2023 - Fall

Investigative Reporting

Course Number: JOUR-GA 331.002

Day & Time: Wed | 2:00PM – 5:50PM

Location: 20 Cooper Square, Room 652

Despite all the barriers journalists face, we are in the golden age of investigative reporting: holding the powerful accountable. And anyone can do this work, because reporters don’t have to wait for a tip anymore: a lot of information in the United States and around the world is public and journalists just need to learn how to find these newsworthy nuggets, which can start a major investigation.

This course is designed to introduce students to the reporting, researching, storytelling, writing, editing and fact-checking of investigative stories, learning investigative skills and tools. In this class, stories can be told in photo, print, audio or video format, but please note that this class does not provide technical instructions, so students need to have that knowledge before electing a multimedia project.

Over the course of the semester, each student will write bi-weekly story memos documenting their progress and discuss obstacles and solutions in class. They will also report and write or produce a substantial investigative story plus one short print piece.