Broadcast News Writing, Reporting, and Producing, 4th Edition

19  Specialty Reporting

Investigative Reporting

Some journalists believe that the term investigative reporting is redundant—that all reporting is investigative. There is some truth in that statement. Earlier chapters in this book have been devoted to the techniques that all reporters use, such as Chapter 15, “The Interview,” Chapter 16, “Collecting Information from Documents,” and Chapter 18, “Developing Sources.” It is true that reporters ask questions and do some research for just about every story, but little in the way of actual investigation takes place, and, in probably 90 percent of the stories we hear and watch on radio and television, not much investigation is required.

It is not investigative reporting to ask a fire chief if the cause ...