Rieder: Celebrating investigative reporting
BERKELEY, Calif. — When the Reva and David Logan Symposium on Investigative Reporting debuted 10 years ago, the outlook for the topic at hand was bleak indeed.
Traditional journalism had been walloped by the digital revolution, and newspaper investigative teams were under siege.
Then came the financial collapse, compounding the financial pressure. There were real fears about the future of accountability reporting, which is so important in a democratic society.
Things looked so desolate that the Logan Symposium in 2008 was called: "The crisis in news: Is there a future for investigative reporting?"
But at the 10th anniversary conclave over the weekend, the mood was much more upbeat.
"Investigative reporting is not going away," declared Lowell Bergman, who runs the Investigative Reporting Program at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California-Berkeley. "It now has commodity value. People see this kind of work can be the mainstay of reporting around the world."
And, he added pointedly, "This kind of work might actually make a difference."
As if to underscore the enduring power of investigative reporting, on Sunday morning, not long before the end of the invitation-only symposium, came news about the release of the Panama Papers, a huge, explosive leak of documents about the shadowy world of offshore companies. Reporting on the massive trove was coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Massive leak reveals money rings of global leaders
Bergman is a longtime investigative reporter, and his program honchos the Logan Symposium. Noting the Oscars won by the movie Spotlight, about The Boston Globe's investigation of the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal, Bergman said, "The work we do is once again hip."
Spotlight was the theme Friday of the symposium's opening night panel, which featured Blye Faust, one of the producers of the film, and Walter Robinson, who was head of the Globe Spotlight team that carried out the priest investigation and gave the movie its name.
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In introducing them, Temple University journalism dean David Boardman recalled the gloom of the early Logan days and touched on some of today's successes.
One major development has been the increasing role of non-profits. ProPublica, which debuted in 2008, has become a major investigative player. The Center for Investigative Reporting and the Center for Public Integrity, both veterans, have expanded their portfolios. Small locally oriented outfits have taken flight.
National news outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post have maintained their commitment to watchdog reporting. The USA TODAY NETWORK makes investigative reporting a priority, witness its recent work on lead in the water.
Other trends, unthinkable in the past, have also helped. News outlets, long irrevocably committed to going it alone, have found value in collaborating in a time of diminished resources. Excellent projects have often been the result. Work by journalism students, overseen by professionals, has made its way into prestigious publications.
Digital natives such as BuzzFeed have invested in investigative units.
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But Boardman, a longtime investigative journalist and former executive editor of The Seattle Times, put his finger on a major area of concern: Investigative reporting at the metro papers that have been hit so hard by the digital upheaval. Many have staffs that are half as large as in the past, or much smaller than that. That makes it very tough to keep investigative staffs anywhere near full strength or spring reporters to pursue ambitious projects. Investigative reporting is time-consuming and expensive work. Even papers that maintain the commitment — The Seattle Times, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, to name a couple — feel the pinch.
Spotlight producer Faust says her experience on the film made clear to her how important resources are, that the Globe couldn't have reported the critically important story if it hadn't been able to free up its Spotlight team. And clearly she has gotten religion: She has joined the board of the Center for Investigative Reporting.
And Bergman sees a funding source that might help ease the pressure. Last week, at the Toner Prize award ceremony in Washington, D.C., President Obama paid tribute to the value of deep reporting. Bergman notes that Obama is likely to sign the most lucrative book contract ever to write about his presidency. Maybe POTUS could donate some of the proceeds to the cause.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rem Rieder on Twitter @remrieder