Ten Steps to Investigative Reporting
Washington, DC: International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) (2000), 31 pp.
"This brief publication does not pretend to be a definitive text. Rather, it is designed to encourage reporters to use a new approach on stories of their own choosing, to dig deeper, and aim higher. The biggest obstacles to first-rate, in-depth journalism are not always the result of a repressive regime, or threats to personal security. Often the obstacles are the more mundane but also difficult tasks of trying to convince editors to spend money on stories, trying to carve time out of busy schedules and trying to summon the persistence and energy needed for a complex story. These problems plague journalists everywhere, including the United States. The message is: there are no shortcuts to ambitious reporting, but stories that take a lot of time and effort are always worthwhile." (Introduction)
Step 1: Broaden the Definition of Investigative Reporting. Tell How Systems Work or Fail; Look for Systemic Problems, 6
Step 2: Build Institutional Support for Your Product. Develop a Minimum Story; Build a Mentor System, 8
Step 3: Build and Maintain Sources. On and Off the Record; Two Independent Sources; Attribution and Plagiarism, 10
Step 4: Educate Yourself About Your Subject. Searching News Clips and the Internet, 13
Step 5: Look for Documents. There May Be More Available Than You Think, 15
Step 6: Get Out of the Office and Observe: Make Your Story Come Alive! Learn to Be an Observer; Use All Five Senses, 17
Step 7: Assess, Assess, Assess. Develop a Minimum Story to Fall Back On, 20
Step 8: Verification and Confirmation. The Confrontation Interview, 22
Step 9: Tackling the Big Story: Organize Your Material. Case Studies and Dramatic Graphics, 24
Step 10:Investigative Reporting in Daily Journalism: Make the Time, 26
Step 2: Build Institutional Support for Your Product. Develop a Minimum Story; Build a Mentor System, 8
Step 3: Build and Maintain Sources. On and Off the Record; Two Independent Sources; Attribution and Plagiarism, 10
Step 4: Educate Yourself About Your Subject. Searching News Clips and the Internet, 13
Step 5: Look for Documents. There May Be More Available Than You Think, 15
Step 6: Get Out of the Office and Observe: Make Your Story Come Alive! Learn to Be an Observer; Use All Five Senses, 17
Step 7: Assess, Assess, Assess. Develop a Minimum Story to Fall Back On, 20
Step 8: Verification and Confirmation. The Confrontation Interview, 22
Step 9: Tackling the Big Story: Organize Your Material. Case Studies and Dramatic Graphics, 24
Step 10:Investigative Reporting in Daily Journalism: Make the Time, 26
