More tips on investigative journalism :
Facts first, then fit the jigsaw
Gaston de Rosayro
The Washington Post reporter, Carl Bernstein |
The Washington Post reporter, Bob Woodward |
Former US President, Richard Nixon |
Because investigative reporting means digging up hidden facts, your
job will not be as easy as reporting court or a public meeting. People
will try to hide things from you. You must gather as many relevant facts
as you can, from as many people as possible. Your facts must be
accurate, so always check them.
And do not expect dramatic results. Real life journalism is seldom
like the stories you see in films. Most investigations need many hours
of work gathering lots and lots of small details.
You and your editor must realise this. If you are not given enough
time, you may not be able to do any successful investigative reporting.
Always be on the lookout for possible stories. Sometimes people will
come to you with tip-offs, but often you must discover the stories
yourself.
Story ideas can come from what you read or overhear or even a sudden
thought while you are brushing your teeth. Good investigative reporters
do not let any possible story clues escape. They write them down because
they might come in useful later.
Listen to casual conversations and rumour, on the bus, in the street
or in a club.
Careless words give the first clues to something wrong, but never
write a story based only on talk you have overheard or on rumour.
As you gather the facts, fit them together to make sure that they
make sense. Investigative reporting is often like doing a jigsaw. At the
beginning you have a jumble of pieces.
Only slowly will they emerge as a picture. Unlike a jigsaw puzzle,
you will not have all the pieces at the beginning. You have to recognise
which pieces are missing then go and find them.
Remember you are trying to find information which some people want to
keep secret. They will not help you in your investigation, so you cannot
check your facts with them. They will probably oppose you and look for
mistakes in everything you write or broadcast.
If you make a mistake, they will probably take you to court. You must
always check your facts. Take a tip from the most famous example of
investigative reporting, the so-called ‘Watergate Affair’. The
Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein investigated a
crime which eventually led to the downfall of US President Richard
Nixon.
Gathering facts from people |
They knew their enemies would be waiting for them to make a mistake,
so they made it a rule that they would never use any fact unless it was
confirmed by two sources. This is a good rule to try to follow.
However, remember that many people you might interview about
corruption could be corrupt themselves. Criminals lie, so be suspicious
of what you are told and check their words with someone else, preferably
someone you trust.
Writing down story clues |
In addition to gathering facts, you should also gather evidence to
support those facts. This is especially important in case you are taken
to court for defamation as a result of your investigation. Courts will
only accept facts which can be proved.
If someone tells you something on the record, you can show the court
your notes, but it would also be useful to get a signed statutory
declaration from them.
This is a kind of legal statement given under oath. Original
documents will usually be accepted as evidence, but photocopies may not,
unless they are supported by evidence from the owner of the original,
who may not choose to help you.
When investigating corruption or abuse, you will meet people who will
only give you information if you promise never to reveal their identity.
This is very common in criminal matters, where people are scared of
pay-back.
You can agree to these conditions but remember, sometime in the
future a judge examining the same matter in court may order you to
reveal the name of such a confidential source of information. You will
be breaking the law if you refuse to name your source, and could go to
jail for contempt.
If you promise to protect a confidential source, you must do so until
the source himself or herself releases you from that promise. So if you
are not prepared to go to jail to protect a source, do not promise in
the first place. People may threaten you to try to stop your work. This
could be a threat of physical harm or a threat by a company to stop
advertising with your newspaper or station.
It could even by a vague threat to "do something" to you. Most
threats are never carried out. The people making them realise that
harming you will only make their situation worse.
But all threats should be reported immediately to your editor or to
your organisation's lawyer. This will share the burden of worry with
someone objective.
It will also act as extra protection if the person making the threat
knows that it is public knowledge. If you have a witness to the threat,
you might be able to include it in your eventual story, after getting
legal advice. Investigative journalism always leads to some unpleasant
conflict. If you cannot cope with conflict, stay out of investigative
journalism.
Journalists have no special rights in law, even when investigating
corruption. Unlike the police, journalists cannot listen in to other
people's telephone calls or open their letters. Journalists cannot enter
premises against a person's wish.
You must work within the law, but more than that, you should not use
any unethical methods of getting information.
For example, you should not pretend to be someone to whom people feel
obliged to give information, such as a police officer or a government
official.
However, there are situations where you do not have to tell people
that you are a journalist when gathering information. We will discuss
those points in another chapter.
If you have any doubts about legal matters, consult your editor or
your organisation's lawyer.
To summarise: Investigative journalism is needed to uncover important
stories which people want to hide. Investigative journalists need all
the skills of general reporting, but especially:
* An alert mind to recognise story ideas and important facts which
people are trying to hide
* An ordered mind to make notes, file information and fit lots of
facts together
* Patience to keep digging for information
* Good contacts throughout society
* Courage to withstand threats from people you are investigating
As well as accumulating information, you must also gather supporting
evidence in case your story is challenged. You must protect confidential
sources of information
Always consult a lawyer if you have any worries about the legality of
what you are doing or writing.
Double-check everything you do, from the information you gather to
the way you write your final story. Work within the law. |