By Emmanuel Daudu
Clearview TV News and the Wole Soyinka Center For Investigative Journalism have realized that in a sense, investigative journalism, using the rhetoric of exposure, recasts the relationship between public and private officials and their constituents, stripping the officials of some of their power and redistributing it among the public is of great importance which is aimed at enhancing transparency and curbing corruption to it’s lowest minimum, which is of greater essence.
Investigative journalism thrives in the open atmosphere of press freedom, accessible government records, and respect for the media. The United States has led in the development of this practice.
An era of intensely adversarial journalism ensued in the late 1800s and early 1900s in which journalists exposed corruption and malfeasance by government and business.
Investigative journalists analyze information and carry out in-depth research to reveal the truth and shed light on abuses. An investigative journalist looks critically at the facts. Often, he does so for a reason; he may, for example, have received a tip from a whistleblower within a company or government agency. Or the investigative journalist himself may come across information that does not seem right and decide to investigate it.
Investigative journalism is aimed at exposing wrongdoing and hypocrisy.
Investigative journalism should call the powerful to account, and expose corruption. It is important in any democracy. It has nothing to do with prying into the private lives of celebrities – that’s a separate matter. Journalists may need some subterfuge to carry it out, but this is not the same as hacking into the telephones of individuals.
It’s supposed to give the public a ‘heads up” about certain people who are not obeying the law. They are usually getting financially rewarded to the detriment of taxpayers.
Journalism can hold individuals and institutions accountable in the way that elections every four years or AGMs do not. Its purpose should be to uncover that which others might wish to remain hidden. Preferably issues that affect society and not gossip.
Its function is to reveal the truth, to root out facts many people often want to keep hidden, to re-establish fairness, and to shine light in dark places. Good investigative journalism is journalism’s strongest suit.
Investigative journalism should be able to uncover the truth and not be selective in its revelations. It should not be tainted by people and/or organizations that do not want the truth revealed.
To bring to our attention stuff that matters. To uncover which people in power would like to keep secret for their gain and the detriment of society.
It should concentrate on exposing corruption, exploitation, illegal practices that are harmful to individuals or society, etc. Investigative journalism shouldn’t be used, as it so often is now, to find out sensational and salacious gossip about celebrities and victims of tragedies. It should be used in the public interest, not for things that are merely of interest to the public.
Investigative journalism firstly diverts resources and expertise into unmasking potential abuses of power and/or developments that stand to significantly impact the life of a proportion of society, or at the very least create a system of monitoring powerful interests that may check abuses of power with such outcomes. This is an extension of the liberal democratic/enlightenment ideal of limiting power and influence, as an informal check on the illegal or questionable activities of resourced actors Secondly, it should also draw attention to passive shortcomings in public policy that affect the public.
It should serve as a check and balance against power-hungry corporations and the government. It should inform the public rather than sensationalize.
Investigative journalism provides the truth about people from the government and other entities such as corporations who attempt to keep their often illegal activities secret. Its purpose is to expose such actions so that those involved can be held accountable.
Investigative journalism simply does in a more detailed and comprehensive way what all journalism should do, namely act as a watchdog in the public interest. In particular, it must expose abuses of power wherever it finds them – and these days these are to be found as much in the corporate sector as in the state sector.
It is base on these, the organizations saw reasons to embark on training journalists.
The 3-day Capacity Building Training on Investigative Reporting in Abuja which was funded by MacArthur Foundation held from Wednesday 12th to Friday 14th July 2023.
In his welcome remarks the C.E.O of ClearView TV News, Sam Odion Bello advised participants to concentrate on the content in order to gain relevant knowledge.
He noted that the caliber of participants in this edition is commendable. He also said that investigative journalism is the way to go for good governance as the reports hold the leaders accountable.
“In a dynamic world like ours where most professions are threatened by the advent of artificial intelligence and the rise in robotics, it is only imperative that professionals build their capacities to stay afloat. This underscores why we at Clearview TV News with the support Wole Soyinka Centre for
Investigative journalism (WSCIJ), is participating in the C- Media Project which among other things aims to build the capacity of Journalists to promote accountability and national and sub-national levels.
“At the core of the C-MEDIA Project is the desire to hold government, the organized private sector, high net-worth and network individuals, and other relevant stakeholders accountable in their daily activities that are directly connected to the good of the common man.
“With the advent of the internet, The proliferation of media outlets has affected the regular as most stories are now broken by social media such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, etc.
“The clamour for more investments in investigative reporting is even more justified because it can unearth the many ills and corrupt practices in government and society.
“However, if we are committed and remain resolute, there are funding opportunities that we as journalists can explore to carry out investigations”, Odion said.
In his overview of Clearview TV C- Media Project, the Lead Program Coordinator, Nten Nkpang called on Journalists to develop keen interest in Investigative journalism as it has funding opportunities for those who have good pitches.
The Lead Presentation was made by an experienced journalist, Media, and Public Relations Consultant, Ms. Romoke Ahmad on “Open-Source Intelligence In Investigative Journalism”.
She disclosed the essence of throwing light on Open- source intelligence In Investigative Journal