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ColumbiaX: GM1x Global Muckraking: Investigative Journalism and Global Media

Global Muckraking: Investigative Journalism and Global Media

Global Muckraking: Investigative Journalism and Global Media

Instructor: Anya Schiffrin, Director of Technology, Media and Communications Specialization at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University

Global Muckraking (GM1x) uses examples of investigative and crusading journalism from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe to help you understand how raising public awareness can foster political and social change. You will discover the vital role that journalism has played in fighting injustice and wrongdoing over the last 100 years. This fast-paced course is an introduction to global muckraking—past and present. It includes insightful interviews with historians and investigative journalists to help us explore the current trends that are reshaping investigative reporting for the digital age.

What You Will Learn

  • Ways journalists can act as government and corporate watchdogs
  • The hard and soft pressures on investigative journalism
  • Stories of prominent reporters uncovering injustice from the late 19th century to today
  • Trends in media innovation

About GM1x

GM1x is an instructor-paced course. New content will be released weekly on Wednesdays at 12:00 ET (17:00 UTC). Each new section will examine topics in investigative journalism using lectures from the instructor and interviews with prominent journalists. Suggested readings will be provided for those participants wishing to explore the topics further. Each section will end with a quiz to assess your learning.

Suggested course-wide readings:

  • Global Muckraking: 100 Years of Investigative Journalism from Around the World edited by Anya Schiffrin 
  • King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild

Prerequisites: Intermediate reading and writing skills. Expected effort is about 3-5 hours of work.

About the Instructor

Anya Schiffrin is the director of the Technology, Media and Communications specialization at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. Schiffrin spent ten years working overseas as a journalist in Europe and Asia and was a Knight-Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. She srves on the advisory board of the Open Society Foundation’s Program on Independent Journalism and edited Global Muckraking: 100 Years of Investigative Reporting from Around the World (New Press 2014).

Course Outline

Section 1: The Rise of Modern Journalism  

  1. The Birth of Modern Journalism
  2. Dwarkanath Ganguly Reports on Human Trafficking 
  3. The US Muckrakers Take on Big Business
  4. The Impact of the US Muckrakers - Interview with Luigi Zingales
  5. Understanding the Impact of the Media   

Section 2: Muckraking Around the World

  1. Understanding Global Muckrakers 
  2. Uncovering the First 20th Century Human Rights Scandal - Interview with Adam Hochschild
  3. Henry Woodd Nevinson and the Boycott of Cadbury's Chocolate
  4. Ian Stephens Exposes the Bengal Famine of 1943
  5. When Does Muckraking Make a Difference?

Section 3:  Covering Oil, Gas, and Mining

  1. Introduction to Covering Oil, Gas, and Mining
  2. The Difficulties of  Reporting on Extractives 
  3. Citizen Journalism and Covering Big Oil - Interview with Omoyele Sowore
  4. Reporting on Global Corporations - Interview with Steve Coll
  5. Khadija Ismayilova Goes to Jail
  6. Modern Muckrakers in Africa

Section 4: Press Freedom, Censorship, and Surveillance

  1. Overview on Threats to Freedom of Expression  
  2. Soft Pressures and Hard Pressures 
  3. The New Censorship - Interview with Joel Simon
  4. Digital Surveillance - Interview with Jason Q. Ng 
  5. Media Development and Media Freedom Rankings - Interview with Laura Schneider 

Section 5: Global Muckraking Today

  1. The Golden Age of Global Muckraking
  2. Media Innovation: Today and Tomorrow - Interview with Reg Chua  
  3. Trends in Investigative Reporting - Interview with David E. Kaplan
  4. Cross-Border Reporting on Corruption - Interview with Paul Radu
  5. The Panama Papers and Investigative Journalism - Interview with Mike Hudson
  6. Philanthropy and Journalism Innovation - Interview with María Teresa Ronderos 
  7. Global Muckraking: Who Pays for It?

Discussion Forum Participation

The discussion forums will help us discuss, debate, and build a community of learners. Participation is optional, but we hope many will choose to bring their unique perspectives to the conversations.

Assessment and Grading

Section Quizzes 100% (20% x 5 weeks) A short quiz will be given at the end of each section to assess your knowledge of that its content.

Participants taking the course for a certificate will need to score better than 70% over the five quizzes. Participants can check their grade results on their progress page.