Investigative Journalism
A Survival Guide
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- £19.99
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- £19.99
Publisher Description
At a time of hyper-partisanship, media fragmentation and "fake news", the work of investigative journalism has never been more important. This book explores the history and art of investigative journalism, and explains how to deal with legal bullies, crooked politicians, media bosses, big business and intelligence agencies; how to withstand conspiracy theories; and how to work collaboratively across borders in the new age of data journalism. It also provides a fascinating first-hand account of the work that went into breaking major news stories including WikiLeaks and the Edward Snowden affair.
Drawing on over 40 years of experience with world-leading investigative teams at newspapers including the Guardian and The Washington Post, award-winning journalist David Leigh provides an illuminating insight into some of the biggest news events of the 20th and 21st centuries. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes work of journalists and news organizations. It also acts as an essential practical toolkit for both aspiring and established investigative journalists.
Customer Reviews
The one book you need to read
This book is the one-stop shop for anyone wanting to do investigations.
David Leigh combines a professional memoir with a How-To Guide. This book is the British equivalent of the Idiot's Guide to Investigative Journalism, written by Woodward & Bernstein (I kid you not.)
The book is like a running commentary on a live investigation, with Leigh kind of freeze-framing at certain moments - eg before a door-knock, during a data-leak, or before writing back to a legal letter - to tell you what is going on and what you could or what you should do (and what in reality, he did).
So you get the pedagogy and the principles, the craft and the tradecraft, but you also get the ancedotes and the 'war stories’ from a career stretching from the 1970s to the 2010s (author was head of investigations at the Guardian and did Jonathan Aitken/Conservative corruption in the 1990s, BAe bribery, tax havens, Wikileaks, and even Snowden).
I would really give other books a miss (and I’m familiar with quite a few of them).
This is written by the ultimate practitioner, who has won all the awards, but never really sought the limelight. Undogmatic, thoughtful, and written in a refreshingly low-key and straightforward style; it reads itself.
Get this book - and good luck!