Thursday, December 3, 2009

Investigative Reporting

Here is a short essay I wrote for my final multimedia package for my last journalism class at Oakland University. It is about investigative reporting and is inspired by the movie "State of Play."

Investigative reporting is a very unique and profound area of journalism that only breaks into the forefront of the news occasionally. While there are always crimes and murders and scandals to cover, the ones that make the front page and grab your attention are few and far between the gang slayings or romantic affairs of politicians.

In the movie “State of Play”, a seasoned, veteran reporter and a young, up-and-coming reporter team up to try and solve a murder. A lead investigator in a case headed by a politician is killed at a subway station. The politician is, of course, in love with the young, attractive investigator and his wife is exposed to this amidst the murder. Now, instead of helping her husband figure out where to take his case against the corporate giants, she has to deal with his infidelity. The reporters weave through obstacles, gather facts, conduct interviews, stretch the truth in order to prove their stories, and in the end, nab the bad guy.

Stories like this are few and far between outside of the silver screen though. When was the last time a politician had an affair? In the last month you can find at least a few cases that have been reported nationally. When was the last time someone was killed? Every few seconds reading this article someone, somewhere, is killed. When was the last time corporations were deceitful and harmed others for their own gains? I’m not sure we even need to answer this but the recession we’re in traces back to Wall Street and the corporate giants.

Good investigative reporting really becomes lost in the shuffle of the daily work that journalists all over the world do. Rarely are we grabbed by a story that is so juicy, so compelling, so moving, that literally everyone you know has heard about. But with all the wrongdoing in the world surely this is a mistake. We should be able to pull compelling stories off the front pages of every newspaper in town. Why don’t we?

There are many issues that go into a truly riveting story that must be ironed out before it reaches print. If the time and effort that goes into the best investigative reporting was forced or skimmed over, we wouldn’t be enticed to read or watch the story. First, reporters have to learn something of interest. Something unique, something that seems out of place, something that very few other people know.

Next, the reporter must decide what to do with it. Who else knows about this? Will they talk about it? What would happen to them if they were discovered talking about it? Who would get hurt by talking about it? All these questions and more go into the very beginnings of a good report.

If the story is worth moving forward, the reporter must elaborate. The facts have to be concrete, they have to be profound, and they have to be true. While the last part may seem obvious, it can sometimes be the toughest part of the whole process. If no one can validate your story, or no one can prove something happened, then why are we writing about it? Reporters can spend days, months, or even years working on a story. While many news organizations won’t allow a year-long story, if they can prove the value the story will have, they may be able to work on it for months at a time.

Once they have the sources, the facts, everything in place, then they can begin writing. The writing is the easiest part by now because they’re so surrounded by the plot. They know the details and the key players; the reporter can write this story sleeping. And that is truly the best element of it. After the work is done and the angles are set and it comes time to show the public the truth, the words pour in buckets and everything falls into place.

Anytime you can put Russel Crowe as a reporter in a scandal you’re surely going to have a good story. I can’t imagine this movie with Brad Pitt cast as the lead actor like the movie had originally started with. When Pitt backed out and Crowe stepped in, it did this movie a huge service. Rachel McAdams could have been nearly anyone but she plays the part well. The movie strikes a cord with older reporters in the opening and closing scenes, and new journalists get to see the old and new brands of reporting meshing and working together. It is a stark yet hopeful contrast for the future of investigative journalism and journalism as a whole.

In our time and era of news reporting, the work Crowe did in this movie goes unnoticed and grossly overlooked by moviegoers. Something of this magnitude, should it ever happen, would surely garner awards and recognition for years to come. And I think that one day when the stories have been told, we’ll look back on them and wonder how many more could’ve been unlocked if only that little extra effort and dedication were there. One more detail, one more source, one more interview, one more piece of the puzzle; how many missed opportunities will we pass up in our lives?

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