Investigative journalism uncovers information that others try to hide through in-depth investigation of issues. Reporters dig deep using various resources like interviews and public records to expose wrongdoing and spark change. Examples include the Watergate scandal uncovered by Woodward and Bernstein, the Panama Papers leak of offshore accounts, and investigative reports in India on issues like the Rafale deal, Bofors scandal, and Nira Radia tapes. Investigative journalism focuses on serious issues, takes months to get to the truth, and holds people accountable through fact-based reporting.

1. INVESTIGATIVE
JOURNALISM
Slides by: Abdul Rasheed A P K
Content: Online resources

2. • Investigative journalism is a type of journalism that
uncovers what others don't want uncovered.
• Investigative journalism is also called watchdog
journalism.
• An investigative journalist digs deep into one story,
whether it be corporate financial corruption, violent
crime, or other topics that might not get covered in
everyday news.

3. • Public interest journalism is more vital than ever. Trust
and truth are under threat.
• One of the main goals of investigative journalism is to
make change.
• Investigative journalism is not leak journalism, which is
when a reporter releases sensitive documents to the
public without any further research into the documents.

4. • Investigative journalists use a variety of resources to
learn more about the topic they are investigating.
Reporters will use information from interviews, public
records, legal and tax reports, and other federal
resources.

5. • Through fact-based, unbiased reporting, investigative
journalist expose systemic wrongs, counter
misinformation and spark change.
• Journalists dig deep, and will spend months getting to
the truth if that’s what it takes.
• They focus on serious issues affecting the society and
identify new areas of investigation through research,
data, whistleblowers and contacts.

6. Examples

7. Rafale Deal
• Investigative reports by N. Ram (The Hindu) on the
Rafale deal.
• N Ram has written a series of articles on the Rafale deal.
• It was allegedly based on government documents
related to Rafale deal.

8. • ‘Parallel discussions' conducted by the PMO (Prime
Minister's Office) during the negotiations over the Rs
59,000 crore Rafale deal between India and France.
• The government told the Supreme Court that documents
related to the Rafale aircraft deal have been stolen from
the Defence Ministry and an investigation into the theft
is on.

9. • Attorney General KK Venugopal said papers regarding
the pricing of the Rafales -- a topic of furious political
debate -- were stolen from ministry files and given to The
Hindu newspaper for publishing.

10. • The Hindu Publishing Group Chairman N Ram said that
no one could force them to reveal the confidential
sources who provided them with Rafale documents.
• "We are well protected. We didn't steal any documents,"
N Ram said.

11. Watergate story
• Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
 Broke the Watergate story
 Led to the indictment of 40 administration officials
 Led to the resignation of President Nixon

13. The Panama Papers
• The Panama Papers, International Consortium of
Investigative Journalism.
• The leak of 11.5 million documents that detailed secret
financial and attorney-client information for more than
214,000 offshore entities was one the most ambitious and
compelling investigative projects to come out of 2016.
• The investigative papers dug into the secretive industry
of offshore accounts used by the world’s rich and
powerful to hide their assets and skirt rules by setting up
front companies in far-flung jurisdictions.

14. Bofors Expose
• The Bofors scandal that broke in 1987 marked a
watershed for India.
• It was the first time corruption became an intensely
public and political issue.
• The scandal was uncovered by The Hindu and reported
by Chitra Subramaniam-Duella and N. Ram.
• Almost 200 documents relating to Bofors were secretly
sourced, verified and translated from the Swedish
language before being published along with interviews
and analytical pieces.

15. Nira Radia Tapes
• In November 2010, Open magazine carried the
transcripts of telephone conversations between Nira
Radia (a political lobbyist cum PR honcho) and
politicians, industrialists, officers of corporate houses
and senior journalists.