StudyPath

MAC 411 Investigative and Interpretative Reporting

400 levelCommunication & Media10 topics

MAC 411 covers 10 topics. StudyPath paces them into daily study sessions that finish before your exam date, with practice questions and worked answers for each one.

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Course outline

The topics this course covers, in teaching order.

  1. Nature and purpose of investigative reporting
  2. Distinguishing investigative from routine reporting
  3. Qualities of the investigative reporter
  4. Developing and pursuing story leads
  5. Cultivating and protecting sources
  6. Documentary evidence and record analysis
  7. Interpretative reporting techniques
  8. Legal risks and defences in investigation
  9. Ethics of undercover and secret reporting
  10. Writing and presenting the investigative report

A sample from this course

One topic, as StudyPath teaches it.

Nature and purpose of investigative reporting

The nature and purpose of investigative reporting centre on what makes this form of reporting different from routine news work: it is original, systematic, evidence-based, and aimed at uncovering information that is hidden but important to the public. For exams, you must master its defining features, its public-interest purpose, and how it differs from rumours, opinion, advocacy, or ordinary event reporting.

What you get for MAC 411