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PART SIX: SPECIALIZED TECHNIQUES
CHAPTER 17 Investigative and Data-Driven Reporting
Overview
The foundation of this chapter is the discussion of the sources and techniques of investigative
reporting, traditional as well as computer-based. The chapter starts with a discussion of
story.
Increasingly, the best journalists are using their computers for more than word
processing. They are learning data analysis, survey techniques and the language of science
and statistics. A basic introduction to computer-assisted reporting is included in this chapter.
Teaching Tips
The textbook exercises are intended to include both some that are within the reach of almost
any student and a few that will stretch your best students. The additional activities below are
intended to complement and extend your classroom efforts.
You might consider asking your students to follow the work of a famous investigative
journalist Seymour Hersh, for example, or Bob Woodward over the course of the
Lecture Notes
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Investigative journalism is in demand; with many news sources available to
audiences, news organizations are coming to expect reporters to help differentiate
II. INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING: AN AMERICAN TRADITION
A. The American muckraking tradition continues, although in different forms.
B. ProPublica and other nontraditional examples.
C. Investigative reporters want to look at organizations and systems, not only to expose
III. THE PROCESS
A. Most investigations start with a hunch or tip.
B. Beginning the investigation:
1. Some basis for suspicion.
2. Form a hypothesis.
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2. Preliminary check
3. Stay organized.
D. Getting it right:
1. Accuracy is critical; many investigators require verification from two independent
sources.
E. Writing the story:
1. before they are
published, posted online or broadcast.
2. Know basics of libel and privacy law (Chapter 19).
3. Good writing matters!
a. Selecting an effective story structure and lead the hard lead; alternative
approaches.
b. let readers know how the story was
reported.
c. Striving for clear, simple explanations get people into the story; keep it simple
(use sidebars, multimedia and links to source materials); tell the audience what
F. Planning the multimedia aspects of the story or series.
1. News organizations are presenting more of their stories digitally.
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IV. THE SOURCES
A. Expect to piece things together from multiple sources.
B. Human sources enemies, friends, losers, victims, experts, police, people in trouble.
1. Confidentiality.
C. Written sources
Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
1. Public records paper and electronic versions of property records, corporation
records, court records, campaign and conflict-of–interest reports, loan records,
minutes and transcripts for government bodies.
2. Using and securing public records federal Freedom of Information Act and state
open-record laws.
V. COMPUTER-ASSISTED REPORTING
A. Computers assist reporting in two main ways journalists can access digital
information from databases on the Internet; journalists can become knowledge
creators by compiling and analyzing information that was previously not collected or
not examined.
B. Computer-assisted reporting can reveal important information that otherwise would
remain hidden in bureaucratic files.
Class Activities and Discussion Questions
Activity 1: Bring in copies of a Sunday edition of a major metro newspaper located near you
as well as copies of The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal. Divide students into
groups of three or four, and give them a copy of both newspapers. In the local newspaper,
have them look for (1) investigative stories produced locally and (2) investigative stories
produced by wire services or other newspapers. In The Times or The Journal, they should
Activity 2: In the same edition of the local major metro newspaper you used for activity 1,
have student groups go through the newspaper and find stories that might merit more
performance-enhancing drugs might lead to a broader investigation about the prevalence of
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story idea? Why does the original story merit an investigative piece? What is newsworthy
about the story?
Activity 3: If you have a computer lab with Internet access, have students go to the website
for ProPublica (www.propublica.org). Working in pairs, have students choose a ProPublica
investigative story to present to the rest of the class. Their presentation should include a
Activity 4: Have students, working in pairs, pick one of the investigative stories they
examined in activity 3. Then have them find a broadcast story (radio or television) on the
Lewis in the now-defunct Portfolio magazine
(www.mutualfundsbureau.com/docs/PortfolioMagazineArticle.pdf) with the joint This
American Life/ProPublica www.this americanlife.org/radio-
Activity 5:
possible investigative stories based on their diary. For example, a colle
in the dorm cafeteria might trigger an investigation into food safety issues in the college
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dormitory system. A visit to a fraternity party could trigger an investigation into the
phenomenon of youthful binge drinking. Ask students to choose the story they think is most
relevant and important for college students and the college community to read. Discussion
Solutions to Textbook Exercises
2. Your journalism blog.
exercise 1. Especially if you have your students actually conduct an investigation, their
reflections on the process will be instructive, both for them and for their classmates.
