“Isn’t all journalism
meant to involve questioning investigation of the facts and opinions presented
to us?”
Ross Coulthart
Ross Coulthart is right, all
journalism should be investigative. I recently watched an episode of ‘The
Newsroom’ in which a gossip columnist compared herself to news anchor Will
McAvoy, by calling them both journalists. As Will did, I have to disagree,
tabloids and gossip writers are not journalists, they merely trash or glorify
celebrities for no particular reason. Investigative journalism incorporates
five ‘in’s, intelligence, informed, intuitive, inside and investment.
Investigative journalism can be split into four parts. It is important to
keep in mind that an investigative journalist should be sceptical but not
cynical.
1)
It is critical and thorough journalism with active
participants and active intervention, and must make a substantial effort
2)
The responsibility of being a custodian of conscience,
the responsibility to expose ‘civic vice’ to the pubic
3)
To provide a voice for those without one and to hold
the powerful to account
4)
To be a fourth estate/a fourth branch of the
government/ a ‘watchdog’
a.
Represent those without power to balance the power of
the government
b.
Ensure the free flow of information necessary for a
functioning democracy
c.
Make accountable public personalities and institutions
who impact social and political life
Investigative journalism needs to be able to ‘cut through the agenda’
that was spoken about in last weeks lecture. An investigation report should
involve facts that the public needs to know, placed into terms they can
understand but without the bias of a funder pushing for a certain view on a
story. As John Pilger said, “It is not
enough for journalist to see themselves as mere messengers without
understanding the hidden agendas of the message and myths that surround it.”
In the lecture, we looked at the trailblazers that contributed to
investigations that changed the world. We explored Edward Hall Smith’s 1826
article in The Sydney Monitor about the mistreatment of convicts, W.T. Stead’s
investigation into the prostitution of 12 year old girls, Chris Masters, Phil
Dickie and Shaun Joyts ‘The Moonlight Sate’ about police and government
corruption in Queensland during the 1980s, and ended with the current even of
Julian Assange’s website WikiLeaks. As Dr Redman was talking about these people
and their outcomes, all of them, asides from those involved in the making of
‘The Moonlight Sate’ were imprisoned. Assange is the most current debacle, a
man who merely published documents governments would have never wanted leaking
but referring to things the public has a right to know. However, as a result of
this Assange is hidden in the Ecuadorian embassy fearing imprisonment in Guantanamo
Bay for ‘treason’ crimes. This struck me as peculiar, that people who expose
huge problems within society are paying for it rather than the perpetrators.
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