What makes an investigative story an investigative story?
This class will explore the difference between investigative projects and other journalism, empowering students to identify and pursue investigative targets.
Students will learn the differences between different types of investigations—data, interview driven, document driven—and will develop their own set of reporting objectives.
They will also gain understanding about how investigative approaches are evolving to include a broader and more inclusive vision of story possibilities.
Students will write several shorter-length stories employing investigative techniques and tools. In addition, they will prepare a detailed memo for at least one investigative project, laying out the pathway to reporting it out and starting the journalistic process of landing the story. This can provide the foundation for further investigative work in the third semester, and also build a framework for capstone projects.
Students in this course will:
- Employ a variety of investigative tools, tactics and techniques to produce work of increasing complexity and depth
- Utilize advanced interviewing techniques and develop a diverse range of sources and topics for their reporting
- Work with the instructor on edits through successful rewrites/revisions
- Use data and research to bolster their reporting
- Find paths to using community-engagement techniques in their reporting
- Become more adept at pitching stories and projects
- Develop the plan to produce a strong investigative project that can serve as a foundation for a capstone or third-semester investigation
MA-Journalism students are required to publish at least one piece of work each semester in Craft and Advanced Reporting courses. Students can fulfill this requirement with work from any first or second-semester class.