3. Rich is the Database Editor for Investigations at The Washington Post, where his wide-
ranging investigative efforts have involved the NSA, police shootings, tax liens, civil
forfeiture and college athletics. Students could reflect on the diversity of reporting
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5. a. The sniff: A good place to start is with the complaining school board member. What
does she know, and how does she know it? Are there other critics of the architect or
superintendent who might be helpful? What do public records show about the
, business partnerships and so on?
c. Records: The text chapter describes the most likely ones.
Handbook by Brant Houston and the IRE (see Suggested Readings in the text) will
help.
6. Students should consult the public records identified in the chapter, plus any others
ones, including the following:
7. The databases will tell the public story positions, votes, campaign contributors,
biography. Students are likely to find biographical and political data, voting records,
campaign contributions, even travel spending and honorariums. Valuable as they are,
though, computer databases seldom include the details and anecdotes needed to make a
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still missing is the
humanity, the personality, the assessments of friends and foes. In other words, even the
8. The sheer volume of data resources to which students have access (the federal website
alone has more than 180,000 datasets) can prove overwhelming. This exercise is an
Solutions to Workbook Exercises
1. The NICAR website is a storehouse of interesting and practical information. In addition to
need to do actual computer-assisted reporting.
2.
because he does such a good job of explaining questions about polling, probability and
statistics for ordinary readers. T
blog; the second exercise asks students to dig deeper.
4. The patterns will almost certainly include reliance on computer-assisted reporting and a
great depth of information available online. It will be interesting to see what strikes your
students as noteworthy and important.
5. Students will find that the award-winning writers used most of the tools described in the
chapter and m -assisted
reporting, students will also find that most reporters continue to rely heavily on such
7. 60 Minutes spawned a school of imitators on the
major networks, to say nothing of the pseudo-journalism of eighties and nineties programs
such as Inside Edition and Hard Copy
always, relies more on visual storytelling. Television reporters ask viewers to accept
without attribution more of what they say. Students should weigh the benefits of
storytelling against the cost in depth. Print-oriented students especially may want to
consider whether television has lessons to teach newspapers when it comes to conveying
complex issues understandably.
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8.
probably do as much as they can, given limitations of staff and budget. At its best, as in
Minneapolis, Miami or Akron, local investigative reporting can match anything
likely to see in the national media. At its worst, the local variety is not really investigative
at all.
9. Most of this information can be found in places other than the Internet, of course, but
requiring students to use the Internet will make them more comfortable with using it as a
research tool, and they will discover the range of data available quickly and easily. One
caution: Internet addresses do change.
10. e of a possible memo:
The topic
The sniff quietly interview female staff members and students who frequent the
Documents ve to see if any disgruntled
lawsuits.
11. This American Life tells in-depth stories in an engaging, eclectic way and the stories
the editors choose are often investigative in nature. The show sometimes teams up with
12. The format of this memo can follow the outline sug
in the estimates of time and outcome.
13. The investigation described in the memo was too complex and time-consuming to be
within the reach of even the most advanced student. It arose from good beat reporting. It
overcame obstacles that included delay and outright lies. It resulted in a state investigation
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14. The memo should describe the sniff (checking records for state or professional
disciplinary actions against the nursing home or its parent company; getting names of the
manager or employees; and checking for previous incidents), the sources (the state
15. a. The sniff: First, you need names and possible connections. The state corporations
division (probably in the secretary of sta
b. Human sources: Several obvious ones are named in 15a above. Try to tap law
enforcement officials and would-be reformers within either the union or the company.
Former members or employees may be helpful.
c. Records: Both state and federal regulators watch over unions and corporations. Some
16. The planning process is the same as in exercise 10. The major differences will be in
sources. Chapters 8 and 11 of will be especially
helpful. The most helpful records will be those of campaign contributions. Every state
requires periodic reporting. Those reports, usually online, can be found in various
them at the Ethics Commission. The degree of transparency required also varies from
17. You are looking here for both a recognition of the problems discussed in the chapter
and some imagination in suggesting ways to solve them. Possibilities: The reporter could
use some of his or her own time, bring another reporter into the project to trade off on
routine coverage, or bite off only a small chunk of the overall story at one time.
CHALLENGE EXERCISE
19. a. This covers ground similar to that in exercise 10.
b. Points that should be included in the responses are covered in the chapter. Be critical of
simplistic or unrealistic proposals. For example, if a student says she would quit, ask
emphasize that there are no easy answers.