Investigative Reporting Today

This week's revelation of one of journalism's long held secrets, the identity of Deep Throat, brought to the spotlight once again the role of investigative journalism. Reporters today face questions over the use of anonymous sources, as evidenced by the recent Newsweek controversy over alleged abuse of the Koran. They must also compete in the more rapid and immediate environment of electronic and television news, in which thoroughness is often challenged by immediacy. How has investigative reporting changed since the days of Watergate? What are some of the biggest challenges facing reporters today?

Brant Houston, executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. at the Missouri School of Journalism, was online to answer your questions.

A transcript follows.

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Washington, D.C.: Investigative journalism is perhaps one of the most over-used phrases for mediocre reporting in the business. The use of anonymous sources for interviews does not, alone, constitute investigative journalism. Most of Washington's bureaucracy is willing to speak off the record (OTR) or on background if there is certainty that the agreement will be honored. That comes from cultivating relationships over time. (As an aside, I stopped sharing sources with colleagues, when one source I shared spoke with the public good in mind to a fellow reporter who ran the source's remarks with attribution knowing all the while the source would be fired. He was indeed fired two or three days after the story ran with his name in it. The colleague of mine knew he was damaging someone's career and should have offered an OTR option for at least a portion of the conversation. But this is a digression into ethics.) Most people trained to do good academic research (including database searching, following the usual government paper trails in tax offices and courts, etc.), and who apply that training in a disciplined way to journalism, are doing far better investigative journalism than many of the folks who otherwise claim to be doing the same. Much of what passes for investigative journalism doesn't have the research background for depth and context. Having done the research first, the interviews are, perhaps, the most important element of the story. Then there's the usual stuff of rummaging through trash bins, surveillance cameras, etc., but it isn't really possible to discuss this in the brevity of this format, is it? There are several important realities: Most investigative journalists aren't disciplined enough researchers or academics. Most journalists lack a systematic knowledge of the fields they investigate (this would be less of a problem were the first point untrue). Most newsrooms do not have the resources to hire reporters who do have expertise in the beats they cover or to provide the time for an investigative reporter to do the work. What holds for reporters also holds for editors. The plagiarism that is rampant and tolerated in journalism discredits the work of honest reporters, and ensures that would-be investigative reporters take short-cuts, thereby diluting the value of the work. Journalism trade groups should point to good investigative reporting examples: Laurie Garrett, Bartlett and Steele, etc., where they can be found.

Brant Houston: IRE conducts exactly the kind of training you suggest and in fact we are doing right now at our annual conference in Denver. James Steele is speaking on two panels and Laurie has spoken for us in the past. You can see the line-up training at this conference at our Web site www.ire.org _______________________

Olney, Md.: How can reporters be sure they have anything right in a case that involves Al-Qaeda detainees who are instructed to fabricate tales to feed anti-American propaganda? Do they take the word of a prisoner over a U.S. soldier just because the allegations are provocative?

Brant Houston: Investigative journalists would not take the word of one source over another. Much of the reporting on the detainees is actually based on government investigative documents or the information from government investigators who are willing to discuss their findings. _______________________

New York, N.Y.: The Internet is the easiest and most comprehensive source of information available. How are investigative journalists today balancing the convenience and speed of the Internet with its uncertain credibility as a source of accurate information?

Brant Houston: Journalists are learning to treat the Internet with the same skepticism they treat other sources of information. They learn and share information about reliability of Web sites and constantly cross-reference and double check the the information.

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Winthrop, Mass.: Are reporters even trying to get U.S. workers at our detainee centers to talk about what is going down? I haven't even seen interviews with the released prisoners in any detail. Many, if not most of those released aren't terrorists, and at least didn't hate America before they were detained, so they seem to be valid sources to me?

Brant Houston: Several of the major news organizations have done extensive interviews with released detainees and some workers. Its difficult work in a time of secrecy, but it is being done.

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Whetstone, Ariz.: As a journalist who has reported on several controversial stories, I have had to use unidentified sources more than once. In fact, while covering the same story that Jerry Separ of the Washington Times did on the Border Patrol being told to stand down on arrests of illegal immigrants in the Tuscon Sector, I had talked to several of the same unidentified agents that Separ cited. My story met the same reaction to citing these sources as Mr. Separ's did in that there were many skeptics and demands that I release the names of the sources. Where do we draw the line here? I have a big story I am sitting on because the sources refused to be identified. This is a very important story, but if I release it, it is likely to be overshadowed by the controversy of anonymous sources. The editors of the outlets I normally write for have become afraid to touch items that do not identify sources. So now we have to suppress the news? Isn't this a disservice to the public?

Brant Houston: There are times that you have to rely on anonymous sources and one answer may be to share in confidence their names with your immediate editor. The other road is to push those sources to give you documents that back up what they say.

