Experts

My goals for investigative journalism was how to find experts, how to access information, and how to conduct effective interviews. I learned a lot about accessing public documents. I found a trove of recently released CIA documents concerning their activities in Central America. In reading the redacted notes, it was obvious that U.S. involvement in the area has been going on for decades and has led inexorably to the current crisis refugee/immigrant crisis. Trump wants a wall. But why a wall? As it turns out, we are driving the refugees to our borders because of our terrible policy decisions in Central America. We have supported coups, provided weapons, and generally sided with fascists against communists and socialists. It was my intention to continue my research on the refugee crisis by interviewing current experts. I contacted four refugee centers in the Phoenix, Arizona area and three declined interviews and one agreed but then refused to provide answers. The refugee topic is sensitive right now and some of these organizations rely on federal money so they are afraid of any negative publicity.

I decided then to focus on human rights in the workplace and found a skilled worker at a multi-million dollar ISP provider. He had very little to complain about; however, he does work in a call center and is rarely asked to do a dangerous job or a job outside the scope of his duties. He did complain about the wage. He believes he is a skilled worker and only earns $17 per hour even with a Masters degree. His company certainly has the capacity to raise wages.

I learned that chasing down leads or interviews is challenging and the more sensitive the issue the harder it will be to find an expert to share their knowledge and experiences. I am slowly building a list of article categories and researching companies and people that can be contacted for comment on articles. I learned that investigative journalism is hard work and building a list of experts is critical.