Once or twice a year, someone contacts me with a brilliant lead for an investigative journalist. Sometimes it’s a would-be whistleblower with inside information about an organisation, but more often than not it’s someone who’s discovered information that’s actually hidden in plain sight.
We’ve been hearing a lot about the Leveson inquiry. But another inquiry has been quietly rumbling on at the same time, and the findings should be very interesting to journalists.
TThe House of Lords has a select committee on communications, and it's conducting an inquiry called The future of investigative journalism. They're asking what its role is and how it will evolve in the future.They’re also looking at business models for the industry: in other words, how do we make serious reporting pay?
The spending cuts we’re facing today will not only be the largest since World War II, but perhaps also the most heavily spun. Finding out the real impact of the cuts means going beyond the press releases and searching for the small print in lengthy documents.
Health reporter John Lister has spent the past 26 years doing just that. He has become a familiar face on television as one of the few experts who can provide informed comment on NHS funding.