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Social Communication Group

Level 6
Assignment 1

Group Members Names:






The Challenges of the 21st Century Investigative Journalists.


Investigative J ournalism is some sort of a buzzword that has been
around since the Watergate Scandal, which involved former U.S.
president Richard Nixon and cost him his presidency. Ever since,
investigative journalists have played a key
role in society. However, with the advent of
Information Technologies and the mighty
communication and interception tools
governments have access to, this kind of
journalism faces threatening challenges in
the 21st Century.

Lets read about what Investigative
Journalism is, and what challenges face it.
But first, lets learn some new vocabulary.











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Vocabulary Activity

In this activity, you will find the definitions and synonyms of the new
concepts. Watergate Scandal does not have a synonym, but the other
words do.

Concepts Definition Synonyms
Buzzword








Watergate Scandal







Advent






Mighty






Threatening











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Wikipedia definition of Investigative Journalism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investigative_journalism,
on Feb 13th 2014. 7:00 PM.

Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply
investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, 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 terms
"watchdog journalism" or "accountability reporting."
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
Numerous interviews with on-the-record sources as well as, in some
instances, interviews with anonymous sources (for example
whistleblowers)




After reading this definition from Wikipedia, it is likely that you have
found some new terms, or maybe not. Anyways, we are going to work
on them.







1. Google the following terms and write three concrete ideas about
each of them, on your own words. You can express your ideas in
complex, compound, or simple sentences. (Refer to you writing
Supplement for more information on sentences)
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corporate wrongdoing
1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________

wire services
1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________

freelance journalists
1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________

lawsuits
1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________






2. Now, identify 2 synonyms of Investigative Journalism in the Wikipedia
Definition.

Investigative Journalism (theres a hidden 3rd Synonym put it below
these 2, if you find it.)
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Synonym 1 Synonym 2




3. Read: The Challenges and Opportunities of 21st Century Muckraking

Citizen journalism, while imperfect, helps the public expose misconduct
that otherwise might not come to light. Likewise, online crowdsourcing lets
reporters canvass citizens for assistance on investigative stories. In
addition, inexpensive video technology now helps journalists and the public
collect visual evidence of wrongdoing.

Profits in news organizations are plummeting as advertisers
abandon newspapers and magazines, destroying the economic foundation
on which print journalism has depended for the past century and a half. In
turn, beleaguered news outlets, including television and radio, slash
budgets, close bureaus, and lay off employeesespecially expensive
investigative reporters whose time-consuming work requires high-priced
legal vetting and often antagonizes advertisers and government authorities.

Nonprofit investigative reporting is on the rise, producing
important exposs by The Center for Public Integrity, ProPublica
Talking Points Memo, the Center for Investigative Reporting, and other
noncommercial outlets. The Huffington Post recently launched a project to
fund investigative reporting, and online sites focusing on local watchdog
journalism have sprouted in San Diego, Minneapolis and other cities.
Meanwhile, a nonprofit infrastructure to train investigative reporters has
taken root, and philanthropic foundations are increasingly underwriting
freelance writers to take on challenging muckraking projects. Leading
universities, too, are joining in and guiding eager students through the
rigors of investigative projects that often produce tangible results.

Legal protections for anonymous sources have eroded in the wake
of the Valerie Plame case, when reporters were driven to betray their vows
of confidentiality. Worse, the governments skillful use of source waivers
now threatens to become a routine tactic to chill future whistleblowing.

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Cooperative investigative ventures among news organizations are
expanding. The Washington Post and 60 Minutes have pooled resources
to boost exposure for their projects; other journalistic outlets are doing the
same. Perhaps the most ambitious such enterprise is the online global
muckraking of The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists,
whose 100 participating reporters in 50 countries collaborate on exposs
that cross national boundaries.

Authorities around the world are covertly monitoring journalists
and their sources with satellites, spyware and other technology.
In turns, dozens of investigative reporters across the globe are censored,
harassed, jailed, beaten up, and even murdered every year.

Pushback by multinational corporations, now more powerful than
many governments, obstructs reporters by employing batteries of lawyers
to scare off potential sources and media executives. Even at the local level, a
proliferation of public relations spin doctors makes it harder for journalists
to get access to information.

Tabloid infotainment masquerading as journalism routinely drowns out
whatever high-quality watchdog reporting is able to survive these other
obstacles.

Computer-assisted reporting offers sophisticated methods of social
scientists to unearth information from databases and enable reporters to
find misconduct that otherwise remains hidden. Google, online chat rooms,
and other emerging tools of social medianot to mention lowly e-mail
also make it easier for investigative reporters to track down and interview
hard-to-reach victims and whistleblowers.

Web sites such as WikiLeaks make it easier for whistleblowers to
anonymously disseminate once-secret paperwork documenting
wrongdoing. In theory, the Internet could even eliminate government
censorship altogether. For example, a contemporary equivalent of Daniel
Ellsberg could post todays version of the Pentagon Papers online, and they
could be downloaded instantaneously in millions of computer terminals
before prosecutors had a chance to impose prior restraint.

The federal government has erected a wall of secrecy since 9/11,
classifying documents that should be public and withholding information
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that once was routinely provided to the press. While the Obama
administration appears to be loosening this stranglehold, transparency
seems destined to give way to secrecy in the future whenever the
government invokes national security.



Global Web-based glasnost also enables reporters to evade government
censorship by using foreign ISP addresses to disseminate their exposs. In
poor countries, this digital muckraking is accessible mostly to the wealthy
elite who have access to Web portals; but as the cost of computer
technology fallswith the proliferation of Internet cafs and mobile
devicesthe unharnessed investigative potential in developing countries
could literally be revolutionary.

4. Now, classify each paragraph as an Opportunity or a Challenge.
Just write the start of the paragraph, what appears in Bold.

Opportunities Challenges
























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Opportunities Challenges




























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Opportunities Challenges





5. Please write a personal conclusion in which you include your
points of view as a group about the challenges and opportunities of
investigative journalism. Make it maximum 3 paragraphs long in this
page. What is good, if its short, is even better!