Law lecture 9- Investigative journalism

 Investigative journalism is journalism that is not on anyones agenda like the majority of news; it isn't in any meetings and isn't a scheduled event; it is initiated by the journalist and is more like a feature in the way it is set out than news. Investigative journalism can happen in a number of ways however, this could be through an FOI request like the 'WINOL Investigates news feature last year which was initiated by one of the team who decided to look into criminal convictions by members of the Hampshire police force.It could also be done by a tip off given by someone who knows information that will be interesting to the journalist; this could be information by a member of staff of a company or just someone who knows something that is news worthy, next it could just be a decision by the reporter that they want to go and investigate something via subterfuge. 

Investigative reporting can be very dangerous; for example taking on a source would mean that you have to stick with that source and not ever reveal them, as this would cause normal people and people who have stories not to trust the press and reporters as they that what they are saying could get them into serious trouble or leave them in danger, but they are willing to give you information as long as you do not reveal who they are. This can get the reporter in serious trouble if the story went to court for being such a serious matter and therefore by not revealing the source in court the reporter themselves could find themselves with a legal issues that could mean a prison sentence. Also this type of reporting is investigating and reporting things that are usually undercover and revealing illegal activity and therefore to find out this information the reporter puts themselves in seriously dangerous situations where getting injured or killed is a real possibility  as BBC reporter Claudia Murg was telling me when I interviewed her for WINOL, and as journalism legend Veronica Guerin also discovered.

 The subject of investigative journalism is something that I find very interesting and something that over the past semester I have been getting my teeth into with the Innocence project. I find it fascinating that someone could be innocent, yet still put in prison. I recently interviewed and hear a talk from Paul Blackburn who was imprisoned for 25 years but was found to be innocent; this is such a long time to go to prison for something you haven't done and a result of police corruption and failings. Therefore as journalism is the fourth estate I feel that it is so important that journalists are present in court rooms and in parliament and continue investigations such as the Innocence project to ensure that corruption is not present, but to also ensure that people who are innocent are not left in a horrible place like prison among criminals who they do not deserve to be around.

Other famous investigative journalism includes the Watergate scandal and is the reason than any important investigation where there is corruption or something unexpected is revealed in a scandal, the name of that scandal always ends in 'gate'. This particular example shows the importance of investigative reports so that when there is corruption involved even with the top and most powerful people in the world, they are eventually found out through these ever important investigative reports.

This is also why it was so important in the findings of the Leveson report, it wasn't suggested that freedom of speech is not restricted by over controlling regulatory bodies that could have stopped such reports taking place because it is against the conduct of the new regulatory body. It is essential to ensure that the press have freedom to report on what ever it is they need to report on with freedom to do what they need to do to make sure that as the fourth estate, the government and the legal system is being watched to ensure there is not corruption. Suggesting having the press regulated too much and by an independent body could see freedom of the press stifled. Saying this I still feel that it is important that the press and journalists keep to the codes and guidelines to avoid having such a bad name and intruding into peoples lives with trivial matters. This would ensure that there isn't a threat against freedom of speech.

Finally a note about 'off the record'. It is important to ensure that nothing is reported from a source that tells you something off the record. Anything reported has to be on the record, all though anything off the record can be important as a line of inquiry in your report and could also give some background information to a story to help the reporter understand the story.