WHAT IS AN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST?
The murder 27-year-old Jan Kuciak in Slovakia described as an “investigative journalist” has again brought into focus the nature of a journalist acting as an “investigator”.
Is there such a thing as an “Investigative Journalist”? The work of a journalist is to observe and faithfully report TRUE FACTS for the people to be informed.
This holds good for so-called “Investigative Journalists” that “investigate” criminality.
A journalist is an ordinary citizen, nothing more (and nothing special) and is certainly NOT above the national authorities. If I have information about criminal activity in my area, or any area, I have no brief to carry out my “investigations”.
My duty as a citizen is TO INFORM the authorities who have the brief to investigate.
If you don’t want to be revealed as a “whistleblower” for your own good – there is an easy anonymous manner in which to do it - send a photocopy of a report to the authorities.
If you don’t trust the Police and the Police Commissioner to take action – then send it to the Attorney General. Don’t trust him either? Send it to the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and all Government MPs. Don’t trust them either? Send it to the Leader of the Opposition. Don’t trust him either – send it to ALL Opposition MPs, the Chief Justice and all the Judges.
Don’t trust anybody? Then you either have a persecution mania or you have a vast inferiority complex. One of those notified, somewhere down the line, will take note and ask questions about why nothing is being done.
However, there may be another reason or reasons. You either crave attention and thus write to create that attention or you have a personal political agenda to sow and an axe to grind, possibly a political axe.
A journalist is not an investigator of criminal activity and does NOT set themselves up as Judge and Jury. The Rule of Law has a structure and that structure must be followed. There is no room for a “cowboy” investigator to plant the seeds of their own agenda.
That is an abuse of journalistic freedom of expression, a convenient fallback when your allegations are challenged. It is also a harmful and damaging abuse.
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I wish you all a good day and urge you to keep smiling.
ALBERT FENECH
