Investigative Journalismgate

Chris describes journalism as selling the news. Investigative journalism is selling the news that they make. So rather than a journalist reporting from the courts or a press release they instead discover a story and find the information they need until they can publish a story, and more defend themselves against liable. Investigative Journalist’s investigate stories that are not on the news agenda, but rather choose their own.

Miscarriage of justice is the main off agenda story that an IJ will focus on. In the lecture Chris gave several examples of cases where journalist’ have discovered a miscarriage of justice and helped to resolve it, whether that’s getting someone released from prison, or put behind bars. 

Emile Zola is considered the father of IJ, and one of the greatest journalists of all time. In his famous letter called J’Accuse Zola claimed that a French artillery captain, Alfred Dreyfus, was wrongly accused of giving military information to the German’s which helped them win the Franco-Prussian war. Zola found many errors in the case and court proceedings and a lack of evidence, he was found guilty of libel after the letter was published in a French newspaper and had to flee to England. This article is considered one of the best pieces of IJ ever written and has had a big effect on modern day journalism. 

A modern example of a miscarriage of justice case is the “Who Bombed Birmingham?” story produced by World in Action. This was a television production focusing on six men who were arrested and falsely convicted of carrying out a bombing in Birmingham. After the program was aired and after several years of articles bringing to light the fabrication of evidence and suppression of evidence the men were released in 1991. They were released after their third appeal which shows that without the influence of the journalists who investigated the story these men could still be in prison today for something they did not do. 

Probably the most famous case of investigative journalism is the Watergate scandal which caused Richard Nixon to resign from the position of President of the United States, the first time this has ever happened. This shows how much power investigative journalists have if they follow the correct procedures and work within the law. This post on the Washington Post outlines the entire Watergate case http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate.

One important thing IJ have to remember is the evidence gap. In criminal cases the evidence must prove that the crime was committed by a person beyond reasonable doubt but in civil cases the evidence must only prove a balance of probability. This means it is much easier to prove someone is guilty in civil court than in criminal. The example of this given in the lecture was a story about a racist gang who murdered a teenager. They claimed they were innocent but refused to give alibies and the police did not have enough evidence for a conviction. But when the Mail accused them of the murder and defamed them they did not sue because the Mail had enough evidence that it was likely they would win the case through the balance of probability.

The Reynolds defence is also an important defence for the “serious and responsible investigative journalist, who works without malice” as Chris puts it. If the 10 steps of the Reynolds defence are followed by a journalist then they should be covered in court. 

The way an IJ gains their information is very important for the 10 point test and sources are the main way a story will emerge, for example without Deep Throat, as he was known, the Watergate story may never have been known and Nixon would most likely have continued with his corruption. The most important thing a journalist must do is protect a confidential source; this is a fundamental part of the journalist code of conduct. This can lead to problems for journalists including contempt of court if ordered to give the name of the source by a court. This has led to journalists being jailed in the past and this will probably happen again. 

Another method an IJ can gain information about a story in through subterfuge. This is the discreet recording of a person. For a journalist to be allowed to do this they must first gain permission from the head of ethics if at the BBC or Ofcom for other broadcasts. To be allowed to use the recordings as evidence you must have permission from the person you are recording, but without permission you can still quote it. 

Hopefully in a few years some of the people in this lecture, including me, will be using these laws to bring down corrupt governments and expose injustice, rather than reporting on a local church fete.