What are the 5 qualities of a good Investigative Report?
Investigative reporting is a field of journalism that is related to the systematic and in-depth study of news or a topic generally related to crime, politics, corruption, or any corporate misdoing. It is a prominent branch of journalism that has been recently introduced. It is a mix of glamour and risk. It is related to finding, analyzing, reporting, and presenting a piece of news which other people might try to hide from the general public. It unearthed such scandals that usually question morality and ethicality which is why investigative reporters are always on the verge of risk.
The need for Investigative Reporting in society:
Investigative reporting has currently become increasingly popular due to the following aspects:
- People do have the right to know about the happenings of the society in which they live.
- People in power may misuse and try to hide it. It is the duty of journalists to uncover such deeds.
- Journalists have a moral duty to keep a check and watch on how people in power are acting and make the general public aware of it.
Qualities of investigative reporting:
Journalists like Adrienne Arsenault and Eric Malling are some of the great journalist, who worked for the welfare of society and choose the path of truth. Eric Malling has set an example in Canada, of a prominent journalist. When we talk about good quality reporting, there are certain key points that need to be kept in mind, which are:
Simple, clear, and precise – Keep it reader-oriented:
The Language used should be simple and clear. It should be written in a manner that the message of the report is easy to reach its readers. The content should be precise with a definite purpose. The usage of jargons should be avoided. It should not have brevity but should be complete in sense.
Factual and relevant – Pay attention to Conciseness:
All the facts should be gathered and arranged. Since this is related to digging up the facts that others prefer to keep hidden, it is important to keep the eyes and ears open. The facts that are relevant to should only be considered and unwanted facts should be ignored.
Unbiased and accurate – Focus on morality and ethicality:
The report should be free from all kinds of biasness like personal or data based. The accuracy of the data should not be compromised as this can lead to wrong and partial conclusions. The conclusion of the report should always be impartial and decisive in nature.
Sequential and result oriented- Present in a chronological manner:
The events studied under the report should always be presented in chronological and sequential order. The data should be arranged in a manner that it actually brings out the result expected from it. The evidence collected should also be presented in a manner that they supplement the result and conclusion of the report.
Approach and presentation – Go for creating purposefulness:
The approach can be personal or impersonal based on nature of data used. If the first-hand data is collected than the approach so adopted is personal. If the data from already published sources is collected, then the approach is impersonal. Based on the analysis, the report is finalized. The presentation should be such that in addition to being attractive, neat, and sharp, it should be purposive as well.
Conclusion:
Focusing on the points listed makes a report effective and fruitful. An alert and organized mind, with data and facts, actually assist to write a good investigative report. It should be titled and subtitled as well. Apart from these, a good report is straight forward and honest with no scope for lies or deception. Uncovering the hidden facts is thus the baseline for good investigative reporting.
