Research Ethics in Investigative Journalism

Abstract

Investigative journalism has made inroads into academia: from courses taught at the undergraduate and graduate levels to special and capstone projects. In the twenty-first-century journalism ecosystem, universities in some parts of the world find themselves accommodating or affiliating with nonprofit journalism organizations or establishing their own reporting centers to undertake in-depth, public service journalism. Indeed, journalism, especially investigative journalism, has increasingly been recognized as a valuable academic research methodology. Academic journalists, however, may find the guiding principles for ethical academic research at times incongruent with professional practice, one which invokes public interest and free expression. Navigating the ethical minefields in academia and investigative journalism will be explored in this chapter.