Full Description
Theoretically grounded and using quantitative data spanning more than 50 years together with qualitative research, this book examines investigative journalism's role in liberal democracies in the past and in the digital age. In its ideal form, investigative reporting provides a check on power in society and therefore can strengthen democratic accountability. The capacity is important to address now because the political and economic environment for journalism has changed substantially in recent decades. In particular, the commercialization of the Internet has disrupted the business model of traditional media outlets and the ways news content is gathered and disseminated. Despite these disruptions, this book's central aim is to demonstrate using empirical research that investigative journalism is not in fact in decline in developed economies, as is often feared.
Contents
Introduction: Studying Investigative Journalism
1 From 'Rivers of Gold' to the Digital Economy
2 What is Investigative Journalism?
3 Why Watchdog Reporting Endures: Theories about the Public Sphere, Media Power and Democracy
4 Six Decades of Investigative Journalism: The 1950s to the 2000s
5 The Rise of Collaborative Investigative Journalism
6 New Frontiers: Big Data, Leaks and Large-Scale Investigative Journalism
7 Bankrolling Journalism to Support Investigative Reporting
Conclusion: The Future of Investigative Journalism, Reasons for Optimism