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Harrisburg, Pa.: Has there been a disintegration of the journalistic rule that, if a reporter did not directly observe something, that the reporters needs two separate sources to confirm a story? It seems now that anything from exaggerated and false reports from British tabloids, opinionated magazines, and the Internet has become fair game to be reported by mainstream newspapers. Am I observing this correctly?

Brant Houston: There has not been a disintegration of that rule among experienced investigative journalists. Trying to publish too quickly or underestimating the impact of a story can lead to errors as shown in the brief Newsweek article - which served as a grim reminder of the necessity of the rule. _______________________

Lyme, Conn.: During the Vietnam War, the American public knew the body count on a daily basis. Today, hardly any one how many were killed, especially the number of Iraqis and enemy combatants killed. Why do you think the news emphasis has shifted away from the death toll of war?

Brant Houston: The press is in one of its toughest struggles to get information about the war. The military has been much more successful in controlling that information and is applying lessons learned from Vietnam. Adding to the difficulty of reporting independently is that journalists who venture out of the safe zones are specific targets themselves.

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Kathmandu, Nepal: I don't know but I believe that the investigating reporting in the past was dominated by politics and big personalities. And recently, as a reader, I can comprehend that journalists have recognized that human lives can be influenced by issues other than politics and personality. This is positive trend. However, the reporting in relation to many burning issues like human trafficking and drugs is very low. We have knowledge of Mafias and Triads but we don't have any information about their organized and clandestine operations that enfeeble human beings. Now it's high time for journalists to analyze the trend on what has been achieved and what needs to be done since the time of Watergate. I believe, unless journalists stop the thorough reporting of the sex life of one individual, they cannot uncover the global social issues that pit humanity against humanity.

Brant Houston: I think there is an understanding among journalists that we need to reemphasize the investigations the reveal human suffering as the result of policies and government and business practices. In the past few years, the Center for Public Integrity in Washington D.C. www.publicintegrity,a non-partisan organization of investigative journalists has formed a network of journalists throughout the world to probe these issues. At Investigative Reporters and Editors, we have joined with other journalism training organizations internationally to form the Global Investigative Journalism Network. www.globalinvestigativejournalism.org In addition, editors at smaller to medium size papers are working to do better reporting on international issues that affect both local readers and citizens in other countries.

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Annapolis, Md.: In Bob Woodward's interesting article yesterday, he wrote that he had not studied to become a journalist and seemed to just happen into the career. How important is the training in your opinion and how lucky was he? To what extent can someone who wants to write find a job as a journalist without having the credentials? Also, has the mentality of The Post (or other prominent papers) become so self-impressed as to deny the kind of opportunity Bob Woodward happened into because of elitism and agenda?

Brant Houston: A lot has changed in the past 35 years in need for training. The work many investigative journalists during the 1970's resulted in examples that could be used for training. At the same time, editors recognized that journalists needed to get better training for investigating more complex issues. With the advent of database analysis in journalism and the use of social research methods, the need for instruction became more apparent. I think someone who is bright and can write still can work his or her way into a good job as Woodward did, but the interviewing process at a larger paper would be more rigorous. I don't think Woodward was lucky. He had drive, intelligence, and the willingness to work long hours to improve his craft.

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Arlington, Va.: One of the ironies of the identity of Deep Throat is that he doesn't seem to have been the product of investigative reporting; rather, he was an old friend of Woodward. Is the lesson there simply to ingratiate oneself to everyone possible, since one never knows when a friend will prove useful? Brant Houston: The cultivation of sources is an arduous task. Reading Woodward's article closely shows that even during the years leading up to Watergate Felt maintained a certain distance. And he certainly kept a distance even as a source.

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Baltimore, Md.: What I find most troubling with journalists lately is how easily they allow officials to dance away from the truth on the turn of a phrase. As an example, the Newsweek article reported that the Quran was flushed down a toilet. In fact, the prisoners do not have flush toilets but buckets and a Quran had been placed in one of these hygiene buckets--toilets. The distinction between flushing or not flushing means little to the Muslim world, but our officials are permitted a pass because no flushing occurred. Frankly, I see this as laziness by reporters who do not challenge the parsing of words to sacrifice the truth. What is investigative reporting if it does not challenge? Brant Houston: I think Newsweek has acknowledged that the story was done as carefully as it should have been and made mistakes. Part of the problem was that because the story was so small and the speed of gathering news is so fast that it didn't get the attention it needed at the editing level.

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Anonymous: For an investigative report to have any chance of changing the status quo in America, it appears that it must stay away from corporations, and 3rd world suffering, as most Americans have disconnected from the world outside our border. The investigation cannot effect the military industrial complex, and cannot be "anti-war". Is that a fair judgment? Brant Houston: The press needs to more aggressive in its reporting on military and international issues and it has been improving since 9/11 There is general agreement in the profession that the press became uncertain and timid in the months following 9/11.

