By Ray Martinez
In the world of journalism, there are sub-genres of writing like broadcast journalism, photojournalism, and even investigative journalism! Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters and writers thoroughly research a single topic of interest, such as a crime, political deception, or corporate wrongdoing. A journalist might spend up to weeks, months, or even years collecting information for their article(s). This genre of journalism is also referred to as “watchdog reporting”, and “accountability reporting”!
If we were to read into the history of this type of writing, we can find that the earliest investigative newspapers were frequently suppressed by the authorities, including Benjamin Franklin’s New England Courant. What is The New-England Courant? The New-England Courant was one of the first weekly newspapers that was sparked in Boston, 1721. This newspaper spoke critically about the figures of authority from that time period! The records that this newspaper holds are a clear example of investigative journalism. Around the 1960s, however, the perspective of investigative journalism was heightened to a better lighting in the U.S. because of the Freedom of Information Act. The Freedom of Information Act was a law that was passed in 1967, to provide any person with the lawful right to obtain information from the executive branch agency records and files! This presumably gave people different thoughts about this form of writing because of this new access to information, possibly even making journalism easier in some cases.
With this form of journalism, we have been able to uncover many secrets and mysteries from around the world! Although I do not want to center every article I write around investigative journalism, I think writing about a handful of the world’s biggest mysteries would be a unique thing to discuss, and I would be happy to research and speak about it! So, what mysteries do you think are worth investigating? Maybe even something around campus could be discussed! If you have any suggestions or ideas, message us through the contact form at the bottom of the website!
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