About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

56 U. Miami L. Rev. 377 (2001-2002)
The Challenges of Investigative Journalism

handle is hein.journals/umialr56 and id is 387 raw text is: The Challenges of Investigative Journalism SILVIO WAISBORD Investigative journalism (IJ) has become ubiquitous in contempo- rary Latin America. Relegated to partisan and marginal publications in the past, IJ gained acceptance in the mainstream press in the 1980s and 1990s. Several reasons account for the affirmation of IJ: the consolida- tion of democratic governments; the mediation of politics; transforma- tions in media economics; the existence of publications committed to denouncing specific abuses; and confrontations between news organiza- tions and administrations. Despite common characteristics, IJ in each country has experienced a seesaw evolution due to varying domestic political developments as well as editorial and industrial changes in the news media. IJ reports information about publicly relevant abuses that certain individuals and organizations want to remain secret. Pushing the bound- aries of daily journalism, IJ goes beyond conventional reporting and does not take manufactured, spoon-fed news as news. The mission of IJ has recently been defined as the discovery of the truth.' Because all reporting is (or should be) essentially investigative, it is redundant to define IJ in terms of the use of certain newsgathering methods. To adopt this view is not intended to underestimate the importance of methods used to denounce wrongdoing. Instead, it emphasizes that investigative methods are not unique to IJ. IJ is distinctive in that it publicizes infor- mation about wrongdoing affecting the public interest. However, since not all issues are similarly relevant to the public and democracy, not every public exposure is synonymous with U. Therefore, the question becomes whether the revealed information has public significance or, in other words, does it affect the public interest? The main value of IJ to democratic governance is its contribution to increasing political accountability. This is particularly important consid- ering that the weakness of accountability mechanisms has been identi- fied as one of the most serious problems of many Latin American democracies.2 The role of IJ can be understood along the lines of the Fourth Estate model under which the press makes the government accountable 1. See INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM, CONTEXT & PRACTICE 9 (Hugo de Burgh ed., 2000). 2. FAULT LINES OF DEMOCRACY IN POST-TRANSITION LATIN AMERICA 8 (AgUero et al. eds., 1998); COMBATING CORRUPTION IN LATIN AMERICA 107 (Joseph S. Tulchin et al. eds., 2000).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most