22 November 2008
NZ investigative journalism needs shake up, says Hager
12 March 2007
By Dylan Quinnell: Te Waha Nui Online
Author Nicky Hager has condemned the state of investigative journalism in New Zealand and has called for tougher probing by journalists.
Citing as an example TVNZ which recently slashed its “already too small” investigative reporting unit, Hager told a packed public lecture at AUT University that it was time the media put more resources into investigations.
“Journalism is the most important job in the world,” Hager later told Te Waha Nui after outlining his recipe for the media and democracy.
The author of The Hollow Men, a book that fuelled the political demise of former National Party leader Dr Don Brash, spoke about the “politics of deception” and the importance of “spin literacy” for journalists.
He said much of his work was based upon finding divisions in organisations which created “people whose concern outweighs their tribal loyalty”.
However, he also admitted that leaks needed to be taken seriously because they could be dangerous.
Hager said journalists should be willing to protect anonymous sources at all costs, even to pulling an article if they could not guarantee their informant’s secrecy.
He said investigative journalists were in a privileged position because they were able to get “wriggle proof evidence” and go beyond the “he-says she-says journalism” that made journalists “mouthpieces for those in power”.
He conceded many journalists were “hamstrung by time constraints” and that the public should “blame the journalism but not the journalists”.
Hager also spoke of impartiality, arguing that this did not mean blandly recording the world - “in my opinion they are bad journalists”.
He believes impartiality comes from “knowing your own views and working around them”.
He enjoys his job, saying: “In a way I’m lucky to be able to write a draft of history that might otherwise be missed.”
“What I most want for this book is for every new person who reads it to become more literate about politics and to slowly change how they think in their daily lives.”
Links:
- Nicky Hager’s press conference on The Hollow Men
- Nicky Hager on Wikipedia
- Russell Brown on Nicky Hager