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Governance and Transparency

Investigative Reporting: A Handbook for Cambodian Journalists

Internews, in partnership with journalists in Cambodia, has produced the country's first investigative journalism manual. The practical guide provides concrete guidance on reporting dos and don'ts with local examples, and guides journalists through the detailed and often complex "paper-trail" process of researching and gathering evidence that verifies government and corporate behavior.

PDF version of handbook - 3MB

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Table of contents, acknowledgements and foreword are below.

When Khmer journalists say why they chose their profession, they often suggest a motivation rooted in the universal, journalistic ethos of human rights. They will tell you: “I felt an injustice” or “I saw an injustice.” (more)

Table of Contents

  • Acknowledgements
  • Foreword
  • Chapter 1 | Media Major Events in Cambodia: Timeline
  • Chapter 2 | Media in Cambodia: The current situation
  • Chapter 3 | What has shaped Cambodia’s recent media?
  • Chapter 4 | Major Challenges Journalists Face Doing Their Work
  • Chapter 5 | Investigative Reporting
  • Chapter 6 | Writing a Work Plan
  • Chapter 7 | The Paper Trail: A Question of Proof
  • Chapter 8 | The Internet: Blazing the Electronic Trail of Documents
  • Chapter 9 | The People Trail: Sources and the Art of the Interview
  • Chapter 10 | Telling the Story: From Outline to Publication
  • Chapter 11 | Rigths and Responsibilities: Media Law and Ethics
  • Appendices
    • Appendix I The Money Trail by Jerry Kammer
    • Appendix II Do-It-Yourself Investigations
    • Appendix III Diary of a 2-Day Reporting Effort by Eric Nalder
    • Appendix IV International Federation of Journalists
    • Glossary of Journalistic Terms
    • Useful Contacts

Acknowledgements

By Putsata Reang and Moeun Chhean Nariddh

With Kathleen Reen, Shannon York, Virginia M. Moncrieff and Phann Ana

And contributions from Sam Bunnath, Mann Bunthoeun, Catherine Bice, Pen Bona, Sarah Breul, Lor Chandara, Ban Chandararith, Nic Dunlop, Peter Eng, Mike Fowler, Jerry Kammer, Chea Kimsan, Bun Khy, Om Layom, Tath Lihok, Chi Liquica, Malou Mangahas, Eang Mengleng, Kuch Naren, Khieu Navy, Kathleen O’Keefe, Mean Rameth, Reach Sambath, Pen Samitthy, Tuon Sarien, Cheth Saroeun, Sem Saroeun, Theary Seng Tung Soklim, Chhay Sophal, Chhay Sovath and Bun Ying.

This manual was made possible by a grant from the United Stated Agency for Development (USAID) and PADCO.

Foreword

When Khmer journalists say why they chose their profession, they often suggest a motivation rooted in the universal, journalistic ethos of human rights. They will tell you: “I felt an injustice” or “I saw an injustice.”

There are injustices that happen every day in Cambodia, from the endemic problem of students forced to pay teachers to pass exams to millions of dollars in bribes and profits from illegal logging pocketed by government officials.

Around the world, journalists are motivated by the same desire of wanting to right wrongs, from Nellie Bly, who, in 1887, went undercover to expose widespread abuses at a mental institution in New York, to Ida Tarbell, whose 1902 document-based pursuit of a U.S. oil giant’s monopoly and its impact on consumers brought the phrase “muckrakers” into the journalism lexicon. Jerry Kammer and his colleague Marcus Stern won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for uncovering the biggest bribe-taking scandal in the history of the U.S. Congress—a lawmaker who accepted more than $2.5 million in bribes from defense contractors.

In a country that lacks rule of law, where the justice system is fractured, corrupt, and unreliable, journalists play a great role in serving as watchdogs over government.

Cambodia’s media reports the problems that plague society; the amount of money lost each year to corruption mirrors the international community’s annual contribution to Cambodia.

But where Khmer media often fall short is in answering the more critical questions: Why is this happening? How did it happen? And most importantly, who is responsible for fixing it?

This handbook aims to give journalists and journalism students in Cambodia useful guide¬lines, ideas, and support in the international standards of investigative reporting.

We hope that this handbook will be valuable as you write and report the stories that are so important in Cambodia today.