Investigative%20Reporting%20in%20the%20United%20States

1
Investigative Reporting in the United States

• Steve Doig
• Cronkite School of Journalism
• Arizona State University

2
Good signs

• More than 5,000 members of Investigative
  Reporters Editors (IRE)
• More than 500 investigative projects and reports
  entered in the IRE contest
• 400 reporters attend the National Institute of
  Computer-Assisted Reporting conference in
  Cleveland
• 1,000 expected at IRE conference in Phoenix June
  7-10

3
Powerful work

• Wall Street Journal investigation of stock-option
  backdating scandal
• Washington Post stories about conditions at
  Walter Reed military hospital
• Birmingham News exposé on corruption in the
  Alabama two-year college system
• Hartford Courant stories on suicides of American
  soldiers in Iraq
• Miami Herald stories on fraud and theft by
  managers of the citys public housing program

4
More problems exposed

• Corrupt lobbyists and politicians
• Mismanagement of hurricane aid
• Secret prisons and domestic spying
• Abuse by landlords in Baltimore
• Coal mine safety in West Virginia
• Counterfeit prescription drugs
• Citizenship fraud in Miami
• Latino gangs in Los Angeles

5
Signs of trouble

• Layoffs and buyouts as newspapers continue to
  trim staff and TV audience shrinks
• Harder for reporters to get time and funding
  necessary for investigative reporting
• TV too often relies on cheap investigations for
  ratings
• Open records laws being restricted on grounds of
  war against terrorism

6
Survey of investigative reporters

• Done by Cronkite School students
• 86 reporters and editors at the 100 largest
  newspapers in the U.S.
• Part of a package of stories about the
  anniversary of the 1976 assassination of Arizona
  reporter Don Bolles

7
Interest in investigative reportingat your
newspaper
8
Support today compared to 10 years ago
9
Full-time investigative reportersat your
newspaper
10
Does your paper have an investigative team?
11
Does your paper have an investigations editor?
12
How many investigative projects in the past year?
13
Building support

• Showcase investigative work
• Educate readers/viewers about the need for
  investigation
• Fight for public records access
• Get top editors to attend IRE conferences
• Make a business case for investigation

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If we dont investigate, who will?