Seems like its been forever… since the last investigative piece of journalism that has shook the country. Now that I got my inner Fort Minor out of me, I’m curious as to why there aren’t these huge investigative stories in the news now like we’ve learned about in the past. No more Watergate or The Jungle, now it’s cats playing piano and monkeys dressed in suits all over our news; or worse, the latest scoop on Lindsay Lohan or Kim Kardashian scrolling on the bottom line. Is this because the need for investigative journalism no longer exists? Has our government and other federal agencies learned not to do anything unethical or illegal because there are “watchdogs” out there? I doubt it, it’s just investigative journalism is so 20th century.
In today’s world, technology is king. Who wants to grow up and go to school to get paid next to nothing to work their butts off keeping an eye on the government? It’s much easier to just get a degree in something, anything to do with computers or robotics and make an easy living. That’s why I think it takes a rare and somewhat crazy kind of person to work as an investigative journalist. The importance of our government and what kind of role they should play in our everyday lives has been center stage for the last couple years. That is why I think it is so important to have “the fourth estate” checking and balancing our current checks and balances system.
The need is obviously there for these kind of journalists, but the supply or quality is lacking. I can only hope that in the near future the next batch of journalists turn out some that are willing to get their hands dirty.