How to Become an Investigative Reporter

Investigative journalism first became acknowledged when Woodward and Berstein uncovered the Watergate Scandal. Today, investigative reporters try to bring scandals or misdeeds to light so that they can be corrected. Does a job as an investigative report sound like the job for you? Here's how you can get into this field of journalism.

Instructions

Learn More About Investigative Reporting and Get Writing Experience

1. Decide if you would enjoy being an investigative reporter. In general, investigative reporters talk to many people to get leads on what is going wrong in society. In this job, you might investigate people in government or in private companies, such as businesses, nursing homes, hospitals or schools. You could expect to work sometimes long and irregular hours when you are hunting contacts for interviews. Once you've done all your research, you will write your report as a news article or book.

2. Gain writing experience by working as a reporter. Investigative journalism requires you to have writing experience. Because investigative journalism takes a lot of time, you will need to convince your boss that you will be able to track down leads and write a good story. So don't get worried if your starting title is general reporter or local news reporter. Once you have a file of your published work, called clips, you can more easily convince your boss or another employer that you could be a good investigative reporter.

3. Get writing experience by obtaining a degree in journalism. The degree itself will not be enough to get you a job, however. So while you're studying, get a job at your school or local newspaper. This will give you writing experience that will prove to potential employers that you would make a good investigative reporter.

4. Start an investigative journalism blog. Many newspapers think of blogs as published work. By having a blog that you update regularly, it will show potential employers that you are dedicated. It will also give them an idea of your writing abilities. If you focus your stories on investigative work, you will also prove to possible employers that you have the ability to mine difficult information.

Get a Job as an Investigative Reporter

1. Propose a story idea to the manager of the paper you work for. If your manager believes that you are a good writer, he will be likely to take you up on your idea. Once you prove your capabilities, your manager will probably start giving you leads on new stories.

2. Search for investigative reporter jobs. Look at job boards, and talk to other journalists who might know of places that are looking to hire.

3. Take a job as a court, government or business reporter. When you interview, mention that it is your career goal to become an investigative reporter. Once your goals are known, you will be able to move through a newspaper into the job you want.

Resources

• Search for reporter positions here.
• Find the Organization for Investigative Reporters and Editors here.