Investigative journalism is a branch of journalism that usually concentrates on a very specific topic, and typically requires a lot of work to yield results. The classic example is the uncovering of the Watergate Scandal by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, resulting in reports being published in the Washington Post.
The 'Insight' team of "The Sunday Times" achieved great reknown in the 1960s for its exposure of Public Health scandals, most notably Thalidomide. Paul Foot used his columns in "The Daily Mirror" and "Private Eye" to expose miscarraiges of justice.
In The Reporter's Handbook: An Investigator's Guide to Documents and Techniques, Steve Weinberg defined it as:
"Reporting, through one's own initiative and work product, matters of importance to readers, viewers or listeners. In many cases, the subjects of the reporting wish the matters under scrutiny to remain undisclosed."
Some of the means reporters can use for their fact-finding:
MOSCOW (AP) — The investigativejournalist who was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building had been finishing up a story about torture and abductions in Chechnya, her colleagues said Sunday.
She was at least the thirteenth journalist to have been the victim of a contract-style killing since President Vladimir Putin came to power, according to CPJ.
She later devoted much of her investigative reporting to that crisis, in which 129 victims died, the overwhelming majority succumbing to the gas used by special forces to knock out the hostage-takers.
Investigativejournalist Thembi Majombozi, left, meets with USAID program officer Nomea Masihleho in Johannesburg, South Africa, to discuss a journalism workshop.
She is now a journalist tackling issues of poverty, womens rights, children, and people with disabilities.
Thembi envisions using her new skills in investigativejournalism to report on social and community development.
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