Be Positive, Be Humble and Learn from Those Who Go Before You

This is a requirement for many genres, but with investigation, the commitment is pushed to a higher level.

Commitment is shown in the fact that journalists dare to go to the end of the truth. To do that, journalists do not just stand in the position of observing but must roll up their sleeves and get involved in the problem, go to the place, ask to know, to record, so that the truth can be touched, held, smelled.

Investigation is “absolute self-sacrifice”. When investigating the series of articles “Rescuing a 4-year-old girl from hell on earth” (about the “fake father” abusing the girl for a long time), journalist Nguyen Thu Trang, a reporter for the Ho Chi Minh City Women’s Newspaper, once thought that if she provided information, the subject would be

went to jail on many charges. She

also face the risk

Maybe you are interested!

be paid

enemy

Before that, many people witnessed the incident.

work but they ignore

go, body

mandarin

The authorities also ignored and evaded responsibility by chasing the subject to another location. There were times when the journalist thought he had lost track of the subject. To follow that trail, the journalist had to sacrifice most of his time with his family. If he is not willing to sacrifice and give himself up, it will be difficult for a journalist to get to the bottom of the truth.

Investigative journalism, especially role-playing investigative journalism, requires courage and bravery. Journalists must not be afraid of danger to dare and be ready to take on the challenge.

shoulder when necessary. Courage is only

originate from

love of job, awareness

the ethics and society of the journalist himself. Of course, brave, not blind, unfounded, not "reckless" (words of reporter Minh Duc).

3.1.2.4. Be proactive and humble in learning from those who have gone before you.

Nowadays, many people are taught journalism systematically and have a solid grasp of knowledge.

professional knowledge but experience is impossible, especially in a difficult task like role-playing an investigation.

available now

Besides some talent factors such as cunning and intelligence, many journalists affirm that role-playing skills can be perfected through serious practice. There is a saying that "practice makes perfect". The more you role-play,

journalist will

gradually see role-playing become a profession

familiar, there are

There are certain rules, there are ways to “act” for certain types of roles. Regularly drawing on experiences and lessons from each “transformation” will help journalists gradually avoid mistakes and become more proficient in future roles. The more roles they play, the more proficient they become.

Journalist Do Doan Hoang said: "Now, every week I have to disguise myself to investigate. It seems like I do it continuously, with recording equipment.

hidden recording, with different outfits and professional skills.

Currently I am pretending to be gay, last year I pretended to be a man to sell sex to women... I went to buy sex.

However, this does not mean that the investigation is arbitrary or emotional, nor does it mean that the investigation time is shortened.

According to journalist Anh Thoa, a reporter for Tuoi Tre newspaper, despite facing many dangers and having to choose between gains and losses when investigating, many reporters still find ways to manage their investigations. An investigation that used to take a week can now be done more carefully and systematically to collect evidence. Accordingly, each investigation can “take up” a longer period of time. Sometimes, journalists find a safer way by cooperating with the police.

In addition to experiencing it themselves, journalists can also learn role-playing skills from those who have gone before. Thanks to that, they can avoid regrettable mistakes that can be made while role-playing.

3.2. For press agencies

3.2.1. Cooperate with reporters to the maximum extent possible during the investigation process, protect reporters when lawsuits occur.

The press agency is the place that manages the activities of journalists and reporters. All activities of journalists must be regularly reported to the editorial office and be supervised by the editorial office from the beginning to the end of the topic.

The investigative topic is sometimes proposed by the journalist, but sometimes the press agency requests the journalist to carry it out.

But no matter where the investigation originates, there always needs to be unity and coordination between the Editorial Board and reporters, and there needs to be a separate process for evaluating, implementing and completing investigative articles. The following is the process for creating an investigative article at the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Newspaper, shared by journalist Nguyen Vu Binh at the Scientific Conference: Vietnamese and International Experiences in Investigative Journalism (March 2014):

First, after the reporter has done the actual work and grasped the situation at the base, he can directly propose the topic to the head of the department. Most of the investigative topics are discussed privately by the reporter with the head of the department to avoid revealing the topic. If the topic is complicated, it needs to be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief or Editor-in-Chief.

Then, the reporter will make a detailed outline and implementation plan.

specific. In the plan

plan, reporter report specific

body

means of action

profession, working methods, professional measures (approach to

investigation object as

position

which, role-playing or not, location, area of action

professional, ask for help or do it yourself, what are the costs, do you have to give money directly? Reporters must report the planned plan and means of operation to the person in charge. In cases of role-playing, role-playing, asking for information or collaborators, it is necessary to ask for the opinion of the person in charge about these professional measures. In cases of using editorial funds such as

use money, means of operation, and compensation for support staff

support… must also ask for editorial opinion.

During the implementation of the topic, the reporter must regularly report the progress and content to the person in charge and vice versa, the person in charge must also regularly check the progress and content of the topic to promptly participate in supporting the profession and orienting the content.

After completing the documentation, the reporter provides it to the person in charge for review. If there is enough data, the article will be written. If there is not enough evidence, the reporter will continue to exploit it until it is complete.

From the Head of Department to the Editor-in-Chief, the Editor-in-Chief must be the one to evaluate the documents and evidence to ensure their legality.

For important and sensitive internal investigation topics, it is necessary to

careful review and criticism will

There is a group of critics

talent

establish until you are completely confident in the content and presentation of the topic.

Journalist Phung Cong Suong also said that when working at Tien Phong newspaper, the process of conducting an investigative article must follow the general regulations of the editorial board when creating a journalistic product, from reporting on the idea, planning to implement the idea, organizing the writing and editing of the article to printing and publishing. However, due to the high requirements for information of the investigative article, and the difficulties that investigative reporters encounter, especially during the role-playing process, the process of conducting an investigative article is also more rigorous, strict, and multi-layered than when conducting other journalistic works.

