Book: A Practical Guide to Investigative Journalism

Author: Jackson Akpasubi
Reviewer: Nze Eunice Onyinyechi
Publisher: Mirror Colour Prints Limited
No of Pages: 307

Jackson Akpasubi is an award winning reporter and communication practitioner. In this book, he teaches the practical aspects of investigative journalism, and how to cope with the day to day trouble of news gathering on a new scale of excellence.
For the purpose of this review, I will segment the book into three. The first comprises chapters one to four; the second, five to eight; the third, from nine to twelve; while the last segment treats chapters thirteen to sixteen.
Akpasubi starts with the description of the basic requirements for an investigative journalist. He quotes Tom Wicker of the New York Times, saying that a reporter is a person with extraordinary instinct, experience, a good memory, sharp eye, careful attention to detail, and skeptical sense of the way things work, among other characteristics. He identifies the different sources of news for the investigative reporter as news channels, the morgue, follow-up and libraries.
The author continues with the origins and history of investigative reporting, citing relevant sources. Like every other profession, investigative journalism is not without its own hazards, so Akpasubi proffers solutions on how a reporter can get past these challenges. This was extensively treated in the book. The first segment ends with invaluable technical tips to investigative reporting.
The second segment dwells on standards and ethics in the journalism, which primarily centres on seeking truth and reporting it, independent action, minimizing harm, and accountability. While encouraging reporters to always develop themselves, the author provides insights on how to cover specialist fields such as arts, music, culture and religion. The segment was also detailed about covering business, which it argues affords the hard working journalist greater opportunities to do investigative pieces besides government and governance.
In the next segment, the book discusses principal news sources and personalities in technical areas such as communications and aviation. It goes on to discuss energy/environmental reporting with tips that can help the reporter maximise opportunities in the beat.
Noting that one of the major functions of the newspaper is to keep people informed about the affairs of the government, the author counsels ambitiousinvestigative reporters to focus on politicians and their appointees.
The last segment focuses on the rudiments of health and science reporting, with relevant agencies where useful information can be sourced. The book concludes with a listing of the Nigerian armed forces.
The author gives professional tips on health. Additional effort made by the author was the full meaning of abbreviations he included in the book which makes it not only useful for the investigative reporter, but also everyone involved in the pen profession.
A Practical Guide to Investigative Journalism is a compass for aspiring investigative reporters and editors who are concerned about the image of the media and intensity of news coverage. It also provides contacts across all sectors for faster and easier access to information, the most challenging aspect of the reporter’s job. This book will transform the outlook of the average reporter from one of complacency and drive him on to become a consummate professional.
It is recommended for all media professionals, all media houses and libraries.