Career as Investigative Journalist

Last Updated By Saswata Ghosal on 01 Mar, 2022

How to Become a Investigative Journalist

About Investigative Journalist

The career of an Investigative Journalist is one of the most challenging, exciting, competitive and rewarding roles that one can have. The career just does not have professional satisfaction but instead also a lot of personal satisfaction. It is achieved by providing service in order to uncover and unravel important issues and events taking place in the world and society. The job role of an Investigative Journalist is to investigate news and events and find out the actual truth in due process. The work may be done for an organisation or by freelancing. 

The Media is known as the fourth pillar of democracy, and the job of an investigative journalist is to maintain that. They act as an overseer and safety checks in the functioning and operation of society. So the job role of an Investigative Journalist is very crucial.

Eligibility to become Investigative Journalist

There are two sets of skills required for being a quality investigative journalist one of them is academic skills and the inherent skills required to excel in the field of journalism. 

  • Graduation - You need to have at least a bachelors degree in one of the related fields like Broadcasting, Journalism, Communication, Mass Communication, Political Science. 
  • Basic Knowledge - The aspirants need to have basic knowledge and clarity about different fields of society like government, law, ethics, economics. 
  • Skill Sets -  Certain skill sets are required to excel in the field of investigative journalism like communication skills, negotiation skills, soft skills, ethics and integrity. 
     

Types of Job Roles Investigative Journalist

There are a variety of job roles in being an investigative journalist, they can work for news houses and media houses or they may work as a freelance journalist. The job roles are listed as follows

  • Political journalism: Investigative journalists that work in the field of politics, most of the news that they cover are related to political developments in society. They keep checks on the politicians trying to uncover and validate the claims that they are making and the way they have been functioning. Investigative Political Journalism also involves validating and proving the functioning and the claims made by the government in power. 
  • International journalism: It is when the journalists deal with international issues it may entail issues like the functioning of international organisations, multilateral organisations, foreign relations, global conflicts, interstate relations, war and ongoing conflicts. International investigative journalists deal with such issues and uncover the truth hidden among them if any. 
  • Broadcast journalism: This classification of this particular job role is on the medium of propagation of information. The Broadcasting Investigative Journalist broadcasts his findings through electronic media forms like the Television, Internet, or Social Media. Broadcast journalists have the highest amount of reach in terms of viewers or readers thus helping them to get their stories to reach the largest number of people. 
  • Print journalism: As the name suggests the Print Investigative Journalists are the ones that disperse information through print mediums it might be through the form of newspapers, websites and other print media. 
     

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Pay Scale/Salary of Investigative Journalist

The salary and the compensation of any job role depend on the amount of experience and skills that one possesses. It is also largely dependent on the economic value of the work performed.

Entry Level Journalists - 3,60,000- 8,00,000

Mid Level Journalist -  8,00,000 - 22,00,000

Top Level Journalists -  30,00,000+

 

All figures have been sourced from Glassdoors and are suggestive 

Books & Study Material to Become Investigative Journalist

  1. The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm 
  2. Inside Reporting by Tom Harrower 
  3. The Ethical Journalist - Making Responsible in the Digital Age by Gene Foreman 
  4. Writing to Deadline: The Journalist at Work by Donald Murray 
  5. The View from Somewhere: Undoing the Myth of Journalistic Objectivity by Lewis Raven Wallace 
  6. The Best American Magazine Writing by Sid Holt 
  7. The Fact Checker’s Bible A Guide to Getting it Right by Sarah Harrison Smith 
     

Pros of becoming a Investigative Journalist

  • Challenging work Environment 
  • Learning Process is Continous 
  • Opportunity to meet new and exciting People 
  • Making changes in the functioning of society 
  • Impactful Work 
  • High Level of Job Satisfaction 

Cons of becoming a Investigative Journalist

  • Job not lucrative enough
  • Long Working Hours 
  • Very Stressful 
  • Carries a certain amount of risk to life 

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FAQs about Investigative Journalist

What is the work of an Investigative Journalist?

The role of the investigative journalist is to investigate the news, verify them authenticate them. If any discrepancy is found then to investigate the particular news and bring out the truth. The work of an investigative journalist also requires them to investigate organisations, governments, and other bodies in case any wrongdoing is suspected and sometimes they even act ahead of the authorities often starting up an official investigation.  

What is the difference between a Journalist and an Investigative Journalist

The primary difference between a normal journalist and an investigative journalist is owing to the specialisation involved. One of the major differences is that the responsibility of journalists is to collect and distribute news. Now in the process, it is not always possible to verify and authenticate the news moreover things are not always what it seems. Here comes the role of an investigative journalist. 

 

 

 

 

 

What are the qualities that makes a good investigative journalist?

There are some intrinsic qualities that help in being an efficient investigative journalist, people having this set of qualities normally gravitate towards such roles. Firstly aspirants should have really a curious and questioning mind. The challenges of the job also require a certain sense of mental courage to question the ones in power. Also, they should possess research capabilities and have a basic understanding of diverse fields. 

What is the eligibility criteria to become a Investigative Journalist ?

The aspirants need to have a graduation degree in the field of journalism, mass communication, political science, or any other specialisation like economics or some related field. The aspirants need to be well aware of current events and also possess a basic understanding of how different organisations and systems work in order to be an Investigative Journalist.

What are the kinds of investigative journalism

There are several kinds of investigative journalists but majorly they have been categorised into four kinds Political journalists, International journalists, Broadcast journalists and Print journalists.  

What is the average salary of a Investigative Journalist?

The entry-level salary is from 3,60,000 to 8,00,000  whereas senior experienced ones earn upwards of 30,00,00. 

What books to read for being an investigative journalist?

Read Inside Reporting by Tom Harrower, The Fact Checkers Bible by Sarah Harrison Smith. There's no one single book to read to become an investigative journalist instead they should be reading as much as they can.

What are the employers of Investigative Journalism

Investigative Journalists are hired by media houses, news publications and other print and electronic media organisations. They may also work freelance. 

What are the benefits of becoming an Investigative Journalist

The work is challenging, creating a learning opportunity with the chance of meeting exciting personalities at the same time creating a lot of impact on society. 

What are the disadvantages of being a investigative journalism?

The compensation is not lucrative enough compared to the risk and often involves long working hours and a stressful environment. 

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