KARACHI, Oct 6: Is there a future for investigative journalism? What is the role of citizen journalism? And is the rise in citizen journalism leading to the end of investigative journalism? These questions were raised by Stephen Franklin, a former foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, on Sunday evening during a session titled ‘Shorter Attention Spans and Tighter Wallets : Is Investigative Journalism Doomed?’ as part of T2F’s Mind Your Media project.

Currently in Pakistan to train reporters, Mr Franklin gave a variety of instances in countries where investigative journalism was happening. In the Philippines, journalists investigated the role of specific families and their control over corporate interests and in Romania journalists tracked down sex-trafficking cases. “Environmental journalists worldwide are writing great stories on environmental pollution,” he said.

An expert on issues like source protection, media intimidation and investigative techniques, Mr Franklin said he was in Nepal training journalists when he met an investigative journalist who told him about a scam in a government-initiated land scheme under which the government was apparently giving away plots to landless farmers but upon inquiry the journalist discovered the wealthy were purchasing the plots and selling it at profitable rates.

Having extensively reported from Central and Latin America, Mr Franklin said that the real purpose of investigative journalism was to tell untold stories that affected people’s lives and related to the audience the background of the investigative piece he did along with his colleagues for the Chicago Tribune on mass migration of women across borders. “I was going home via Saudi Arabia and while waiting in line at the airport I saw several women also waiting. And that got me thinking about why were so many women travelling? In fact, since the 1800s more women travel than men. I discussed the idea with my editor who found it exciting and compelling and put together a group of six journalists, in which five of my colleagues were females,” he said. His stories focused on women in Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico.

A couple of insights emerged from this central idea, added Mr Franklin. One was that for those women who voluntarily cross borders, the hunger for improved economic and educational opportunities drives their actions. The other category within this vast movement is women who are forced to migrate due to national conflicts, gender violence, persecution, discrimination and natural disasters.

Mr Franklin then veered the talk to the rise of citizen journalism, the importance of social media and the power of the internet. Here again he cited many examples including the case of Khalid Said, the young Egyptian blogger, who was beaten to death by policemen following the pictures he posted on the internet of policemen sharing spoils of a drug deal. Pictures of Said’s crushed face appeared on social media websites that eventually led to charge-sheeting of the policemen due to tremendous public pressure.

Finally, Mr Franklin said that although there were some enthusiasts who claimed that blogging and citizen journalism were the new nirvana in his opinion these created too much noise. Hence it was important for investigative journalism to continue. “Investigative journalism gives one context and the whole story.”