Inspiring Investigative Projects

By Kelly Carr
April 29, 2008 06:39 PM

With the cutbacks and struggles in the newspaper industry, many reporters have watched investigative reporting decline in their newsrooms. They want to do in-depth work, but they are not sure how to in the current newspaper climate.

But Walt Bogdanich, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, assured a group of reporters recently that investigative reporting is still very much alive.

 “I’m here to say there is something we can do,” Bogdanich said to the journalists gathered for an Investigative Business Journalism workshop sponsored by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism and held at American University. “It has never been more important than now for reporters to fight for these stories. It’s important to be committed to the type of journalism that distinguishes our profession.”

Bogdanich’s philosophy inspired the group and many said they felt reinvigorated from what he had to say. But then again, investigative reporting is what he knows best.

Bogdanich is an assistant editor for investigations at The New York Times and this year, along with Jake Hooker, he was awarded another Pulitzer for his work on the series “Toxic Pipeline.” Last year, the Reynolds Center also awarded Bogdanich and Hooker the inaugural Barlett and Steele Award, which recognizes top-notch investigative journalism, for the series.

The key to investigative journalism, Bogdanich said, is to never give up and be determined. It doesn’t matter if your editor thinks your idea isn’t worth the effort or if you feel crunched for time, find creative ways to work on the stories that need to be told.

“Editors deal with investigative projects like the Supreme Court deals with pornography. They think they will just know it when they see it,” Bogdanich said. “You can’t give up. The best investigative ideas don’t come from editors. They are out there in the street.”

Bogdanich also adds that journalists shouldn’t be afraid of looking dumb because they don’t know a topic and they should seek out places other reporters neglect. Reporters also should never underestimate the impact that they have, not only for the greater good, but on other reporters.

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Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism