New one-day masterclass to teach investigation methods

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Guardian journalists Nick Davies and David Leigh will join forces in a new one-day masterclass on February 21, to inspire journalists to use investigative methods in their journalism.

Davies, well-known for his campaign against the state of 'churnalism' in modern day news reporting, detailed in his book Flat Earth News , told Journalism.co.uk his belief is that 'all journalism is investigative'.

Davies, who is a special correspondent for the Guardian, said that investigation techniques could be applied to everyday tasks, such as interpreting press releases, as well as bigger, more ambitious projects.

He encouraged journalists to begin research on their own before approaching an editor with a pitch.

"I think what doesn't work is people who go to the editor and say 'I want to be your investigations person'," he said.

Instead, he advised that journalists incorporate new methods into their regular roles and then to take 'half-developed' ideas to their editors.

"First of all you need an editor who's a real editor, and not an accountant," he added.

Davies encouraged that investigations were 'commercially, fantastically helpful things to do'.

While he thinks that that is difficult to use terms such as 'golden age', he said that Harry Evans' editorship at the Sunday Times (1967 - 1981) was an example of how an investigative approach could be extremely fruitful and influential.

"It was so successful and it encouraged other newspapers to do the same," Davies said.

"In that era you also had Watergate, which is absolutely a prime example of journalists doing a strong and powerful investigation," he added.

These types of successes 'encouraged more newspapers to do more of the same thing,' Davies told Journalism.co.uk.

Davies has conducted similar classes on his own in the past, but following a successful event at the Frontline Club decided to team up with Leigh, investigations editor for the Guardian and Professor of Reporting at City University, for the masterclass.

The class will draw on Davies' and Leigh's experiences of investigative reporting and look at techniques to find stories, handle human sources and address legal issues.

Davies and Leigh will teach participants how to best 'exploit the public domain', use the Freedom of Information Act, and will look at working with whistleblowers and going undercover, as well as broader ethical issues.

The class takes place at City University on Saturday February 21, 10 am to 6pm. Tickets cost £125 (students £25.) Further details can be found on the event website.