OUR EVENTS
Lewis Explores History and Future of Investigative Journalism Investigative journalism is a critical part of a healthy democracy, according to Charles Lewis, founding executive editor of the Investigative Reporting Workshop and founder of the Center for Public Integrity. “If you don’t have an informed citizenry, you don’t have a democracy,” Lewis told a “Must See Mondays” audience in September 2011. Lewis, a longtime investigative journalist who also teaches at American University, said that many of the advancements in American society, such as the minimum wage and the 40-hour work week, were a result of investigative journalism. “I happen to think that most good things that ever happened in this country were created by investigative reporting,” he said. “We have a long tradition of great, great journalism in this country that stands by itself in the world.” Lewis said that the U.S. has seen a number of “iconic moments of truth-telling,” such as the civil rights movement and the Watergate scandal, in which journalists have been able to bring about significant change through their reporting. But though the country has had moments of great reporting, journalists haven’t always “had a tenacious hold on real-time truth,” he said. From the tobacco industry’s denial of its products’ health effects to the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, there have been many instances throughout American history in which journalists were not at the forefront of reporting the truth. In some cases, the truth didn’t come to light until years or even decades later. Lewis said there are huge consequences for failing to uncover abuses of power by government and corporations. “We blunder into mistakes or decisions we shouldn’t make, or we don’t notice things that are happening to our people,” he said. The decline of the traditional newspaper industry has weakened investigative journalism, Lewis said, pointing to a 21 percent decrease in the number of entries in the investigative journalism category of the Pulitzer Prizes since 1985. The shift away from investigative reporting by traditional media organizations is cause for concern, he said. “Where are we going to get this contrarian, independent, in-your-face reporting by tough journalists?” he asked.
“If you don’t have an informed citizenry, you don’t have a democracy.” But Lewis also said he has found reason to be optimistic about the future. He noted that in recent years there has been a sharp increase in the number of nonprofit news organizations conducting investigative journalism. Before 2006, there were just a few such organizations, while today there are dozens. And the Investigative News Network, a consortium of nonprofits doing investigative journalism, has a syndication deal with Thomson Reuters — the first time that syndication of such content has been attempted. Lewis also emphasized the important role that technology plays in today’s investigative journalism. The global nature of the Web, along with its multimedia capacity and its speed, makes it a powerful tool for investigative journalists. In addition, global platforms such as WikiLeaks allow people around the world to share information anonymously. Cronkite student Vaughn Hillyard, who worked at Lewis’ Investigative Reporting Workshop in summer 2011, agreed that technology is changing the face of investigative journalism. “Technology is not substituting (for) investigative reporting; instead it is supplementing it, and it’s huge for allowing people and especially anonymous sources to get information directly to reporters,” Hillyard said. Lewis encouraged students to consider a career in investigative reporting, saying that while they won’t become popular with the people on whom they’re reporting, they’ll feel they did something useful with their lives. “There couldn’t be a more important thing to do as a calling,” he said. “And yes, it is a calling — it’s not a job.” o Shine Salt contrributed reporting to this story.
— Charles Lewis, founding executive editor of the Investigative Reporting Workshop
Charles Lewis says many of the advancements in American society are the result of investigative journalism. Photos by Jacob Stein.
The Cronkite Journal
2012-2013
63