论调查性报道的全球趋势

论调查性报道的全球趋势

IntroductionForalongtimerumorsfloatedaroundthetightknitanti-tobaccocommunitythatinternationalcigarettegiantBritishAmericanTobacco（BAT）companywasrunningaparallelcigarettesmugglingracketalongsidetheirlegal，multi-billiondollarindustry.Whatmadethisstorynewswasnotthefactthatcigaretteswerebeingsmuggledintopoordevelopingcountries，butthefactthattobaccocompaniesthemselvesweredirectlylinkedtotheshadyorganizedcrimeworldassociatedwithtobaccosmuggling.Tobaccocompaniesweresmugglingtoavoidpayingbillionsofdollarsinnationaltaxes.ThewhispersandconjecturesremaineduninvestigateduntilatipcametotheInternationalConsortiumofInvestigativeJournalists（ICIJ），auniquenetworkoftheworld’stopinvestigativejournalistswhoseaimistoproducetransnational，collaborativereportsoncriticalissuesthattranscendnationalboundaries.SeveralmonthsofinvestigationexposingBAT’sillegaldealingsbecameICIJ’smaideninvestigativeproject.ItresultedinaninvestigativereportingprojectthatcoveredChina，NorthAmerica，LatinAmerica，AfricaandtheMediterranean，involvingthecoordinatedeffortsoftopwatchdogjournalistsfromtheUnitedStates，Australia，Scotland，Canada，Italy，nottomentiontheunheraldedcontributionsofnumerousotherICIJmembers.ThetobaccocasestartedwithU.S.smokers’lawsuitsagainsttobaccocompanies.Thecourtcaseprocessmadeavailableentireroomsoftobaccoindustrydocumentstothepressandpublic.Buriedwithintheseroomsofdocumentswasaninternaltobaccocompanymemorandumdiscussingthesmugglingofcigarettes.Oneespeciallysharp-eyedICJCreporterspottedthesmugglingmemoandbrokeamajorexposeofinternationaltobaccocompanyinvolvementwithorganizedcrime.StoriessuchastheTobaccosmugglingsyndicaterepresentanewbreedofindependent，investigativereporting，thatismakingconcertedeffortstorespondtothenewchallengesofourglobalizingworld.Globalizationredefinesnation-statebordersInternationalbusinessesareglobalizingatanunprecedentedpace，posingnewfoundchallengestowatchdogjournalistswhoaretryingtoinvestigatemultinationalcompanies-companieswithgreaterresourcesandpowerthanmostoftheworld’sgovernments.（Schechter2001）AccordingtostatisticsfromChina’sMinistryofCommerce，theUnitedStatesleadstheworldinattractingforeigncapital，absorbingUS＄50billionin1995andUS＄300billionin2000.About80percentofforeigndirectinvestmentintheworldcomesfromtransnationalmerging.Similarly，ChinaisalsoseeinganexplosionofforeigndirectinvestmentbyfirmsfromtheUnitedStatesandothercountriesinthelastdecade.Itisestimatedthatmorethan＄270billionhasbeeninvestedinChinabythousandsofforeignfirmsinsevenshortyearsbetween1992and1999.AccordingtoChina’sMinistryofForeignTradeandEconomicCooperationYear2000Report，over40%ofChina’smorethan＄200billioninexportsin1998hadtheirsourceinmultinationalfirmsoperatinginChina.（Burke，2000）ThistrendofglobalizationandforeigninvestmentintoChinawillonlyacceleratewithChina’saccessiontotheWTO.A1999U.S.InternationalTradeCommissionreportstressedthatChina’sWTOentrywouldsignificantlyincreaseinvestmentbyU.S.multinationalsinsideChina.（Burke，2000）GlobalizationposesnewfoundchallengestowatchdogjournalistsAdauntingarrayofdifficultiesglobalizationposestowatchdogjournalistswassummedupatthefirstinternationalconferenceoninvestigativereportinginbroadcastingsponsoredbyShantouUniversityJournalismandCommunicationsDepartmentandhostedbyCCTVNewsProbe.（Lewis，2004）Theseglobalization-relatedobstaclesconfrontinginvestigativejournaliststodayinclude：trans-nationalcorporation’sincreasedlaborviolationandmoneylaunderingactivities，thousandsofcorporationswithundisclosedowners，conglomerationofmediaorganization，whichhavethemselvesbecomepowerfulinterestgroupsthatneedtobewatched，unfetteredgrowthoftrans-nationalagenciessuchastheUnitedNations，WorldTradeOrganizations，InternationalMonetaryFunds，whoarethemselvesunder-monitored.Relentlessrestructuringandcut-backsinthenewsroomhaveresultedinpoortraining，lackofaccesstobasicinformationtechnologies，andtheeverpresentfearoflitigationbymediamanagement.