Shattered Glass: principles of traditional investigative journalism (Part 2)

Traditional investigative journalism

When we are talking about thorough facts checking, we are usually mentioning investigative journalism. While watching the movie Shattered Glass probably a majority of people raise a question: how healthy is investigative journalism when our practice moves into twenty-first century? Despite the fact that today there are more journalists involved in investigative reporting than ever before, many investigative reporters are not satisfied about the situation. Before proceeding in finding answers to this question, it is essential to define what investigative journalism is and what the main values of it are.

One of the investigative journalists, J. L. Aucoin, writes that historically the purpose of serious investigative journalism has been “to tell stories of wrongdoing that will stir moral outrage and to focus on systemic problems of considerable public import” . Also, there is a popular opinion that investigative journalism is a reporting on an issue of significant public concern that reveals information not previously known and perhaps even hidden. 

What is more, distinguished investigative journalist and author Phillip Knightley explains it as, ‘it is usually to do with a story and injustice preferably an injustice or something that is wrong in society . D. Protess has characterized this kind of journalism as a form of storytelling that probes the boundaries of civic conscience . He also state that investigative journalists are reformers not revolutionaries and this means that they seek to improve their own country’s system rather than overthrow it. Despite varying definitions, the core of investigative reporting, for example, in America always was and now is a use of fact gathering to challenge authority and oppose the abuse of power (political, governmental, corporate, or religious) on behalf of ordinary citizens.

Of course, when analyzing investigative journalism, we have to mention one of the biggest values of this type of journalism – the concept of objectivity. H. de Burgh, a professor of journalism studies, emphasize that investigative reporters must give us facts and seek to explain these facts by attempting to uncover the reasons why events occurred in the way they did . Almost everyone knows that journalists have a responsibility to publish a true story and every time be objective. Almost everyone editor cautioned his investigative journalists to provide documented articles with passionless facts, which solidify the standards of investigative journalism.

Some media scholars, however, argue that subjectivity does not contradict objectivity and state that these both are values, which can be considered as constitutive elements of a professional identity of journalists. “The point is that the embrace, rejection as well as critical reappraisal of objectivity all help to keep it alive as an ideological cornerstone of journalism” , L. van Zoonen said. Indeed, every kind of development is usually filtered through this main concern to be autonomous to tell the stories that you want to. But although journalists worldwide disagree on a code of ethical conduct should be or not, they should have a sense of being ethical and it would legitimize journalist’s claims to the position as free and fair watchdogs of society.