Wk 12: Investigative Journalism

Investigative journalism is a term which inspires in me the most righteous ideals of journalism. It teaches of the values we must uphold as journalists, exposing the wrongs to the public and representing those without the power to represent themselves. It's about seeing through the agenda and news values set within our society (often by the media itself), to expose the truth, and change the world.

Investigative journalism has provided the public with many huge breakthroughs in our society. This was shown to us in our lecture in the 'historical' section with examples such as the Fitzgerald Inquiry. Another topic brought up was Julian Assange, who has been very controversial in the past for his website WikiLEAKS. I agree that this is not journalism. None of the information is filtered or interpreted as news stories are... though perhaps this is a good thing. It allows society to decide for itself.  

It's strange going from agenda setting last week, to investigative journalism this week. Both show such different sides of the media today. I think it is obvious that investigative journalism is dying. It's risky and takes up a lot of time; also newsrooms are not employing as many workers, so there is less and less being discovered every day. 

One investigative piece (if you can call it that) which has come through recently is the KONY 2012 film; a piece which aimed to expose and therefore stop an African warlord involved in the abduction of children for war purposes. It was the first time social media was used on such a scale to promote an investigative piece, with the video hitting over 90 million views on Youtube. For a few weeks this video swept the globe, though in the end I do not believe it has changed the world. It's an example of how the values of our society change which stories we care about, and perhaps an example of the quality of journalism today. 

Renowned journalist Bob Woodward agrees that investigative journalism may be slipping in its success. The video below is an interview between him and Bill Buzenberg of the Center for Public Policy on the television show The Future of News. 

This program also speaks of the possible success of Investigative Journalism in the future. 

I think that the improvement of technology has made it more difficult for investigative journalism to operate, as people are now selective with what they view. It also means it is easier for people to partake in investigative reporting, however many do not for fear of legal scrutiny. These factors mean that investigative journalists, like every other type, are in decline.