Investigative and In-depth reporting

Articles that deal with important issues with substance and depth

What both journalism and democracy need right now are new economic models to support the work involved with bringing

forth in-depth, multimedia news'Charles Lewis,

Nieman Reports, Spring 2008

Terms to know

• In depth reporting• Watergate• News-brief• Nut graf

Differences between investigative and news reporting

News• Daily or weekly newspaper reporters• Immediate, breaking news covering article• Final product article

Investigative• Free lance,

newspapers, wire services

• Weeks, months, years spent developing article

• Final product series of articles, expose

Differences between in-depth and investigative

In depth• Purpose is to offer

concentrated in-depth information on a given issue

or topicEx: What the investor Madoff

charged with embezzlement and fraud actually did and how it will impact investors and the economy;

Investigative• Purpose is to

discover truth and identify lapses from it in whatever media may be available. (DeBurgh)

• Why the SEC did not investigate Madoff despite red flags

Writing the In-depth story

• Good beginnings—introductions rather than leads.

• Longer pieces need to be set up• Paragraphs 1-3 function together as a lead• Can begin with anecdote, startling

statement• After the intro—introduce the real theme• Nut graf—internal lead

Local angle

• Take national or city news and give it an in-depth look by seeing how it affects students

• Ex: story on cloning –include the AP Biology’s research into genetics or local universities discoveries

Strong endings

• Cannot just end• Must be wrapped up• Returns to idea of the lead• Comes full circle • Can use quote on the issue of the intro

Packaging the in-depth story

• Do not use one long column of type• Extract mainbar, main story• Place the sidebar near section of main story

to which it relates• Excessive or confusing statistics should be

translated into a bar graph or pie chart• Photos that enhance understanding of issue

Example of packaging• Mainbar—teen driving/accidents• Chart—accidents with teens/accidents with older

drivers• Chart—insurance costs • Chart –accidents before changes in permits,

licenses • Sidebar about driving while texting• Photos of teens driving with phones • Sidebar about driving with others

In-depth checklist

• Does the subject warrant in-depth treatment?

• Are scenes, anecdotes and local angles used to involve reader in the story?

• If story runs several issues does each piece deal with a different aspect of the story?

• Are charts and other info graphics used appropriately and effectively?

Problems with investigative reporting

• Yellow journalism--

Yellow Journalism

downplays legitimate news in favor of eye-catching headlines that sell more newspapers.

It may feature exaggerations of news eventsScandal mongering,Sensationalism

Unprofessionalism

Remember the Maine

William Randolph Hearst "Please remain. You furnish the pictures, I'll furnish the war."

Role of journalists in Spanish-American war

• Maine moored off the coast of Cuba• Explosion, ship sinks• Navy never able to explain explosion• 254 seamen dead• 59 sailors injured

• Minor revolt in Cuba• Journalists sent to cover “death camps”• Publishers Hearst and Pulitzer competing for

circulation sent reporters and photographers to cover skirmish

• Stephen Crane and Frederick Remington among them.

• Remerick reported, “No war, request to be recalled”

Remember the Maine

William Randolph Hearst "Please remain. You furnish the pictures, I'll furnish the war."

Right to know vs. right to privacy• Authentic journalists struggle with this• Funerals, weddings, illnesses• Names of juveniles?• Names of rape victims?• Personal life?

NYU--reporters should not inquire into sources' personal lives unless doing so is relevant to the story they are researching

What can private citizens do?

• Protected by the Bill of Rights• Can sue for “Invasion of Privacy”• Cannot sue for libel in most cases• (Must be false information to be considered

libel)

Who is not protected?

• Congress—while the members are in session; cameras record all Congressional transactions in the chambers.

High school journalism and in depth reporting

• In-depth articles should have local angle as well as consideration of the audience.

• Example: • Good student newspapers dig; therefore the

enemy of good high school journalism is___________

• Emphasize the why and how in in-depth stories

Summary

• 4 main elements—good, enticing beginning, nut graf as internal lead, solid conclusion that wraps up and returns to lead

• Packaging is important to capture and maintain interest in longer, more involved pieces

• There is a difference between investigative and in-depth

REMEMBER

Woodstein did not become a journalistic icon because they got

lucky—investigative reporting requires hard work, persistence, and an obsession with checking

the details.