Investigative Journalism

I’m not going to lie. When I got that email that our economy lecture was being changed to a lecture about investigative journalism, I may or may not have fist-pumped in the library.

Sorry Bruce, but I’d take investigative journalism over any type of economic theory every time!

Great quote to start the lecture off with:

©       “Isn’t all journalism meant to involve questioning investigation of facts and opinions presented to us?” – Ross Coulthart

Bruce explained some of the IN’s of investigative journalism:

ð  Intelligent                                           è Invest

ð  Informed                                            è Inside

ð  Intuitive                                             

Some straightforward stuff but I’m including it anyway, because it was interesting.

*        Critical and thorough investigations
- The journalist is an active participant. Active intervention. Thorough investigation.

*        Custodians of conscience
- Investigation takes society’s norms and holds breaches up to public scrutiny. Civic vice.

*        Social justice
- To give a voice to the voiceless, public interest is key.

*        4^th Estate/Watchdog

-          Journalists represent the interests of those without power, this balances out the power of government.

-          They insure that free flows of information necessary for the functioning of democracy

-          Journalists make accountable public personalities and institutions whose functions impact social and political life.

Investigative journalism can involve: interviews, observations, documents, leaks, briefings, trespass and theft.

The 1826 example threw me, I didn’t know investigative journalism first took place so long ago (Australia was still a colony). The most obvious example of investigative journalism in history is Watergate, Then Bruce pulled up something I expected too, Wikileaks.

Is wikileaks journalism? No. Firstly, it is a bunch of information. The diplomatic cables that the New York Times sorted through and published – THAT is journalism. What wikileaks produced is just data. Casual anecdote; last September I went to see my sister in Sydney. While I was there I was lucky enough to attend Sydney’s “festival of dangerous minds”, at the Opera House. I saw a live broadcast from Julian Assange, and as a budding journalist student, I was excited. Emphasis on WAS. He spent the entire hour justifying his actions, explaining we needed to question government motives and defending his charges. I should have gone to see Noam Chomsky instead, that was a waste of time. I really had hoped he would talk about how wikileaks has changed the nature of investigative journalism, and was left bitterly disappointed. Cheers, Julian.