2024 - Spring

Methods and Practice: Investigative Reporting

Course Number: JOUR-UA 202.003

Day & Time: Mon | 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Location: 20 Cooper Square, Room 659

Prerequisites: Journalistic Inquiry: The Written Word JOUR-UA 101 or equivalent. Please email undergraduate.journalism@nyu.edu if you have not completed JOUR-UA 101 and are interested in taking this course.

Despite all the barriers journalists face, we are in the golden age of investigative reporting: journalists are working together across the globe, 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.

This course is designed to introduce students to the reporting, researching, storytelling, writing, editing and fact-checking of investigative stories. In this class, stories can be told in print, audio or video format, but please note that this class does not provide technical instructions, so students need to have at least taken Inquiry: Multimedia Reporting or an equivalent multimedia class before starting on a video or audio story.

Over the course of the semester, each student will write 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. We will decide as a group if we each want to work on our own investigation, tackle a story as a team or work in small groups.

Students should be prepared to spend about 4-6 hours a week outside of class on reporting assignments and readings.

Notes: Counts as an elective for the journalism major and both journalism minors.

Questions? Email undergraduate.journalism@nyu.edu.