Below is an element-by-element overview of the entire "Democracy's Watchdog" lesson. To the left of longer elements, you will find short summaries of those elements. In each assessment element, a yellow highlight indicates a correct answer. Whenever relevant, we also include teacher tipsđź’ˇand definitions of important words from NLP's word wall đź’¬*.*
Democracy's Watchdog - Get Started
Investigative journalists dive deep into issues and carefully gather and share any evidence of wrongdoing they uncover with the public. This is also referred to as "watchdog journalism."
Hi, I’m Wesley Lowery, a national correspondent for The Washington Post. I report and write stories about law enforcement, justice and sometimes, injustice. An essential part of my job is to question authority. I literally ask questions for a living. And sometimes I need to ask powerful people questions that they don’t want to answer. But I ask anyway because I’m a reporter, and that’s what we do. What’s more, I do a specific kind of reporting called investigative reporting, serving as an important watchdog in American democracy. Investigative journalists dive deeper into issues. We carefully gather evidence of wrongdoing, put that evidence into context, and then share our findings with the public. In this lesson, we’ll explore the important role that watchdog journalism and the free press have played in American democracy.
Notable Investigative Journalism Cases Throughout History
Scroll through some of the most notable cases of investigative journalism and see how the role of the watchdog has shaped history.
https://newslit.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Investigative-Journalism-Timeline.pdf
Click here to view the PDF of "Notable Investigative Journalism Cases Throughout History"
The First Amendment guarantees free press, which protects journalists from being punished for reporting stories that examine the actions of those in power.
This protection allows journalists to be democracy's watchdogs, investigating and reporting any attempts by those in power to take away or limit our shared freedoms.
"I wouldn’t be able to do my job if it weren’t for the First Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees a free press. The framers of the Constitution understood that a free and independent press is vital to a robust democracy. The First Amendment protects me from being punished for reporting stories examining the actions of those in power. There are a few exceptions. I can’t legally publish information that might compromise national security. Also, the First Amendment doesn’t protect me if I deliberately publish false information that damages someone’s career or reputation. But pretty much everything else is fair game.
In the United States, our shared freedoms occasionally come under attack. We, as journalists, have a responsibility to investigate and report any attempts by those in power to take away or limit those freedoms. This is the essence of the watchdog role. Sometimes, this means exposing wrongdoing by government officials. And other times, it’s about uncovering illegal or unethical practices by large corporations. It can even involve a news service exposing deceitful or harmful practices at another news organization. In many cases, investigative reporting requires tracking down information that someone is actively trying to hide. Sometimes, it takes a team of reporters years to gather and verify information before their stories see the light of day. The motto here at The Washington Post is “Democracy dies in darkness” because without journalists shining a light on corruption, waste and abuse, the American people would be kept largely in the dark. They wouldn’t have the information they need to make informed decisions that hold powerful people and organizations accountable for their actions."
<aside> 💬 Word wall: The First Amendment is Part of the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution). This amendment prohibits Congress from making laws that (a) infringe on the freedom of speech or freedom of the press, (b) prohibit the free exercise of religion or (c) limit the right to peaceably assemble or to petition the government for a redress of grievances (making a complaint to the government, or asking for its assistance, without fear of reprisal). Under the First Amendment, the government cannot legally punish you for exercising these rights. It does not, however, protect you from private parties — such as places of business or individuals — taking action against you.
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<aside> 💬 Word wall: Watchdog role is the function played by any person or organization that monitors or documents the actions of others to discover deceitful, corrupt or unlawful activity. This role is often played by news organizations — for example, as they monitor and report on government offices and meetings or corporate activity — but citizens can also act as watchdogs by documenting unjust or illegal practices.
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