Investigative Journalism

-Lecture 12

Investigative journalism can be (according to a reporter, with a Johannesburg based newspaper) equated to walking through a minefield at midnight.

The same rings true for journalists throughout the world who are required to tread carefully through mountains of trivia, to elicit the elusive gem of information which could potentially lead to the unearthing of a great story.
Not for the faint hearted these terriers of the truth; while requiring a wealth of skills, are perceived to be anything from amazing to a general nuisance!!

But with what ever society perceives there is deeper meaning and great purpose to the profession

Critical and thorough Journalism – the journalist is an actively involved participant and critical to the ultimate objective of unearthing the truth. But with this perceived power there must come great responsibility and the journalist must develop skills in order to survive in their own environment.

 An investigative reporter needs to have:

• Curiosity
• Passion
• Initiative
• Logical thinking, organisation and self-discipline
• Flexibility
• Good team working and communication skills
• Well-developed reporting skills
• Broad general knowledge and good research skills
• Determination and patience
• Fairness and strong ethics
• Discretion
• Citizenship
• Courage

Custodians of conscience –

As the gate keepers of information, journalists have the potential to exploit, misinterpreted, misrepresent and add significant spin to the truth...its easy enough to succumb to the given pot of gold at the end of the sensationalism rainbow.

Rather though the key idea must be EXPOSURE – just as a photographer or artist presents his work for the public to interoperate, so the investigative journalist exposes the breaches in the norms and morals of society; open up the wound of civic vice and expose it for the public to do with as they will, take it or leave it. In 1963 Bernard Cohen was quoted as saying “The press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about.”

To provide a voice for those without one and to hold the powerful to account –

There is nothing so weak as the voiceless and nothing so humiliating as to have no self determination BUT to stand on the side of social justice, to give power to those stripped of it and to hold the powerful to account – this is great purpose for the poor and the marginalised and they can often not do it alone, UNTIL they have nothing left to loose...

Hold the powerful to account.

The Forth Estate - forth branch of Government - watchdog functions

Journalists represent the masses that do not have the power or the ability to represent their own interests in government. In a sense, they level the playing field for the public and make sense of the game plan and in doing so, balance the power yielded by the government and function as the forth estate.

Upholding democracy, by interrogating information from the higher echelons of government – i.e. the Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary and distributing it to the general (often under informed) public, makes journalists the Forth branch of Government.

By ensuring those in power, public office or of influence to society are held accountable for their actions, journalists exercise their role as community watchdogs.

With these formidable roles carried squarely on the shoulders of journalists, the task of cutting through the AGENDAS, transparent or hidden- is the task at hand. Following in the footsteps of the professions trailblazers from Bob Woodward's WATERGATE to Julian Assange’s WIKILEAKS, journalists continue to investigate through interviewing, observing, analysing and leaving no stone unturned. Even in the face of the growing threats from commercialism, competition by general public and internet and shrinking public relations, the future of investigative journalism will continue simply because the press lives by disclosure!