The role of the Editorial Board is shown in general investigation and in particular in role-playing investigation of reporters as follows:

First , the Editorial Board must always clearly understand the activities of reporters during the investigation process through plans and reports onthe actual investigation situation.

Second , the editorial office must support reporters as much as possible in terms of funding and means ofwork. Issue letters of introduction (for reporters), and contact departments, collaborators, and informants when reporters need it.

Third , the editorial board is responsible for assessing and verifying the contents of the reporter's documents and evidence to ensure that this evidence is convincing enough for the investigation and strong enough to protect the journalist when the subject of the investigation "counterattacks". In fact, this factor is extremely important for maintaining the reputation of the editorial board.

Fourth , when an investigative journalist is sued or involved in legal trouble, the editorial office has the responsibility to protect the journalist or reporter by providing evidence (which has been verified) to refute and prove the integrity of thereport .

clean for journalists. Sometimes, the editorial board sets up councils to review

The investigation team, including lawyers and the agency's best professionals, will participate in the investigation if the elements establishing the crime are beyond the evidence that has been assessed.

In this process, the editorial office plays the role of the rear, the support, the

companion, confidant beside reporter.

3.2.2. Training reporters on role-playing skills

Journalists and reporters from Lao Dong newspaper all said that there are very few training courses for investigative skills, including role-playing. Most of them practice role-playing skills through their own experiences or learning from colleagues, from previous generations of experienced investigative journalists, who "hold their hands and show them how to do things".

Some newspaper offices also invite some experienced investigative journalists to teach their reporters, but it is still very ineffective. Journalist Dinh Cong Thang was also invited to teach some such classes, but he honestly shared : " To say that it is a teaching class is too lofty . In fact ,

The essence is to tell investigative stories so that they know how they worked and played their roles. There are no lesson plans or documents, just interesting stories: “Where did I start? How did I prepare the documents? How did I fumble through the mess?”… There is no framework for journalists, and there are no rigid rules for role-playing. Although very useful, through those talks, reporters only accumulate experience and still do not have any basic theoretical foundation for role-playing.

Similarly, Tien Phong newspaper

just organized

organize training sessions

general about the work of journalists, about the skills when working in general but there is no in-depth training in investigative skills, let alone role-playing skills. The leader of this newspaper said the reason is because "it is not

Any reporter would be interested.

This type of general training

To overcome this situation, newsrooms need to pay more attention to training reporters in role-playing skills. In lectures and talks, it is necessary to create many hypothetical situations for reporters to handle, paying more attention to theory in addition to storytelling.

Currently, the activities of reporters are almost independent. In independent events, reporters or groups of reporters of the department will perform and work according to the staff of each department. But with the problem of space expansion and field expansion, special reporter teams will be established, coordinating between departments and permanent agencies at

localities to

solve the problem. But the

activities of organizations

The investigation team is only temporary and local.

To make investigative activities more active, each newsroom should have a

club

or organization

investigative team of journalists and reporters

investigative writers, junior reporters who want to pursue this field, and

Police comrades often collaborate with the press in investigating and solving cases, or even simply those who love investigation... regularly meet, share good investigation topics, and coordinate with each other to investigate to create interest and confidence in investigation for journalists, so that each journalist has a unique ability.

good investigation, especially technical proficiency

role-playing ability. That can be

is force

mobile force, quick response, is the spearhead of the editorial office every time it is published

They present “problematic situations” and turn their investigations into “shock” genres, creating the prestige of the editorial office.

3.2.3. There is a separate treatment for investigative reporters.

Nowadays, many newsrooms are aware of the role of the investigative genre, the hardship and danger of investigative reporters, especially when they have to play the role of investigators. In some newsrooms, the way of calculating royalties for investigative articles and other genres has long been different.

Although investigative journalists mainly come from passion and "heart", there is no level of royalties or salary that can fully evaluate the efforts of the investigation, reflect all the difficulties and dangers they have experienced, and be worthy of the effect that an investigation brings, but that treatment will be the motivation, the support that encourages the spirit of reporters when participating in investigations, especially role-playing investigations. This mechanism ensures fairness in a competitive working environment, contributing to urging journalists to dare to investigate because they know they will be respected and receive what is worthy of the effort they put in to find the truth. Tien Phong and Lao Dong are newspapers that do this quite well. That is also part of the reason why newspapers have built a team of investigative reporters who always dare to go and dare to do it to the end.

In Vietnam, this mechanism is not really popular, especially in electronic newspapers and electronic pages of newspapers. There needs to be a widespread change. That is

This is also the opinion of journalist Phung Cong Suong: "In my opinion, press agencies need to have financial mechanisms, role-playing costs, and higher royalties for good, elaborate investigative articles with great information value and social impact, moving towards ordering good investigative reporters, accepting to go beyond the financial framework."

3.3. For journalism training institutions

3.3.1. Equip knowledge

Investigation is a specialized subject of special interest in the system.

schools that train in journalism or have a major in journalism. Specifically at Hoc

At the Institute of Journalism and Communication, students usually learn the investigative genre in the third year, after finishing the general and basic subjects, and starting to major. Investigation is also learned last in the news genres, when students have a certain understanding of other genres, as well as more experience in social knowledge. Because investigation is a genre that requires the application of many skills of many genres such as problem detection.

current affairs, hot (form)

news), interview, talk (genre)

burn

interview), notes (reportage genre, quick notes)...

Experienced teachers have tried to teach and impart basic knowledge about investigation. But perhaps 60 periods is too much.

too little

difficult for a complex genre like

investigation. New students only grasp

get basic characteristics

latest version

investigation but just like riding

horse watching flowers. Especially the skill