The Good of Investigative Journalism
Journalism is the act of gathering information and assessing, creating and presenting news
and information. It can also be said that, it is the product of these activities. When it comes to democracy, journalism plays an integral part as it helps with the flow of information and also,
the citizens is well informed. In summary, Journalism influence the society positively. Bad press however, devastates the country.
Going through the history books, the first journalism school was in New York. The missouri school of journalism is one of the first journalism school to be established in the world. This school started the whole ethics that governs Journalism. Notable alumni from this school are John Anderson of ESPN Sportscenter, Phil Keaton of Fox News and Lisa Myers, former investigative journalist of NBC News.
Since we’ve touched on the subject of investigative journalism, I’d like to delve more into the subject of Investigative journalism.
Investigative Journalism is one of the forms of journalism. In an investigative journalism, the
reporter deeply investigates a single topic of interest. These topics can be about serious
crimes, corruption in politics or general corporate wrongdoing. In Ghana, when it comes to investigative journalism we can talk about 2 notable ones. We have Joy FM’s Ohemeng
Tawiah and Crusading Guide’s Anas Aremeyaw Anas. It is the latter this article is about.
This article will analyse his methodologies, state a couple of his report that brought about jailing and to answer this questions What is the good and bad in what anas does. To answer this question, we have to state the methodologies involved with what anas does.
Anas’ main aim is to Name, Shame and Jail. He’s been called by Vice as “the most notorious journalist in Ghana and modern day crime fighter who exposes corruption and helps police arrest some of the worst criminals in Africa.” The benefits of what Anas’s does in our society can not be underestimated. It is media, disrupted. I’ll outline the benefits of his quality investigative journalism here:
Economically...
The first and most important is the economic benefits that comes with what he does.
Corruption plays in important role when it comes to the work of Anas and to curb the
issues or troubles that comes with corruption means you’re saving the country huge
sums of money.
Personal Branding
The impact of his work can be felt throughout the journalism industry. It is believed that
investigative journalist go through lengths to uncover the worms in the society, leaving
no stone unturned.
Anas’ work notable among the people in the journalism industry. Most of his work is
sponsored by top media agency like Aljazeera and recently, the BBC. This is because
his work in the industry is credible. Media houses can trust his news because of his idea
and vision for journalism. Trust in journalism is vital and trust can be cultivated through
quality of work, which will lead to proper personal branding.
The Hidden Facts Uncovered
Anas’s work as an investigative journalist have exposed a lot of facts we didn’t know as
a country. His recent expose in the Ghana Football Association made it clear that, there
was canker in the Association. Although shedding of light on issues in the Association
came with it own issues, the knowledge that the citizen acquired through the expose is
so worth it.
Expose
Investigative Journalism can expose fraud, corruption, safety issues and other matters.
Corruption can be uncovered in any industry and any country. Anas exposes corruption
in the society with hard core evidence which is always difficult to fight. Let’s steer away
from corruption for a while. In the case of the Spirit Child (one of Anas’s work) he
brought to light the ritual killings of children deemed to be possessed by evil spirit in
Ghana. In this situation, a legal process started, however, because the perpetrators
were too old, by the time the process could finish, some of them couldn’t even make it to
court. The key thing that happened in this story is that whoever you are, when you
attempt to do some of these things, you are going to found and jailed.
The Bad
###Legal Framework
This country is run by the rule of Law. Although Anas himself is a professional Lawyer, he sometimes has to fight with alleged criminals after expose. Some deemed hismethodologies to break the law. In the case of the corruption scandal involving 34 high court judges, 22 judges decided to fight back in the court of law.
Most of these “fights” involves Anas’s identity which he insists that, anomosity is one of
his weapon in fighting corruption in the country.
Funding
Investigative Journalism involves huge human resources, people who are willing to go to
the long extent to get stories. Journalism in this manner also involves huge sum of money. This is why Anas relies mostly on government and private organization to carry out an assignment. However, the public don’t see this. Few believe that funding is poor. Some even state investigative journalists have enough funding and should recieve less.
Time Consuming
Not only investigative journalism is expensive but it is time consuming. It takes a long
time to carry out a sting operation to get evidence involving a social vice.
To be a good investigative journalist, you have to be patient, as this form of journalism is
very time - consuming. His recent expose lasted for 3 years to uncover the rot in the
Ghana Football Association.
The job of an investigative journalist is one of the dangerous but it’s benefits can be felt
nationwide. Think of the benefit that Investigative Journalism brings about as the
butterfly effect. With little patience, time you can reap a huge benefit. In 2016, Anas was
named as the most influential person in the country. He has received numerous awards
internationally. His work is praised worldwide and in this times, he needs all our support.