Where Has All the Investigative Journalism Gone?

The main factor leading me to pursue a journalism career was the idea of investigative journalism, but as I become closer to obtaining that graduate title, the more I realize that investigative journalism may be just an idea.

Investigative journalism and all that it entails -- finding truths, seeking justice, righting wrongs, proving corruption ect. -- excited me, as I thought of investigation as a way to help others by uncovering truths.

I believe most people have a desire to help others, it's a win win situation. You work, while feeling fulfilled and satisfied that you made a difference somewhere, somehow.

The only problem with investigative journalism is that it seems scarce, if not nonexistent within my generation.

Whatever happened to the good ol' Muckrucking days when people reported for the people? It now seems that journalists have additional motives that stray from those of the Muckruckers.

Today, a large portion of journalism seems to focus on getting the content to the public as fast as possible. News outlets want to beat their competitors to the finish line and unfortunately this doesn't leave much room for real investigative work.

I've had professors say that the market for investigative journalism isn't there anymore, but maybe the market is diminishing because of the lack of investigative works being published.

Of course, there are multiple factors that journalists point a finger to in attempts to justify their lack of investigative work.

An Arizona State University study that surveyed 100 newspaper outlets, found that 31 percent of respondents said newspapers didn't offer the resources to do investigative work.

Another factor was time, with one reporter stating that media corporations weren't giving enough time to do investigative work as they did 20 to 25 years ago.

The study further stated that,"61 percent of the newspapers had no investigative or projects team. The majority had two or fewer, and only 10 newspapers had four or more investigative or projects reporters working for them."

It's not that I don't understand the price of investigative journalism, as there is a price to be paid ranging from time, funds and safety. What I don't understand is how the majority of newspapers don't have any investigative projects staff.

There is investigation to be done, but with these figures I'm wary of whether investigative journalism will be prioritized again, as I believe it is a matter of prioritizing, despite contributing factors.

Source: "Today's investigative reporters lack resources," by Chelsea Ide and Kanupriya Vashisht. Special to The Republic. http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special01/0528bolles-stateofreporting.html