Yesterdays lecture was about introducing us into Investigative Journalism, which directly coinsides with my Jour1710 Investigative Journalism course I also study at UQ.
Firstly we identify Investigative Journalism as a search to identify truths in our world. Rather than writing, the primary focus of investigative journalism is the idea, and the story. As an investigative journalist it is ones duty to use intelligence to uncover and inform. With a heightened sense of intuition a successful investigative journalist can sniff a story miles away and go digging to uncover it. In an unglamorous sense it's that desire to find out or 'be in the know' so really a natural nack for sticky beaking. Investigative journalists are insiders and base their whole career on their contact book to find out the way things work beyond a spectator and basic reporting angle. This could mean that lost of time, personal interest and even money has to be invested to come up with the goods on a particular scoop.
If we were to break up the ideaology on investigative journalism we would identify these four key points:
1. Critical and Thorough Journalism
2. Custodians of Conscience
3 Providing a voice to those without
4. Watchdog/ Fourth Estate
The primary focus for an investigative journalist is to uncover, expose and report stories in the public interest. Successful examples of this would be journalists involved with cases like the Watergate scandal and more locally Gold Coasts own Tesco inquiry which uncovered police and criminal corruption. This means, it is imperative to get out there and go story hunting yourself rather than re-write or report on second hand information.
Investigative journalists cut through the agenda
To sum up this lecture the three utmost basic point in investigative journalist are that you must always keep your eyes open, (observe) ask questions, (Interview) and go digging, (analysis everything).
Don't assume facts they check them out, always be prepared and start uncovering stories.
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