyses for the purposes of revealing information of significance to the press represents an extension of one of the most important forms of American journalism into the contemporary era of new technologies. Investigative reporting had its start with the establishment of the metropolitan newspaper during the early decades of the 1900s. At the time, it was a continuation of the evolving tradition of freedom of the press that had characterized American political life since colonial times. As it developed, investigative reporting stressed facts rather than the opinions of the editor or reporter. In turn, that tradition had its own intellectual roots. Today, computer-assisted investigative reporting (CAIR) extends that "marketplace of ideas" into systematic examinations of the electronic records of government. In addition, computer analyses of other kinds of information systematically gathered by journalists can provide the press with insights into trends and patterns unlikely to be revealed by other means. This unique volume addresses procedures and issues in investigative journalism that have not been explained in other publications. It sets forth -- for the first time -- a detailed and specific methodology for conducting computer-assisted investigative analyses of both large and small scale electronic records of government and other agencies. That methodology consists of the logic of inquiry, strategies for reaching valid conclusions, and rules for reporting what has been revealed by the analyses to the public in clear ways. Such systematic methodologies are essential in social and other sciences and the development of a counterpart for investigative journalism has been badly needed. That systematic methodology is developed within a context that explains the origin and major characteristics of those elements that have come together in American society to make computer-assisted investigative reporting both possible and increasingly a part of standard newsroom practices. These include the development of traditional investigative journalism, the evolution of computer technology, the use of computers by government to keep records, the legal evolution of freedom of information laws, the rapid adoption of computers in newsrooms, the increasing importance of precision journalism, and the sharp increase in recent times of computer-assisted investigative reporting by American newspapers both large and small. The issues addressed in this book are discussed in a very readable context with an abundance of examples and illustrations drawn from the real world of journalism as it is practiced daily in newsrooms around the country. Explanations of concepts, principles, and procedures are set forth in layperson's terms that require very little in the way of knowledge of computers or statistical methods.