Investigative journalism plays a vital role in a healthy democracy: acting as a watchdog, holding those in positions of authority to account by exposing wrongdoing, standing up for the public interest and, where appropriate, campaigning for reform.
But these are difficult times for investigative journalism. The phone hacking scandal has led to the closure of Britain’s best selling tabloid newspaper and the traditional business models for journalistic content are under threat as a result of economic and technological changes. This raises urgent questions about the potential to harness the power of new technologies to complement traditional media in ensuring the continuation of a strong journalistic culture in the UK.
In this inquiry the Committee will consider the changing media landscape, the role of investigative journalism and how it will evolve in the future. The Committee will consider new business models to pay for the skills of serious reporting and what role citizen and participatory journalism might play in the future of investigative journalism.
An invitation for written submissions to this inquiry was published on 22 July 2011. The deadline for submissions is 12 September 2011.