News Writing and Reporting for Today's Media, 7/e

In-Depth and Investigative Reporting

Review Questions


1		What is an in-depth?



2		Why is it a misconception that investigative reporting started during the Watergate era of the 1970s?



3		In-depths are choice assignments, yet they are also grueling. Explain why.



4		Why do reporters, particularly investigative reporters, continually follow hunches?



5		The chapter lists five reasons why careful research is vital to an in-depth article. List and discuss them.



6		Why is it important to understand and use public records when working on an in-depth or investigative story?



7		In some in-depths, the interviews are done "from the outside in." What does that mean?



8		What is a smoking-gun interview, and why are some reporters opposed to it?



9		Why is it so important for in-depth and investigative reporters to double- and triple-check everything their sources tell them?



10		What are the four general guidelines that reporters follow in dealing with confidential sources?



11		Discuss the pros and cons of undercover journalism.



12		William Recktenwald, a former Chicago Tribune reporter who was involved in numerous undercover investigations, says that reporters should avoid going undercover unless it is absolutely necessary. What advice does he give to reporters involved in undercover work?



13		Discuss the advantages of a first-person article.

2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education

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