The Future of Investigative Reporting

[O.M.I.Team]

We're all doing more with less. For special projects and/or investigative reporting which may not put something on the air every night, requiring a greater investment of time and energy...what do you think the future is here?

I dont know how investigative work is handled in each market...seems that some have teams....others just one.....

Any thoughts on whether that type of work will be cut back as staff is spread thin just to get the daily shows on?

[s'news]

Seems like most every station in Houston had a team of investigative types a couple-few years ago, but that it's drifted off sharply as of late. It feels to me more like the investigative tide, that comes and goes as a trend, rather than an economic decision. But I could be wrong.

[2:30]

The only way for local investigative reporters to survive is going to be to make every daily story they do (and they'll be doing lots, if they want to stay) contain an element that highlights their investigative ability. The bite or angle no one else thought to include - that edge that transforms the story about the collapse into one that includes whether other buildings have the same construction technique...etc.

Right now if it's not on the air every night, it's vulnerable...and even if it is, it isn't necessarily safe.

[s'news]

When they were really on a roll here in Houston, there were "daily" investigative reports being turned all the time. Most of them were pretty weak, in my opinion.

[TVMattNYC]

Local news "investigative" reports.

Does that mean they listen to the scanner AND read the newspaper?

[s'news]

On daily grind stuff, it's more like a viewer called and complained about something.

[O.M.I.Team]

This is just what I dont get. I dont see how a daily turn can be an "investigative" report. The one's I've seen look superficial. Are there any local stations really committed to the longer term (actually "in depth") approach?

[News Is Broken]

Local news "investigative" reports.

Does that mean they listen to the scanner AND read the newspaper?

Yuk yuk yuk. Very funny.

It's VERY hard work. You have to PUT UP A PHONE NUMBER and an EMAIL ADDRESS. What's more, you have to check both for messages. And you'll have ALL SORTS of kooks coming out of the wood work, claiming 9-11 was an inside job, that Obama's really just a robot controlled by the Clintons, all sorts of whacked out stuff. Every once in a while you'll get a call from some little old lady who's evil bloodsucking landlord raised her rent without paying his mortgage and now she's gonna be out on the street in a week and oh no what are we gonna do, so you find the guy and hound him with a camera crew until he finally snaps and beats you to a pulp on video tape and then you take that footage and package it up for sweeps.

As I said, it's a tough gig. You should show some respect.

[Clever Login Name]

When they were really on a roll here in Houston, there were "daily" investigative reports being turned all the time. Most of them were pretty weak, in my opinion.

Didn't the whole Firestone tire thing come out of a Houston t-v news investigation?

[wx or not]

Didn't the whole Firestone tire thing come out of a Houston t-v news investigation?
Are you talking about the Firestone 500 in 1978 or the Ford Explorer/Firestone tire separation in '96?

[Clever Login Name]

Are you talking about the Firestone 500 in 1978 or the Ford Explorer/Firestone tire separation in '96?

The latter .. the one that exposed the Firestone tires as being unsafe.

[wx or not]

The latter .. the one that exposed the Firestone tires as being unsafe.
I don't recall the station ID, but it was in Texas that it all began. What started it was several highway shutdowns and some very irate consumers who put two and two together.

[s'news]

The tire story came out of Houston ... twice.

One station did a story on it. Time passed. Nothing happened.

Another station did a story on it. This was a better-told and better-reported story, for my money. Stuff happened.

Anyway, good investigative reporting can happen. But after the tire story, everybody had to have an investigative unit. Much of what was done was consumer stuff on a daily basis. A goodly amount of it was pretty weak, I think.

[NewsMom]

It's expensive. Very expensive. Investigative teams lift up a lot of rocks before they find something. Then, even when you know darn well that you have something, because it stinks to high heaven, you have to PROVE it. More time. Then, when you're all done, you have to run it past the lawyers, and they take all the good stuff out.

And then the station STILL gets sued, because this is a highly litigious society.

What's the upside for the station? Oh, yeah, the knowledge that they're producing quality journalism. Sorry, that's not in the budget, either.