Investigative Journalism is a risky job. You put your life in line like cops and soldiers do everyday. You gave the most accurate information to the people for them to know what is happening right now, what is the most trendy topics now, what is the condition of our country and so on and so forth. It is the one who is responsible in giving us news on T.V. mostly documentaries about a certain topic or trend. They are in newspapers, internet and radios too. The problem is, it is not that effective in those media except on the T.V. The television is the most effective way of sharing the truth to the public because of the impact that it makes everyday to people. To make investigative journalism work, you need to use the user-friendly media which is the television because of the majority has it. The internet or the new media is effective too but the problem is it is expensive and you will need to be connected to the internet to have the unlimited access to the information that you want to see.
But what is Investigative Journalism? Why is it one of the most risky job other than being a soldier or a cop? How does it work?
It is a form of journalism which the reporters or the journalists get deeply involve on investigating a topic or trend mainly on crime, corruption, political aspects, terrorism, conspiracy and other serious matters that the people really should know. They expose every single truth about what is going on. They gather information that they need in an investigative way. They interview the witnesses, view or gather some of the documents, conduct a survey, investigate the place or the crime scene or even up to the extent of going to the camp or headquarters of the suspect just to give us truth about what's going on. They put their lives in line just to serve the people and open their eyes. They expose every truth that they can found just to inform us and maybe start something. Investigative journalists wants to start something big. After that, it is up to us if we are going to continue what they have started maybe by making a difference in our country, give justice to someone who deserves it or give a reform.
When I were at the Internal Center for Communication Studies or the ICCS convention, I saw one of the most in my opinion, legendary Ed Lingao. He is an Investigative Journalist and a Multimedia Producer of GMA. He gave some pointers to novice journalists who wanted to go to the field. He said that you are going to put your life in line just for the sake of seeking the truth. You will spend time, money, effort, patience, and perseverance.He is the one who worked at the Ampatuan Assets issue. He said that many journalist died seeking the truth about those questionable assets. He literally said that you are going to risk your life just to expose truth for the sake of the filipino people. Back then, my mom said that he and his crew went overseas just to address the issue. He really is a dynamic journalist.
This is the words that he quoted when he is giving some tips to young journalists. He said that truth started from a "tip" or an informant and it is for you if you are going to investigate about that truth or not. If you are, you have to work outside before penetrating inside because if you start from within, the suspect might hide the evidence that he has or "clean the accomplices that he has" before the truth leak. You have to disect every documents, letters, receipts etc. just to gain solid evidence against that individual. He said that testimonies aren't enough because they are not solid. They can be twisted, bribed or threatened so that they will not speak the truth. He even said that you might be following a trend for months and maybe ended up going on a dead end, meaning you just wasted time, energy, effort and money. But that is the risks and things that every journalists should put in mind.
What I learned is that you should not forget your ethics as a journalist. Your job is just to expose the truth, not to criticize someone. If you have the truth, you have to expose it and not to sell it to the accused or to someone for money. And lastly, you are not doing this to gain glory or popularity, you are doing this to serve the people.
