The Future of Investigative Journalism

This talk delves into the consequences of automation on investigative journalism, using a political economy lens. It engages with topics such as the substitution of humans in the economic process through automation under capitalism, automation’s impact on humans and society such as alienation, the exploitation of labour; as well as the power structures within the newsroom and its consequential impact on storytelling, trauma/mental health of journalists’ work with graphic violence seen in conditions of war and conflict, diversity (gender and race).

It contextualises the relationship between the crisis in journalism, and the fourth estate’s ability to hold power to account, caused by capitalist modes of production.

It specifically focuses on augmentation using Open-Source Intelligence tools (OSINT tools) in investigative journalism units, and the structural imbalances of race, class and gender which appear to be replicated in the OSINT space, which is a majority white middle-class male-dominated profession from the Global North, often investigating the Global South, replicating colonial power dynamics. Finally, the discussion will briefly look at the risk of vicarious trauma from OSINT.

Biography

Manisha Ganguly is an award-winning investigative journalist & documentary filmmaker. She specialises in using open-source intelligence (OSINT) techniques to expose war crimes. She currently works for the BBC, producing international investigations that have been broadcast to over 300 million worldwide. Manisha is a Forbes Under 30 media honouree, and was named Journalist of the Year 2022 by One Young World. She holds a PhD in the future of investigative journalism from the University of Westminster.