Chapter 7 - Analyzing the Big Story

Investigative stories often reveal a problem that people in a position of power would like to ignore or keep secret. Therefore, investigative journalists must be able to prove the case they make. The story must also be powerful enough to draw readers or viewers in and keep them until the end. When done right, an investigative story will lay out a problem so convincingly that readers and viewers will feel outraged and push corporations to change their ways and governments to take action. You will see how an investigative story can do this as you follow an example that is both convincing and compelling. I will explain some basic components of any investigative story and show you how the reporters incorporated these components into the published story.

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Exercises

Analyze the key components in a big story

  1. Find an investigative story listed in the Extra! Extra! section of the IRE Web site, that interests you. In that story or set of stories, try to identify examples of the components detailed in this chapter:
    1. What's at stake?
    2. How does the problem affect people?
    3. Does the story uncover information that is not widely known?
    4. Does the story point to the cause of the problem?
    5. Does it identify possible solutions?
    6. What is the evidence that backs up the case?
    7. How does the story provide context?
  2. Think about something you might want to investigate.
    1. Is anything important at stake?
    2. Will you be able to find "real people" and bring them to life for the reader through vivid details?
    3. What might be the causes of the problem?
    4. Can you think of possible solutions?
    5. What diverse sources can you turn to to make a case and back it up with anecdotal evidence, documents, and data?
    6. How will you be able to put the problem into context for the reader?

Big Story Steps

Looking at the key components in your story

Based on what you have found so far in your preliminary research and in your interviews, see if you can answer the following questions:

  1. Who are the people most affected, and have you talked to them or will you talk to them?
  2. Who are the people who are essential to the story, and will you have access to them?
  3. Who do you think is responsible, and how will you document and quantify it?
  4. How might your story uncover information that is not widely known or that some powerful person would wish to keep secret?
  5. Can you identify possible solutions to the problem?
  6. What is the history and scope of the problem?
  7. Could legislative changes or enforcement actions solve or alleviate the problem?
  8. Do you have someone who can serve as a narrative thread for your story, i.e., who you can center the story around and who will help you tell it and bring it to life?
  9. What vivid details can you find that will make the reader feel as if they are experiencing the problem firsthand?

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