Investigative Reporters
Whenever you read a news report online, you’re reading something that a journalist wrote. That includes everything from a very surface-level report on something that just happened four or five minutes ago to a lengthy bit of information about a problem that’s been years in the making. No matter what it is, a journalist had to have some sort of involvement.
This is exactly why investigative reporters can be so important. When you read those months- or years-long analyses of important things happening in the world, you’re getting that information from somewhere, and for the most part, it’s the diligent work of an investigative reporter. Although the job title may be different, it’s likely you’ve never really thought about what an investigative reporter is or what they do.
What Are Investigative Reporters?
An investigative reporter is different from other types of reporting jobs because they go more in-depth. Regular news articles that regular journalists write may come out in a matter of hours, but an investigative reporter often takes months or even years to put together a specific piece. They delve more deeply into a specific concept and will publish a very extensive article on whatever’s going on, allowing them to present a much more detailed and thorough review of whatever the article is on.
How Do Investigative Journalists and Other Types of Journalists Differ?
The main difference between an investigative journalist and a different type of journalist has to do with what they’re researching and how long they’re researching it for. Typically, the differences will come in these ways:
- Breadth of Information
- Length of Research
- Types of Stories
- Turnaround
A typical journalist will get a snippet of the story, do a little bit of research, and have an expected turnaround within hours or at least a few days. An investigative journalist, on the other hand, is expected to do a full deep dive into a story, often researching for months or even sometimes years, and that means the turnaround on their stories is often much longer as well.
What Information Does an Investigative Reporter Need?
When an investigative reporter is doing their investigation, they often need a variety of pieces of information that a traditional reporter might not need as much. This means that an investigative reporter may work to find these types of information:
- Full Names
- Physical Addresses
- Phone Numbers
- Potential Relatives
- General Sources
For example, an investigative reporter may get information about someone who was in the crowd when a specific event went down. They then need to figure out a way to get in contact with that individual so they can possibly interview them or get more information that only someone on the ground would have. This type of information can help them get in contact with that individual.
How Can Investigative Reporters Use Enformion?
An investigative reporter needs information more than anything. That’s why it’s so crucial for reporters to find as much information as possible. If you’re an investigative reporter who is interested in making sure that your report is as overarching as possible, Enformion can absolutely help. You can use Enformion to find sources, get contact information, and much, much more.