Avel-COVID19-Mass Comm-INVESTIGATIVE INTERPRETATIVE REPORTING
COVID – 19 SIT@HOME
INTEL DEV. CLASS
ND MASS COMMUNICATION.
INVESTIGATIVE/INTERPRETATIVE REPORTING
AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTION
BY
Committee of Intellectuals [CoI]
@
INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE CENTER [INTEL CENTER]
DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION
COURSE TITLE: INVESTIGATIVE/INTERPRETATIVE REPORTING
COURSE CODE: MAC 227
- With examples, what do you understand by:
- Investigative reporting b. Interpretative reporting
- Write short notes on:
- Desk research b. News
- What are the differences between Investigative journalism and Conventional journalism.
- List four (4) issues that are prone to media investigation in Nigeria and expatiate on any two.
- Write an article for publication in The Nation Newspaper on the topic Process of Investigative Reporting.
- What are the challenges of Investigative Journalism.
- President of Accountancy Students Association of the Lagos State Polytechnic wants to know how journalist interpret stories. Please educate him.
INVESTIGATIVE/INTERPRETATIVE REPORTING
1. With examples, what do you understand by:
(a) Investigative Reporting.
(b) Interpretative Reporting.
Investigative Reporting: One of the major duties of a journalist is to be a civic watch dog and achieving this often demands investigation and in-depth work. These, in a way, all stories are investigative stories because they require research, digging, interviewing and writing. All reporters are investigators who are trained to ask questions, uncover information and write the most complete stories possible. In final conclusion investigative reporting is all about research on certain issue. The case of death or assassination requires investigation.
Interpretative Reporting: The concept of interpretative reporting considers the role of the journalist to interpret issues and events. Its involves the journalist’s ability to give meaning to daily events and its effect or impact on the receiver and their future.
Question 2
Write short note on:
- Desk research.
- News
(a) Desk Research: This simply means gathering and analyzing information, already available in print or published on the internet.
Desk research is a term that is used loosely and it generally refers to the collection of secondary data or that which has already been collected. To most people it suggests published reports and statistics and these are certainly important services.
(b) News: The general say, if a dog bite a man, is not a news but if a man bite a dog is a news, i.e. anything unusual is a news.
Question 3
What are the differences between investigative journalism and conventional journalism.
A major difference between investigative reporting and hard news reportage is that investigative reporting is presented in an in-depth form rather than a feature or hard news form. This characteristic demands that investigative reportage involves more research and thus more time to write. This is unlike hard news, which is presented in a pyramid form whereby the most important items are presented in the first few sentences.
Question 4
List four (4) issues that are prone to media investigation in Nigeria and expatiate on any two.
- Criminal case.
- Political crises
- Embezzlement in government parastatals or money laundry.
- Fuel scarcity.
- Criminal Case: These are where reporters try to engage themselves by finding the root of the matter in order to broadcast to the people, because their fundamental official work is to inform the public.
- Embezzlement in Government parastatals or money laundry: The general public are curious and inquisitive to know the source of any form of embezzlement in the country. The reporter play a vital and significant role in this aspect to figure out the person.
Question 5
What are the challenges of investigative journalism.
- Proprietorial Interference: The owners of a media house have influence not just direct by direct intervention or by establishing lines that cannot be crossed. They set the tone, they decide which markets to target, they hire and fire their editors who are their representatives in the media world.
- Media Gatekeepers: In the media world, a number of gatekeepers exist to ensure standards and expectations are met. This process involves the selection and modification of sentences, paragraphs and even stories while others may be paraphrased, shortened or deleted all together.
- Political interference: The government of the day (especially during military regimes) may feel the need to close down media houses that employ probing investigative journalisms. In extreme situations, the license of the media house may be seized by the government.
- Economic constraints.
- Technological limitations
- Limited skilled manpower
- Limited access to information.
- Threats to life.
