Take it from the best: Connectedness is the key to great investigative journalism

Abstract

The digital revolution is changing the way investigative journalists find, hold and verify information. The methods used by investigative journalists are often kept secret from others, but in this research, fourteen leading investigative reporters and news workers revealed how they found, verified and published news coverage that led to sociopolitical change in Australia. The key ingredient was improved connectedness via one or more networking methods including social media platforms; web-based communication technologies such as Skype and e-mail; reporter collaborations and media outlet collaborations. Despite the perception of a headlong rush to adopt digital technologies, this study found that leading reporters either rejected them or were cautious about adopting them. It found that reporters value their analogue techniques and, while a few were keen or very keen to explore new possibilities, many were reluctant or afraid of the perceived risks of digital technologies. This article reveals the specific digital technologies used by leading Australian reporters that have made their work faster, easier and more incisive in calling the powerful to account in the public sphere. In each case, reporters who experimented with new techniques found that the power of the technologies they used resulted in coverage that yielded much more significant outcomes than they had envisaged. The coverage also attracted national recognition in the form of peer-selected industry awards.