（Lewis，2004）Undoubtedly，investigativereportingintheeraofglobalizationrequiresevenmoretime，money，courage，independence，goodmanagement，andqualityreporterswithtechnologicalknow-howwhocandigdeeperandmorebroadlyintoissues.Asglobalizationshowsthereismoreandmoreneedforfiercelyindependentwatchdogjournalism，studyafterstudyhasshowntheoveralldeclineofmultinationalmedia’ssupportofwatchdogjournalism.Thereasonforthisissimple.MediaorganizationsleadingtheglobalizationtrendRenownedcriticoftheglobalmediasceneandauthorofTheGlobalMedia，RobertW.McChesneyobservesthatU.S.mediafirmsmaybeattheforefrontoftheprocessofglobalization，aheadofallotherindustries，citinggrowthinfirmslikeDisneyandTimeWarner，whooperatedjustover10percentoftheirbusinessabroadin1990，haveincreasedtheiroverseasoperationsthreefoldby1997.Inthenextdecade，bothfirmsareexpectedtodoamajorityoftheirbusinessoutsideoftheUnitedStates.（McChesney，1997）Hetracestheriseoftransnationalmediagiantstothe1980’s，whenpressurefromtheU.S.governmentandtheWorldBanktoderegulateandprivatizemediaandcommunicationsystemscoincidedwithnewsatelliteanddigitaltechnologies.Needlesstosay，thelastthingtransnationalmediaorganizationswantisforinvestigativereporterstoinvestigatetheirrelatedcompanyholdingsthatareexpandingworldwide.Globalizationposesamajorchallengetothecontinuedvitalityofinvestigativereporting.Thetime，commitmentandeconomicresourcesneededforsustainedinvestigativereportingarebecomingharderandhardertofindinthemainstreammedia.Atthesametime，the‘targets’ofinvestigativereportingarebecomingevermorepowerfulandelusive.Nationallybasedjournalistsfinditharderandhardertopindownglobally-basedbusinesses，individualsandorganizations.Butthereisyethopeforinvestigativejournalismeveninthefaceofglobalobstacles.InvestigativeJournalistsmustshifttheirmindsetsAsglobalizationplacesnewobstaclesbeforeinvestigativejournalists，italsoopensupnewopportunities.Theexploitationoftheseopportunitieswilldependinlargemeasureoninvestigativejournalists’collectiveabilitytomaketheneededshiftinthinkingandtakeadvantageofthetechnologicaladvancesandenhancedcommunicationscapacitiesthatglobalizationoffers.AfrequentlectureroninternationalissuesandcolumnistforTIMEMagazine（Canada）StephenHandelmannotesthatsubjectsinournowintegratedworldaresimplyimpossibletounderstandifreportedsolelyfromtheperspectiveofonecountry.Traditionalinvestigativereportingmethods，whichfocuslargelyalongnationallinescannotfullyaddresstoday’smostglaringexamplesofmalfeasance，whichtranscendinternationalborders.Intoday’sreportingclimate，gettingthefactsrequiresunprecedentedco-operationbetweenjournalistsfromawiderangeofcountries.（Handelman，2001）Manyinternationaljournalistsbelievethatthenumberofjournalistsaroundtheworldcommittedtopublicserviceandwatchdogjournalismisactuallyincreasing.Thenumberofnon-profitorganizationscommittedtoinvestigativejournalismisincreasing，andcertainlythenumberofwaysjournalistscanexploitthenewtechnologiesandgatherinformationbeyondnation-stateborderissubstantiallyincreasing.Internationaljournalistscannowusecomputers，theInternet，encryption，wirelessandothertechnologiestomaketheworldmoreconnected，allowingjournalistsfromaroundtheglobetonetworkwitheachotherlikeneverbefore.（Lewis，2001）InChina，globalizationmayinfactmeananaccelerateapushtowardsgovernmenttransparency，accesstoinformation，theestablishmentofruleoflaw.SomeChinawatchersareoptimisticthatChina’sentryintoWTOwillopenupaccesstomoretrade-relatedinformation.Moreover，thereportingandtransparencyrequirementsofU.S.andinternationalsecuritieslawswillrequireU.S.andotherinternationally-basedcompaniesdoingbusinessinChinatoincreasinglymakeimportantbusinessinformationpubliclyavailable.TheserequirementswillultimatelyhaveanopeningeffectonChineseorganizationsdoingbusinesswithUSandinternationally-listedfirmsandeventuallyontheChinesemarketasawhole.