Investigative Reporting Chapter 10-11

by Kevin Clang

As the book states, the judicial system and law enforcement are equally two of the most complicated but rewarding things an investigative reporter can write stories about.  Both are steeped in their own set of rules and guidelines, which are important to understand before you start your investigation.  Both are inseparable from politics as well, something that any story will take into consideration.    For the seasoned reporter, though, they are not impenetrable institutes.  Anyone who has done their research will be able to find corruption or injustice.

Like in investigating anything, at the beginning of research the reporter must decide whether they are looking at the whole system or just a handful of people.  The judicial system in particular is huge, and it would be nearly impossible for one reporter to constantly monitor all of it at once.  To do their job most effectively, one should pour over the weekly local beats, hoping to spot oddities  or anything that doesn’t feel right.

The Seattle Times ran a piece in 2006 that delved into certain judges’ improper sealing of at least 420 civil suits, which kept everything about the suits locked away from the public before they were heard in trial.  The reporters needed a keen ear to listen to the complaints of their readers and realize that this particular case was worth investigating, and a keen eye to find that judges were indeed mistreating the readers.  Taxpayer dollars pay for the courts, but the public cannot possible hold the court system accountable.  The public is entitled to know exactly what is going on, and it is often up to reporters to tell them.
The reporters found that 97 percent of the sealing orders administered by the judges disregard specific rules by offering little or no explanation, applying the wrong legal standard, or failing to acknowledge public interest.  In order to discover this, the reporters needed to be experts in the field of law. 

In Seattle, the reporters knew the rules and could accurately see when they were being ignored.  They successfully saw through the double-talk judges used to lead them away from the case, and as a result they brought light to 420 suits that otherwise would have been lost in history.
Like the court and police systems, the newspaper industry is also dependant on the money that is spent by the citizens that use it.  Because of this, a newspaper has a certain responsibility to its readers to offer them the news they need and to investigate corruption in the institutes that the public often does not have the time or money to do so themselves. 

More importantly, since it is not required that the public buy newspapers (unlike paying taxes), this responsibility is a constant need both to keep readers happy and interested and to make sure they keep buying a copy of the paper.

Investigative Reporting: Chapters 4, 5, & 7

by Kevin Clang

The process of investigative reporting has become both simpler and more complicated with the emergence of the internet.  With online records and archives, any public information can be easily found with the click of a mouse if the reporter knows where to look.  E-mail allows a reporter to stay in touch with important sources across great distances.  With all of this convenience, however, the line between what is ethical and what is not becomes grayer every day.  It is the job of the journalist to decide what is ethical and what is not.

When one considers a big story like the collapse of Enron just a few years ago, it is crazy to think just how far technology has come since then.  Back in the archaic days of 2001, most organizations did not have public records archived online for anyone to view.  Back then the press had to rely on a few brave whistle blowers (a practice admittedly still employed today).  It was up to the reporters to decide which information the whistle blowers gave them would be ethical to print and which they should leave out in order to protect their source.
Enron was eventually found guilty of obstruction of justice after it was discovered that they destroyed documents related to their audit.  Now evidence like this is much harder to get rid of.  What was true then is still true now, however.  Before a reporter digs into any investigative report they must ask themselves “does this matter?” and “can the potential harm to an individual or company be justified because it benefits society?”  If the answers are yes, then a reporter has license to continue.  It is always important to investigate both sides of any story, being sure to at least offer to interview the accused.

Today a reporter would be able to go even more in depth into a story like Enron.  A quick search of any newspaper’s online archives will bring up any story the paper has ever printed on the company, which could be useful if trying to find specific numbers or quotes.  While most of a company’s accounting numbers are kept secret, a reporter should be able to find quarterly profit announcements, government tax returns or stock prices.  Surveys are also much easier to issue and analyze today, giving the average person a voice.  A survey can be quickly administered online, and when complete one can analyze votes by any variety of demographics, including race and income.

One thing that will always stay the same is the process one uses to interview a potential source.  A reporter always needs to be honest and forthright with their source, telling them exactly what they plan to do with the information the source has.  The journalist must do their homework before the interview, finding exactly what questions to ask so that they don’t waste time.  They must make their source feel comfortable, no matter what the source’s opinion of the press is.  They must understand the motivation of the source to speak to the press as well, and how it might fit into their story.