Investigating

Sometimes you need to find out information from specific people about something important.

Cultivating trusted sources

Investigative Reporting

Muckracking

The Decline Of Local News

Profitability pressures have driven many news organizations to cut original local reporting in half to be replaced by news wire type content that you could get from anywhere.

Asking Questions

Investigation involves a form of interviewing.

Sneaky Journalism

Staying below the radar is a good strategy for a journalist looking to uncover secrets.

"Is a journalist ever justified in using lies and deception to uncover the truth or blow the lid off a story? Journalist Ken Silverstein and Harper's Magazine respond with a resounding "Yes." If there were no undercover journalism, it would be next to impossible to expose corrupt practices, uncover government lies or scandals, or illustrate the secret workings of government. As an example of what undercover journalism makes possible, Silverstein deceived a lobbying company into thinking he was working for the government of Turkmenistan, and wrote a story called "Foreign Agents: What U.S. Lobbyists Do For Dictators" that was subsequently published by Harper's." 

—Mulling the morality of muckraking

Social Engineering

Some journalists employ

Getting Documents

Cultivating Insider Sources

Protecting Source Anonymity

Communicating with anonymous sources requires a high level of COMSEC discipline to prevent tipping your hand.

Keeping notes and recordings.

• Legality of recording without consent by state

Investigation skills.

Confirming stories.

Examples

• MacRumors
• The Register

Political Research

• Become a Congressional Watchdog Screencasts

Journalism Links