Abstract
ABSTRACT This paper analyses investigative journalism as an ecosystem. It aims to reconstruct the “food chains” of investigative journalism by identifying the origin of investigative stories. Based on a triangulated analysis of a nine-month sample of news content in French-speaking Switzerland, systematic research in news databases, and 23 in-depth interviews with Swiss investigative journalists, it proposes three main characteristics of the Swiss investigative ecosystem: (1) it is mainly reactive; (2) it functions at two speeds; and (3) it is self-feeding. It also shows that investigative journalists view the reactiveness of the ecosystem as a lesser evil that allows them to cope with the pressures constraining their daily practice. Furthermore, while investigative journalists devalue ordinary journalism in general, they see it as a rich source of story leads.
Published Version
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