MuckrakerThe Muckraker

The price of keeping secrets

One of the things I’m constantly thinking about is investigative journalism and where it’s going next (that and how to break my next story. And what to eat for dinner).

I did an interview with Northern Ireland’s newest startup blog, StartNI, about The Muckraker Report and where we hope to go with it. It’s funny how answering people’s questions helps you clarify your thinking: in this case, Adam wanted to know why we’re only publishing TMR every three months:

“Investigative journalism takes so long to do. In fact, we’re already wondering if we should push publishing back until every 4 months – or abandon the schedule altogether. We don’t want to compromise the quality of our stories by forcing ourselves to conform to a timeline. Some stories take weeks to uncover; others take months and years. I’m worried that a set schedule will place too much pressure on us.

We’ve also had endless debates about what the format should look like – rather than a collection of small snippets, should we have 2,000-30,000 word stories? Or both? Right now, we’ve settled on producing longform stories. We may decide to abandon the word “magazine” altogether because a magazine has a set schedule and I think we’d like to be more a hybrid of a magazine/book publisher.

The problem is the economics of publishing. You need to publish content regularly in order to make sales and stay afloat. Investigative journalism takes a lot of time so publishing regularly is hard – and that’s why it’s so hard to become sustainable. No one has figured out the sustainability/business model question yet so we don’t have anyone we can follow/copy/imitate – we’re literally figuring it out as we go along, mainly by making mistakes and realising, “Damn, we shouldn’t have done x, we should have done y.”

 

Here’s the dilemma I’m facing right now: in an age where journalists must “build their brand”, how do investigative reporters stay visible and connected with their readers? Read More

Previous Posts


  • Waiting list crisis at NI’s only health service for transgender people should be resolved by end of year – Health Minister

    In May, I reported that NI’s only health service for transgender people – the Gender Identity Clinic – was turning away new patients due to “staffing difficulties”.

    We’ve just received some good news: in a letter to the SDLP’s Conall McDevitt, NI’s Minister of Health Edwin Poots said that additional investment had been provided to the service, with new staff being hired to deal with the growing waiting list of patients.

    “Whilst acknowledging it will take some time to fill new posts, the Trust is now accepting new referrals and on the 10th of June a new practitioner will commence assessments. The Health and Social Care Board and the Belfast Trust accepts that until all new posts are filled, patients may have to wait longer than the current access standard of 13 weeks, however, waiting times for this service should substantially improve by the end of this year.” Read More

  • The difference between watchdog reporting and investigative reporting

    Recently, I came across an interesting conversation in an email thread. I can’t remember the specifics but the gist of the conversation was that ‘watchdog reporting’ and investigative reporting are different.

    What is watchdog reporting?

    I asked for definitions on Twitter; my mentor, Paul Bradshaw, thinks it’s just a case of ego and semantics. The Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) suggested this definition (from pg 10):

    “Sometimes called enterprise, in-depth, or project reporting, investigative journalism should not be confused with what has been dubbed “leak journalism”–quick-hit scoops gained by the leaking of documents or tips, typically by those in political power.” Read More

  • A quick note

    I figured I better type a quick note to say sorry for not posting much recently. I have three stories yearning to be publishing but right now, I have to prioritise the first issue of The Muckraker Report. I’m still knee deep in research, getting ready to lock myself in a room and hammer out a first draft. When that panic is over, however, you can look forward to the following stories: Read More

  • Say hello to The Muckraker Report, the new magazine we’re launching in June

    By now, you’ve probably read this story in Journalism.co.uk: we’re launching a new investigative magazine at the end of June, The Muckraker Report. I recently had a conversation about it with the lovely Jon Mitchell.

    Northern Ireland is full of secrets. Dirty, shameful secrets. And we have a press reluctant to expose them. Rumours abound about our elected officials ["I've heard he beats his wife", "Wasn't he involved in Kincora?] yet it seems no one wants to ask the questions that need to be asked.  Read More

  • REVEALED: The £80,000 government job report that is six months late

    EXCLUSIVE: A £80,000 report into one of Northern Ireland’s vital job generation schemes is expected to be published six months late, the Muckraker can reveal.

    The evaluation of Invest Northern Ireland’s (INI) selective financial assistance (SFA) scheme was contracted to research company SQW Consulting in September 2012 at an expense of £79,982 to the taxpayer.

    SFA is the ‘most significant’ programme offered by INI to provide financial assistance to companies for investment and employment projects. It’s their main incentive for wooing foreign multinationals to NI (or, in civil servant speak, Foreign Direct Investment). Read More

  • Want to know how many jobs Invest NI *actually* creates? You’ll be waiting another 5 years

    Very interesting report from the Press Association this morning:

    “It could be years before meaningful data on whether jobs created or retained by Invest NI is available, it was revealed.

    The Government’s main economic development organisation spent almost £520 million on selective financial assistance over the past decade yet systems to track actual posts have only recently been put in place, the Assembly’s spending watchdog said.

    Five of the largest companies which received Invest NI grants worth almost £145 million before 2009 could not supply details of jobs lost during that period, a report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said.” Read More

  • NI’s only clinic for transgender people turning away patients due to “staffing difficulties”

    Update (14/05/13): Belfast Health and Social Care Trust have issued another statement to The Muckraker:

    “While we have not reduced our service to the trans gender community in any way, demand is currently outstripping our resources, and we are unable to accept new referrals at the moment. This is a temporary measure and should be resolved in a matter of weeks, and we will be keeping in touch with those patients concerned.


    Discussions are also ongoing with the Health and Social Care Board on how the services for gender identity might be expanded.”

     

    Things aren’t looking too good for Northern Ireland’s transgender community.

    Last week, patients awaiting treatment at the Gender Identity Clinic (GIC) – the North’s only health service for transsexuals – received letters saying new patients aren’t being accepted for the “foreseeable future”, due to “staffing difficulties”.

    The GIC, based on the outskirts of Belfast, Read More

  • Lady Luck strikes again

    There’s no secret sauce behind breaking a story. It’s a process that involves 90% hard work and 10% luck. If you don’t have luck, you’re screwed, no matter how hard you work.

    Thankfully, with the Missing Children story, we’ve had some luck, thanks to a wonderful staff member at the Linen Hall Library. Read More

  • ‘Violent offenders let off, ex-MPs demanding money and Russian goings on’ – This week’s best #muckreads

    The Weekly Scoop is a weekly post highlighting the best #muckreads (investigative stories) circulating the Interwebs that week. It’s curated by Muckraker reporter Ian Silvera.

    MONDAY: ‘The Russians are coming’ by Darragh MacIntyre

    You can watch the film here. Read More