ICIJ’s Charles Lewis on Journalism and Fighting Corruption
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- ICIJ’s Charles Lewis on Journalism and Fighting Corruption
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- Published: September 1, 2019
Major discoveries and impact of investigative journalism
- Daniel Ellsberg discovered the Pentagon Papers and photocopied over 7,000 pages before delivering them to the New York Times and the Washington Post.
- An anonymous source gave German journalist Bastian Obermayer a flash drive with 11 million files taken from a Panamanian law firm, mobilizing 250 reporters in 90 countries under the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
- Published in April 2016, the Panama Papers revealed extensive hidden aspects of the global economy and resulted in the resignations of prime ministers and senior officials from Iceland to Mongolia.
- Investigative journalism has repeatedly exposed wrongdoing from Watergate-era reporting to the Panama Papers, contributing to public accountability.
Decline of local news and consequences for coverage
- One study reports 1,800 local newspapers have disappeared in the United States since 2004.
- Example: a small/midsize paper went from 187 people to around 35.
- Tens of thousands of journalists lost their jobs in the United States.
- The number of reporters today is the same as in 1972, while the federal budget increased nearly twentyfold.
- There are one-third fewer journalists in the state capitals.
- In Washington, nobody is covering members of Congress for 27 states.
- Resulting phenomena include “news deserts”—vast areas lacking dedicated daily news coverage—and reliance on obscure newsletters that may represent private interests.
- Specific impact on economics/financial reporting: substantive information increasingly accessed and consumed primarily by highly educated elites, creating a dichotomy between those with and without access to in-depth reporting.
Rise of nonprofit investigative journalism
- There are now 205 nonprofit investigative journalism organizations in America, and 27 internationally.
- Philanthropic institutions and individuals have donated over a billion dollars in recent years to support coverage where local newspapers no longer can.
- Lewis estimates these nonprofits employ up to 3,000 journalists.
- Around 2008, the Pulitzer Prize started allowing nonprofit organizations to apply; nonprofit organizations Lewis founded—I C I J and Center for Public Integrity—have won Pulitzers, and nonprofits like ProPublica have won about a dozen so far.
- Nonprofits do not fully replace lost newsroom capacity, but have mitigated what could have been worse declines.
Ethical and legal questions: hacking versus conscience-based leaks
- Some high-profile investigations involve data likely obtained by hacking, rather than traditional whistle-blowers acting from conscience.
- On the Panama Papers, the source is unknown; it may have been hacking or an insider.
- There is a “grayness” between criminal or venal hacking and ethically motivated leaking: some hackers act because they believe there is something wrong with society or institutions.
- Lewis’s view: leaked documents can be immensely valuable to the public (Pentagon Papers example), but abuses and legal/ethical concerns mean each case requires specific analysis.
Policy recommendations and concerns about offshore jurisdictions
- Every democratic, or minimally accountable, government should have great concerns about offshore jurisdictions.
- Concern focuses on US-chartered banks doing “extralegal” or outright illegal things in these 60 to 90 offshore jurisdictions.
- Such activities should trouble the US government, Congress, and the Internal Revenue Service.
- Lewis calls for more discussion, reporting, understanding, and accountability by all entities involved in offshore finance.
ICIJ’s Charles Lewis discusses the role and future of nonprofit journalism in fighting corruption worldwide. F&D Magazine — Nonprofits Investigate Profits — September 2019.
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