Investigative Journalism Essay

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Introduction
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
- The First Amendment
In the world of journalism The First Amendment seems to be the glue that holds the media industry together. The freedom of speech and of the press is tangible power in the hands of a journalist. According to Kovach and Rosenstiel (2007, p.145-149), "Investigative journalism seeks to expose unethical, immoral and illegal behaviour by government officials, politicians as well as private citizens." This statement should not take credit away from the everyday journalist but more so bring focus to the specialise role of being able to uncover and report on hidden information with the aid of digital advancements. As time has passed the roles, goals and purpose of the media business has gone from hands-on reporting to digital reporting, which commonly named, amongst journalist in the field, as "New Media". Due to the transform in new media, this essay will examine (1) the stride journalist take during the investigative practices, (2) what factors influence how information is collected such as corporate finance and/or political agenda, and (3) with the new media penetration, can investigative journalism stay live.
The History and Practice of Investigative Journalism
The journey a journalist traveled has a long and bumpy history. Newspapers have been around since the 1500's (McNair, 2007, p. 27). The advent of the first daily newspaper in 1702 called the Daily Courant would be one of many news tools (Horrie, 2008, p.148)...

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... and most importantly it provides an accurate illustration of news. Because the world will continue to exist, it's fair to assume so will investigative journalism as long as there is corruption and the public interest. Therefore, a journalist should strive to hold their profession to the highest standards no matter the digital era, one mainly being integrity in my opinion. Just like humans are not perfect neither is journalism but the added tool of the digital era has enhanced this industry's power to make a difference in regards to policy making and society's self-awareness to issues.
At the end of the day if adherence to moral and ethical principals is not part of how people receive a journalist's information, then where does that leave us? Most importantly if there is no truth in media, then the digital generation may lose its value in investigative reporting.

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