An investigative story delves deeply into a specific topic or issue to uncover hidden truths, expose wrongdoing, or shed light on matters of public interest. It involves extensive research, data analysis, interviews, and verification of facts to provide a comprehensive and often revealing narrative.
What makes an investigative report for award-winning investigative journalist and current Programme Director of Daily Trust Foundation, Theophilus Abbah? Here are the features of such stories.
Revealing: Investigative reports reveal hidden truths, expose wrongdoing, and foster accountability through thorough research, verified facts, interviews, and data analysis.
Unpredictable: Unlike routine news reporting, investigative journalism’s findings are shaped by the complexity of issues, depth of investigation, sources, and unexpected discoveries.
Not imitative: It proactively seeks truth and promotes accountability. It reveals hidden facts, challenges official accounts and questions prevailing assumptions through extensive research, interviews and analysis.
Intriguing: It captivates by revealing secrets and unexpected connections, driving engagement and raising awareness to inspire action among readers and audiences.
Shocking: The shock value of an investigative story arises from the revelations of wrongdoing by powerful entities, contrasting public perception with uncovered reality, evoking emotional reactions and calls for accountability.
Not commonplace: This is found in the depth of research and analysis, often surpassing the scope of typical news reporting. This goes beyond surface-level information to unearth hidden truths or expose wrongdoing, requiring significant time, resources, and expertise to produce.
