Wiktionary
n. A form of journalism in which the reporter deeply investigates a single topic of interest, often involving crime or corruption.
Wikipedia
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism is a primary source of information. Most investigative journalism is conducted by newspapers, wire services, and freelance journalists. Practitioners sometimes use the term "accountability reporting". One of the largest teams of investigative journalists is the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) launched in 1997 by the Center for Public Integrity which includes 165 investigative reporters in over 65 countries working collaboratively on crime, corruption, and abuse of power at a global level., under Gerard Ryle as Director. Working with major media outlets globally they have exposed organised crime, international tobacco companies, private military cartels, asbestos companies, and climate change lobbyists, details of Iraq and Afghanistan war contracts and most recently the Panama Papers.
An investigative reporter may make use of one or more of these tools, among others, on a single story:
- Analysis of documents, such as lawsuits and other legal documents, tax records, government reports, regulatory reports, and corporate financial filings
- Databases of public records
- Investigation of technical issues, including scrutiny of government and business practices and their effects
- Research into social and legal issues
- Subscription research sources such as LexisNexis
- Numerous interviews with on-the-record sources as well as, in some instances, interviews with anonymous sources (for example whistleblowers)
- Federal or state Freedom of Information Acts to obtain documents and data from government agencies
"Investigative Journalism" is the 13th episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on January 14, 2010.
Usage examples of "investigative journalism".
This was investigative journalism at its best brave, painstaking and more than justified by the results.
What we do, how we do it-we can agree or disagree, but we can handle investigative journalism.
But it was good enough for the Spectator, which billed it, natch, as investigative journalism.
Her ambition - never confessed to her father, whom she rarely saw, and who would have scoffed - was to move up through investigative journalism to foreign reporting.
Go to Grovetown, ask some questions, use her law credentials, maybe get some kind of article out of this, move herself into investigative journalism.
That you could dig up that many weirdos to contribute to one story is a tribute to investigative journalism.
Out of Control: the cutting edge of counter-investigative journalism.