（Herford，2004）IndependentinternationalorganizationbandingjournaliststogetherNon-profit，non-governmentfundedindependentwatchdogjournalismorganizationshavestartedtobandtogethertomeettheglobalchallengesfacingthem.Thereisagrowingtrendtowardcross-borderinvestigativereportingandglobaljournalismbytheseenterprising，independentorganizationsevenasmainstreammediaturnsitsbackontraditionalinvestigativereporting.Thoughtherearehundredsofinvestigativereportingorganizationsaswellaslocalindependentinvestigativereportingorganizationsforthepurposesofthispaper，thosehighlightedherearethosethatspecializeininvestigativereportingacrossnation-stateborders.ThecoverageofthetobaccosmugglingstoryillustratedinthebeginningofthispaperwasacoordinatedeffortoftheInternationalConsortiumofInvestigativeJournalists（ICJC），aninvitationonlynetworkcreatedin1997bytheCenterforPublicIntegritytoextenditsstyleofwatchdogjournalismglobally.ICIJmarshalsthetalentsof76oftheworld’sleadinginvestigativejournalistsinover40countriestoproducecollaborativemultinationalreports.IntheTobaccostory，ICIJreporterstediouslyandmonotonouslysearchedthroughcorporatedocuments，courtrecords，andinternalgovernmentreportsthatwentasfarbackas1970’susingcomputer-assisted-reportingmethods，wastheimportantingredientthatultimatelymadethestoryasuccess.TheCentreforPublicIntegrity（CPI），whichfoundedtheICJC，isanon-profit，nonpartisanorganizationsupportedbyfoundationsandindividualcontributors.CPIwasfoundedin1989byinvestigativereporterandformer60MinutesproducerCharlesLewis.In2003，theCenterproducedmorethan40investigativereportsonline，triggeringmorethan75millionhits.TwoimportantinternationalcollaborativeinvestigativereportsbyCPIandICJCepitomizedwhatispossiblewithcrossbordercollaborationandcomputerassistedreporting.ThefirstoneisTheWaterBarons：HowaFewPowerfulCompaniesSeektoPrivatizetheWorld’sWater.Itwasaninvestigationthatshowedhowtheworld’sthreelargestprivatewaterutilitycompanieshaveexpandedintonearlyeveryregionoftheplanetsincethe1990’sandraisedconcernsthata，handfulofprivatecompaniescouldsooncontrolalargechunkofthisvitalnaturalresource.Theothermajorreportis：MakingaKilling：theBusinessofWar，whichtooknearlytwoyearstocompleteandinvolvedtenreports，seventeenresearchers，foureditors，oneprojectmanager，andninesupportstaff.TheinformationsourcesincludedUnitedNationsreports，governmentfiles，corporatememos，academicjournalsandreportsfromnon-profitorganizations.Theendresultofthisinternationalcollaborativeeffortwasan11part-seriesoutlininghowprivatecompaniesinover100countriesprovideservicesnormallyperformedbynationalmilitaryforces.Itexposedatleast90oftheseprivatebusinessesthatprovideeverythingfrommilitarytrainingtologisticsandevenengageinarmedcombatforhire.Theprogramunveiledthedisturbingrealitiesofthislucrativetradeandexaminedthecloseconnectionsofthesebusinesseswithgovernmentofficials，multinationalcorporationsandevencriminalsyndicatesintheUnitedStates，Europe，AfricaandtheMiddleEast.TheGlobalInvestigativeJournalismNetworkisanotherindependentinvestigativereportingorganizationthatprovidestrainingincomputerassistedreporting，offersresourcesincludinggovernmentdatabases，archivesof20000pastinvestigativestories，2000tipsheetsandreportingguidestoinvestigativereportersworldwide，andsponsorsconferencesandgivesoutawards.IRErepresentsonlyonepartofaworldwideexplosioninindependentlyfundedinvestigativereportingorganizations.Begun26yearsago，IREhasgrownintotheworld’slargestassociationofinvestigativejournalists，with4000membersin27countries.TherearenowinvestigativejournalismorganizationsintheUnitedStates，Mexico，thePhilippines，Sweden，Norway，andGermany.ItispartofIRE’smissiontoworkwithotherjournalismgroupsinAfrica，EasternEuropeandAsiatostartsimilarorganizations.InvestigativeReportersnadEditors（IRE）isagroupofindependent，non-profitjournalismorganizationsthatcoordinateandsupportthetrainingandsharingofinformationamongjournalistsininvestigativeandcomputer-assistedreporting.Thoughtheorganizationitselfdoesnotdoanyinvestigativereporting，itcoordinatestraining，resourcesfortraining，andnetworkingservices.Itisbestknowforitsannualglobalconferenceoninvestigativejournalism.DanishInstituteforComputer-AssistedReporting（DICAR）isaCopenhagen-basedgroupthatoffersresourcesoninvestigative，computerassistedreporting，andsponsorsconferences.ThegroupisakeypartnerwithInvestigativeReportersandJournalistsinhostingtheGlobalConferenceonInvestigativeJournalism