Watchdog Journalism

Watchdog journalism is a form of investigative reporting of finding the truth in a confidential story, by searching beneath the surface and finding out what is really going on, in political or economical issue that our government may be withholding from its people.

I tend to interpret Watchdog journalism as a balance in the media of uncovering the truth behind crooked and greedy people. Theirs always records and evidence of anything that goes on in the government, but it is up to the journalist to find it. If something doesn't seem right and you can back it up with the data then go for it, start investigating and find out what is really going on, that may be a breaking news story that will put the government or whomever in check.

The example in the book of Watchdog: "Watching over the powerful few in society on behalf of the many to guard against tyranny."

As journalist, we are to watch, listen, and point out the facts with evidence, backing up our information within each story. It is important not to report freely upon suspicion or allegation but rather on actual facts. Of course we are going to have some kind of suspicion about someone, but without reliable accurate evidence backing up our claim against someone, we can be suspicious all day and it won't make a difference without the data.

Our goal as a Watchdog journalist is to help the people, by prosecuting and finding criminals. In order to do this we must research and investigate each story. One of the biggest governmental kept secret that the press uncovered was the Watergate Scandal, it was then that journalist had truly broke the barrier of the press and state. The Freedom of Information Act in 1966, passed allowing the press to obtain government records which helped the Watergate story.

This can open the door to numerous amounts of stories that are available. My professor told us about opensecrets.org it has information on any private or government organization available to the public. For example, a reporter was looking into a private school and noticed the school was lacking funds, but was donated the means by various donors. The reporter soon found out from records that the principle was using the money in his own interest from taking vacations, and buying new cars. The information is out their, but it's up to us, as journalist to investigate and find the truth.

If you are researching a company, organization, or person and you find some unusual information, find out what's really going on. You may be on top of a huge scandal story that the people should know. As journalists we are to report the truth by any means including interviewing and researching all files and data. A good example of finding top secret data would be in the movie Erin Brockovich, where she found data supporting that a chemical plant was dumping chemicals in the water which caused many in the community to get sick and die.

From taking investigative reporting class, I didn't realize how much information is available to the public and the more private information you just have to request a GRAMA or FOIA, depending upon what you want to know about the organization or person. We had an assignment of finding who lived at a location and all kinds of information was online that included: The school district, the taxes of the home, sex offenders in a one mile radius, previous owners, the value of the home, and its current market as well as if the owner has been paying their bills. Again, all the information we need is available to us, but we just need to learn how to obtain it.

I find it interesting that during the presentation they showed clips of various news stations and their investigative breaking news. It seems that you never know who could be doing something illegal in a high political position. For example when the press uncovered the top secret Pentagon Papers of political involvement in Vietnam of expanding the war that our President was involved in.

It is important to realize that investigative reporting is not opinionated journalism, because with facts and data it is not the journalist opinion anymore. We may have assumptions towards someone or organization, but without facts it's not a story.

From the book, I like the quote, "In the end, all reporting is investigating." This is true, because we must search and study each story before writing it, obtaining as much factual data as possible going through old records and evidence. By doing so, you can come across an amazing story that the world hasn't known and for you to reveal to the people.

Clips of Investigative Reporing: