Investigation Network has partnership arrangements with investigative journalists in the US, UK, Spain Ireland and a number of other locations. For those who need a bit of background information Investigative journalism is a type of enquiry in which reporters who have an appropriate background investigate a subject which is normally of public interest, examples are crime, political corruption, sex scandals or various unsavoury offences such as threats of violence or crimes involving animals such as dog fighting, badger baiting or other cruelty.
Our investigative journalists undertake assignments to discover the facts about an issue and then provide those findings to various media sources either on a freelance basis in which case they sometimes find something in the course of an enquiry and mount an investigation of their own volition or as a result of being instructed by clients. These enquiries are frequently referred to as investigative journalism and it is very different from what might seem at first sight to be similar work which is carried out by Police, tax authorities, Customs or various lawyers, auditors and regulatory bodies. The reason for this distinct difference is that it is not limited as to the target, nor is it legally founded because the primary goal is to uncover wrongdoing for the purpose of publicity. The fact a Police enquiry usually follows is essentially a by product.
Some investigative journalists spend an enormous amount of time researching and preparing a report, sometimes this can go on for months or years especially if the enquiry is excessively complex, the difference between an investigative reporter and a standard reporter is that a typical daily or weekly news reporter writes items concerning immediately available news whereas an investigative reporter often has similar skills in many cases as a Private Investigator. Interestingly to people who work for us on a freelance basis were originally reporters and are extremely tenacious when it comes to digging and locating information.
A lot of investigative journalism is routinely carried out by newspapers, TV companies, other media organisations and freelance journalists. Our investigators who work in this field are all full time private investigators with an interest in investigative journalism. Where a private investigator normally prepares a report for his client or the courts an investigative journalist's report often takes the form of an exposé to bring illegal or immoral activities into the public domain.
As with a normal investigation these specific investigations often require a large number of interviews and usually involve travel as well; some instances might require the reporter to make use of skills acquired earlier in his career such as surveillance techniques both overt and covert, the use of surveillance devices, tracking equipment and cameras or night vision systems. Other skills that are often needed are analysis of documents and preservation of evidence because of the high probability that an investigation for the media is likely to be passed - at a future date- to the Police.
Investigative journalism requires great determination because enormous efforts are often made to throw the investigator off the scent but a good investigative journalist is like a dog with bone he will never let go. All investigative journalists need an analytical, instinctive and incisive mind to make them sense where the true facts lie and to have a gut instinct to head in the right direction when they are confronted with false trails and misleading information.
Below are a few of the routes which reporters often use to uncover the facts and get to the bottom of the enquiry:
- Checking Voter Registrations, Searching Phone Record, Phoning Under Pretext.
- Internet Based Investigations (our area of speciality)
- Talking to local shops, pubs/bars, restaurants, shopkeepers and neighbours.
- Signing up to subscription research sources in the area where the enquiry is taking place.
- Speaking to interested parties, victims and whistle blowers. This is very useful because if a person or organisation is the subject of an enquiry you can be certain they will have upset someone! Hence the old saying my enemies enemy is my friend!
- Becoming personally acquainted with the subject of the enquiry. This can be achieved quite easily in many cases very dependent on personality type if the subject of the enquiry is an extrovert it will be much easier if the person is reclusive and antisocial.
Some of the potential consequences for the subjects of successful investigative journalism include:
- Financial Penalties
- Criminal indictment and subsequent conviction
- Termination of accreditation to professional bodies
- Being disbarred in the case of a lawyer or accountant
- Potentially ruinous damage to both personal and professional reputation.
- Termination of Employment because employers like nothing less than having adverse publicity or someone working for him who is the subject of multiple enquiries.
- Frequently there can be a knock on effect for friends and other family members. As an example in one enquiry into money laundering, corruption and bribes involving a freight company it led to the managing directors son who was a car dealer being directly implicated because he was laundering the proceeds, unfortunately he was also dealing in illicit substances and was subsequently arrested and charged for that too. Frankly because the whole family were involved including the daughter and wife the whole thing collapsed like a pack of cards and there was a massive police enquiry and confiscation proceedings.
Current and Recent Enquiries
- Property Fraud (Spain)
- Mortgage Fraud involving corrupt professionals (UK)
- Trademark Infringement and Counterfeit Goods (Germany)
- People Smuggling (France/UK)
If you think you have details of a scandal let us know and we can look at the options and give you an indication of the best way to go. If you are looking to secure the services of one of our agents please email or phone our office and we can discuss your requirements in details.