strengthening your journalism


Some basic approaches
 to investigative reporting.


Bob Greene's definition OF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING


"It is the reporting, through one's own work product and initiative, matters of importance which some persons or organizations 
wish to keep secret."

bOB GREEN'S BASIC ELEMENTS OF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

  1. It must be the work of the reporter, not a report
    of an investigation made by someone else.
  2. The subject must involve something
    of reasonable importance to the reader or viewer.
  3. Others must be attempting to hide these matters
    from the public.


Source: "Investigative Reporting: Advanced Methods and Techniques," by John Ullman, St. Martin's Press, 1995.

before you get started


Consider your audience and the mission 
of your news outlet 

  • Where should your focus be?
    Local? Regional? National? International?




before you get started


Think carefully
about what most needs telling.

  • Is it relevant to your community?

  • What are the most important stories
    you can tell for your place and time?

  • Guard your time jealously.

where to start


FIND A BODY

  • Homicide detectives don't waste time trying to solve 
    "murder."
  • They also don't try to solve murders if they're not sure somebody got killed.

    Neither should we.

for example:




  • A prominent local politician is operating a squalid motel and an illegal trailer park, where he houses a steady stream of homeless people.

  • He crammed in the trailers behind the motel so that he could house still more tenants.






Interesting, but not a body.

Think circularly, looking
for causes and effects


  • Where did this situation come from?

  • What had to have happened so that it could exist today?  

  • On whose watch is it happening?


Does it make any sense?





now what?

Develop a hypothesis
  • What's the scope?
  • What's the harm?
  • Who's to blame?

"I'll bet this is going on all over the county: Vulnerable people are languishing in squalid conditions while landlords pocket tax money - and the whole thing is happening because of lax government oversight."

what will getting the story entail?


  • Sources? Can you realistically get the documents
    or interviews you'll need to get the story done?

  • What's the best story you can deliver at a minimum?

  • What's the best, most ambitious story
    you can realistically tell?


TEST YOUR HYPOTHESIS

Like a detective, you start with the body and circle outward.

the DOCUMENTS


You don't have to have memorized
every possible type of public record.

Instead, use logic. Think about what information is likely
to be on paper and then think about ways you can get it.

the documents



  • Property
  • Unsafe housing conditions
  • Crime
  • Government subsidies

The documents




That last record was a road map.
It defined our scope and allowed us to go down
a list, gathering information methodically.

The documents

The usual suspects:

  • Police reports

  • Court records

  • Property records

  • Business records

The people


  • Who to target as sources?

  • Seek out the subjects of your investigation as soon as you start. Sit down and talk to them. Tell them what you're doing.

  • Go in knowing more than they think you do, but not much. Ask general questions and let them give you their versions of the facts.

  • Let them lie to you. When they do, perk up. Tell them it's interesting. Ask for more detail.

The people




Seek out the ones you get fired, and interview them. 

the people




If you get stonewalled seeking key records
or interviews, use your news outlet as a war club.

The people




Push for an interview. Resist demands
for written questions.

The key interview


  • Have your questions prepared ahead of time.

  • Tape record when possible.

  • If you can't tape it, get another journalist to sit in with you. Have them off to the side, out of the subject's sight line, taking detailed notes while you guide the subject through the interview.

The key interview



  • Share your findings with the subject of your investigation. No surprises.

  • Stay cool. It's not a confrontation. It's not personal. You're sitting down to ask for help making sense of what you've learned. You're getting information, not making judgments.

Copy of strengthening your journalism

By mlaforgia

Copy of strengthening your journalism

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