How Investigation Leads to Creativity and Engagement as a Journalist

In journalism, investigating a story can often feel like walking into a thrift store—you just never know what treasures you’ll find lurking at the back of a bottom shelf, something other pickers missed. In thrifting terms it could be a profitable item, in journalism it could mean a scoop.  

As a journalist you want to tell the story that’s never been told, tackle an existing storyfrom a fresh angle, or humanize a topical issue in a unique way. You must find those hidden gems that others overlook. And to achieve this, creativity is the key.  

It can mean how you find, interpret, and research stories as well as how you write and present the story.  

Stories need to be fresh, unique, interesting, and engaging to grab and then hold people’s attention, especially in today’s click bait driven climate. Journalists need to be innovative, diligent, attentive, and prepared to get their hands dirty and do the harddigging. 

The deeper you dig as a journalist the more leads you’ll discover. With more leads to pursue the story could expand or go in a different direction. You’re also guaranteed to meet new, fascinating people on the way, who may add some juicy snippets to your story that give it that wow factor.  

Investigate like you’re Sherlock Holmes or Miss Marple, looking beyond the big picture at the small details and clues. Ask thoughtful questions that allow a person to go in depth and explore their feelings, and most of all, listen intently and observe. Maybe talk to the quiet person at the back of the room, do they have something to share? A councilor’s offhand remark at a public meeting may have some other meaning. Who is that guy that keeps shaking his head in the crowd? What does he know? And why is January 10^th circled on the CEO’s calendar? Wasn’t that the day of the murder? And remember the classic court scene in the movie “Legally Blonde” with the perm? It won’t always be this dramatic (although it can be), and the stories won’t always be big. But you get the picture.  

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The Writer’s Digest Guide to Journalism is a practical, informative, and well-researched introduction to journalism and its best practices, with actionable advice, tips, techniques, explanations, and anecdotes straight from the field. In this digital guide, writers will learn how to write an effective news piece, skills need to be an effective journalist, outlets for publishing journalism, journalism associations, and so much more. Both inspirational and pragmatic, The Writer’s Digest Guide to Journalism is packed with valuable resources for aspiring journalists.

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Be observant when you drive to the store, walk around the neighborhood, or take a road trip. Why are there so many empty store fronts in this town? Is it the economy, online shopping, or something else? Maybe high rents pushed small business owners out. Maybe it’s restrictive regulations. Or it could be that people are pursuing the wrong type of business. What business-related amenities, education, and resources are available? What makes an entrepreneur successful in this area? How are the current stores still operating? Worth a look? 

Notice all the what’s and why’s here. It’s all about curiosity, asking the ‘what-ifs,’ and ‘what’s going on’ type questions? If anything seems off or ‘sus’ there could be a good story buried there. So, dust off your pitch forks and spades and get digging.   

Many writers skim the surface out of time restraints, or they favor churning out content choosing quantity over quality. 

If we continue with the thrifting analogy, you went the extra mile by crouching down to look at the lowest shelf, which is often forgotten, or just takes more effort to reach. (If you can get back up without using your hands, congratulations, you’ll apparently live longer, according to several YouTube videos. Could be sus…) 

Although you can find a lot of new information online, over the phone, and through email, nothing beats talking to people in person. This is where you get the whispered secrets from the little old lady who sits on her porch every afternoon, watching the world go by. Start online, but if you want to shine above the rest then in-person is best.  

You can find yourself in all types of scenarios when conducting research in the field—at a political rally, talking to unhoused youths, smoking cigarettes with Kosovar refugees, or interviewing a pilot in a 4-seater Cessna. 

The longer you work as a journalist, the bolder and more creative you become.  

It was 5pm on a Friday in Denver and I was getting ready to leave work when the phone rang. An event venue was hosting a panel discussion the following day with filmmaker Michael Moore, a Columbine school shooting victim’s parent, and several others, to coincide with the Denver premier of Bowling for Columbine. Their MC canceled last minute, and they asked me (a PBS studio producer) if I could find a replacement. Before agreeing, I asked them for a favor. If I did this, could I get a one-on-one interview with Michael Moore?  

He wasn’t giving press interviews, but they agreed. It took me one hour to find someone, and that’s how I got to interview Michael Moore, attend the movie premiere, and the exclusive after party with my husband and friends.  

Notice the stories you click on while surfing the internet. What engages you? What keeps you reading or watching? I can guarantee that it’s probably something relevant to you and your life in some way. 

Engagement in journalism not only means how to capture a reader’s attention but the act of building trust and rapport with the audience and serving the community. According to the American Press Institute the purpose of journalism is “to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments.”  

Our main job as journalists therefore is covering stories that are useful, informative, impactful, centered around the human experience, and relevant to ordinary people. We must always be mindful and respectful of any feedback and adjust to what concerns our audience would like us to address.  

I just got on Facebook and the first post I saw was a heated discussion about privacy concerns surrounding Flock’s AI-powered license plate reader camera systems. This is not a new topic but fascinating, nevertheless. It’s no surprise that the news media choose to cover the ‘Police use it to catch criminals’ angle. But what about surveillance abuse?  

Here the topic is flock cameras, the issue is privacy concerns, so now, where’s the story? I’m five comments down and a lady mentions how her former husband used it for stalking her across the country. Here’s a story. What happened?  

Of course, this is a delicate matter and full of legal minefields, and I’m only using it as an example. You can tell her story, which will be unique, then ask more questions to expand the piece. Why do men stalk women? What kind of studies have been conducted? How many police officers allegedly abuse this system? Can you flip the whole thing and tell a stalker’s story? Again, this is an example and the post popped up as soon as I got on Facebook. Maybe the algorithm knew I was writing this piece.(Is AI stalking me?)  

So, here’s a challenge, scroll Facebook or any social media site and stop at the first post that holds your interest. Break it down as I did above. Topic, issue, story. How could you spin this to make it pop? What’s the story you could tell if you got creative, engaged with the right people, asked the probing questions and dared to dig deeper?  

Let me know your results in the comments.