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New York, N.Y.: Dear Mr. Houston....I would like to know your opinion or judgment on the parallel lives of two individuals, one the President of the U.S., the other a high official of our most sacred institution...both betraying the principles for which they were elected or appointed. I am not justifying Mr. Nixon's actions...but don't you think that the duty of an officer of the highest rank within the FBI should have been to do what he was appointed to do, which was to bring the matter to our courts of justice? The so called Deep Throat instead went to the press, betraying the institutions he should have honored. In essence both Mr. Nixon and Deep Throat betrayed the institutions they served. Mr. Nixon paid very dearly for his actions...and the price he paid for his actions was the financial rewards of two journalist and a common informer. The gain for the country should have settled through the courts, not given to the deep pockets of these unscrupulous individuals. Deep Throat probably kept silent all these years because he has most likely been financially rewarded somehow. Don't you think that now that we now his real identity as a former FBI employee he should be judged for his actions and betrayal? To me, Watergate was not about the country, it was about fame, money and money.

Brant Houston: I think some of the conditions in the early 1970's are being forgotten. The retribution against government employees trying to do the right thing was enormous. The dismissal of principled attorney generals was going on. The administration also was misusing agencies to attack its enemies. In those kind of times, the press is the court of last resort. Motivations may vary, but the fact is that numerous Nixon administration officials were convicted of breaking the law, but only after their misdeeds received scrutiny in the press did legitimate investigations receive the independent support they needed. The system of a free press did work because the executive, judicial, and legislative systems effectiveness was being damaged at every turn. _______________________

Rockville, Md.: The U.S. media today, as opposed to investigative reporters in this country a generation ago or in many other countries today, exhibit a distinct reluctance to pursue stories (the "Dearlove memo," to cite a glaring example) that might challenge those in power. Do you think this is this a reflection of the attitude of the media outlets, who figure they can do better financially if they cover runaway brides instead of threats to democracy, or does it reflect choices or fear on the part of individual reporters?

Brant Houston: I think media is plural and that it is far more than broadcast. Broadcast journalism is under great pressure to become entertainment based at every turn and it makes investigative reporting more difficult to do in the mainstream. Newspapers continue to pursue public service journalism that keeps business and government accountable although they also have increasing financial pressures on them.

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Leicester, United Kingdom: Dear Sir, I'm an investigative journalist for a British media company. 1. Do you think there are truly investigative reporters these days? I ask this because when I watch news or read newspapers it's re-hashed and follow ups or tittle tattle. When was the last Watergate, really and honestly? Aren't we training/breeding journalists who think that reporting is off the Internet, a news diary, press release, or the competition rather than the honourable trade of being the voice of the under dog; looking into complaints; thinking of a thesis; testing that thesis; and sheer hard work such as door knocking and cultivating contacts and meeting people? I sense, as a tutor and journalist, that the new generation want things on a plate. Thank you in anticipation.

Brant Houston: Yes, true investigative reporting exists, especially at the local level. (Check extra!extra! on the IRE Web site for mostly U.S. examples.) Some of the reporting is satisfactory, some is excellent, but it shows journalists striving to dig deep and caring about injustices.

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Caracas, Venezuela: I´m a young student of journalism at Central University of Venezuela. I´m worried by the recent government crackdown on the media in my country. But the Venezuelan media is not so ethical after all. So, how can you be sure that a confidential source exists ? Sometimes I worry that journalists in my country use this figure to make baseless accusations against the government, undermining serious journalists.

Brant Houston: Confidential sources should be used as little as possible and only when absolutely necessary. Journalists should strive to get authentic documents to either support or contradict source information. _______________________

Long Beach, Calif.: In my view, the disclosure that the source for Watergate was the #2 man at the FBI points out the sad state of investigative reporting in general, as The Post had no choice to run with such strong info. Is that your view? On another note, what is your opinion on the lack of investigative energy in regards to the phony rhetoric just prior to the invasion of Iraq? I consider it shameful.

Brant Houston: There were many sources for Watergate and actual authentic documents obtained. One question to consider: Did Felt give them wrong information or steer them incorrectly? Independent criminal trials resulting in numerous convictions would suggest not. Yes, the press has acknowledged it should have done a better job on reporting on the lead up to Iraq. The U.S. press also was traumatized by the 9/11 events and it has taken awhile to retrieve some of the necessary skepticism to do that kind of job. _______________________

Washington, D.C.: Yeah, the Washington Post reporters are real heroes. 30 years ago they took down Tricky Dick - and haven't done a thing since.

Brant Houston: The Post has done numerous investigative stories since Watergate, particularly about the abuse of the mentally disabled, children and the poor since Watergate. Its likely that Watergate will remain a unique investigation and story for sometime. If it doesn't remain unique, then it will mean the U.S. is in danger of losing its way because of monumental betrayal of trust and misuse of power.

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Brant Houston: Thanks for all the thoughtful and provocative questions. It is important that there always be an open discussion about the performance of the press so that we can improve our performance. Brant Houston IRE