.Paneltopicsatthe2003GlobalInvestigativeJournalismConferenceinCopenhagenincludedhowtoinvestigatepharmaceuticaltrade，theenvironmentandpollution；publichealthcare，issuesrelatedtoterroristattacks；themilitaryandglobalweaponstrade.Othertopicsthatlendnaturallytointernationalcooperationbecauseofthetransnationalnatureofthetopic，includesenvironmentalstoriesincludingtheprivatizationofwaterandothernaturalresources，e-wastedumping，peopleanddrugsmuggling，moneylaundering，multinationalcorporationssuchasWal-MartandEnron，corruption，securityissues，warandterrorism.Theworkoftransnationalinvestigativereportersisfarfromeasy.Evenwhentheyovercometheobstaclestouncoveringtheirstoriesandpublishaward-winningaccountstheirworkmayremainrelativelyunknownbecauseoftherefusalofmajorUSnewsoutletstocarrythem.Fearoflawsuitsoroffendingpotentialadvertisersorpowerfulpoliticalandreligiousgroupsmayunderliethisunwillingnesstocarrythestoriesevenwhensometimesthestoriesareofferedfreetomediaoutlets.Similarly，Chinesemediawhocouldhaveaccesstothesestoriesmayhesitatetotranslateandpublishthemforfearoflawsuits.Thoughfearoflitigationisacommonproblemforpublishersworldwideitisworthnotingthatscrupulousadherencetothedisciplineofverificationcangreatlyminimizeboththelikelihoodandfearofcostlylitigation.InvestigativereportsbytheCenterforPublicIntegrityprovideanexampleofhowsolidfact-basedreportingcanminimizelitigationriskandmaximizethechancesofbroadpublication.InternationalgovernmentorganizationssponsorscollaborationsAlthoughinvestigativereportingorganizationsarechieflyfundedbyindividualsandfoundationsthatarecommittedtotheidealsofinvestigativereporting，moreandmoreinternationalgovernmentalorganizationshavebeencollaboratingandsupportinginternationalinvestigativejournalism.Recently，DanishInstituteforComputer-AssistedReportingreceived800000eurofromEuropeanSocialFunds，anEuropeanUnionorganization，totrainDanishjournalistsaswellascoordinateconferencesforinternationalinvestigativejournalists.TheUnitedNationOfficeofDrugControlandCrimePreventionarerethinkingtheirstrategiestocombatorganizedcrimebyinvitingwatchdogjournalistsfromtheUnitedKingdom，Brazil，Senegal，andBelgrade，tosharetheirexperiencesincoveringorganizedcrimenotonlyintheirowncountries，butinnationsborderingtheirownandbeyond.In2002，headsofstatesandgovernmentsfromUnitedNationsmemberstates，togetherwithexperts，renownedpersonalitiesandmediarepresentativestookpartinseminarsorganizedtoaddresstheroleofthemediaincombatingtransnationalorganizedcrime.Theorganizersbelievedthatwell-publicizedmediacoverageonthisissuecanfurtherprompttheinternationalcommunitytostepupthefightagainsttransnationalcrimesyndicatessuchassmugglersofillegalmigrants.TheWorldBankInstitute（WBI），aneducationarmoftheWorldBank，offerstrainingprogramstoemergingindependentmediaorganizations，notonlybecauseaccuratemediareportingiscriticaltoimprovedinformationflowforinvestors，butalsooutofthebeliefthatacloselymonitored，andthereforemoreaccountablegovernmentwillmakeforbetterbusinessenvironments.Sinceitsinceptionin1996，WBItrainingtopicshaveincludedinvestigativereporting，economicjournalism，health，andenvironmentandhavereachedabout4000policymakers，stakeholders，andjournalists.WBIhasstatedaspartofitsmissionthatacriticalelementofacountry’santi-corruptionarchitectureisaneffectivemedia.Themediahasadualroletoplay：Itnotonlyraisespublicawarenessaboutthecauses，consequencesandpossibleremediesofcorruption，butitalsoinvestigatesandreportsincidencesofcorruption.WBI’strainingprogramprovidesinvestigativereportersthetoolstodoinvestigativereporting，suchasidentifyingandovercomingtheconstraintstodoingwatchdogreporting，developinganddeliveringwell-researchedandclearlywrittenstoriesthatexposewrongdoing，corruptionandsystemicmalfunctionindevelopingandtransitionalnations.ConclusionIntheeraofglobalization，rapidcommercializationofthemedia，andrelentlessbudgetcutsinthenewsroom，moreinvestigativereportersandmediaorganizationsarelearningtocollaborate.Manyjournalismorganizationsareestablishingglobalnetworksoffixers-localswhoarehiredtoassistintransnational