Investigative Reporting for the Daily Californian Journalism 198

Abbie VanSickle [email protected] 206.552.5597 (cell) Class time: Friday 2-3, IRP Conference Room Office hours: Friday 3-4 or by appointment

This introductory course offers an overview of investigative reporting, aimed at giving students practical experience and guidance. The course assumes that students will have some reporting experience, primarily as reporters for the Daily Californian, although others may be admitted ​ ​ with the permission of the instructor. The course aims to give students classroom instruction in techniques, a background in the most relevant investigative work and, when possible, advice and instruction by practitioners.

The course will examine the role of investigative reporting, the fundamental techniques that may be of use (data collection, interviewing, court records, etc.) and exposure to some of the ethical and legal dilemmas that reporters face. As part of the course, students will work on an investigative story of their choosing, preferably a piece for the Daily Cal, but any ​ ​ publishable-quality piece will do.

There is no required textbook for this course, but required readings will be found in the course ​ ​ reader.

The syllabus indicates the general schedule for the semester, but we may vary it a bit depending on the discussions and the pace.

COURSE OBJECTIVES The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to investigative reporting, by learning techniques, by hearing from experienced practitioners, and by reading, listening to and viewing strong examples of investigative storytelling.

By the end of the semester, I hope you will:

● Have an understanding of the basics of investigative reporting; ● Have read, viewed and listened to some of the best investigative storytelling; ● Gain an understanding of the challenges and techniques of investigative reporting; ● Gain confident in making public records requests and in asking difficult questions.

SUGGESTED READING, WATCHING AND LISTENING “Writing for Story” by Jon Franklin Spotlight, the movie ​ “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo “Without You, There is No Us: Undercover Among the Sons of North Korea’s Elite” by Suki Kim “Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital” by Sheri Fink “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot In the Dark podcast ​ “Random Family” by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc

ASSIGNMENTS We will have short weekly assignments as a way to be able to reflect on what we’re studying and to practice the skills learned along the way. These won’t be long assignments, but they will help you to practice an important skill for a journalist--meeting deadlines. The deadline for ​ ​ each week’s assignment will be 5 p.m. on Wednesday. That ensures that I’ll have enough time ​ ​ to properly read and respond to assignments and to give classmates time to read and reflect on each other’s work.

ATTENDANCE POLICY This class is discussion-focused, and I believe that students learn a lot from each other. Attendance is vital. Don’t miss more than one class during the semester, unless there are exceptional circumstances approved in advance. Notify me in advance before missing a class.

ASSESSMENT This is a pass/no pass course. To pass the course, I expect you will have:

● Turned in all assignments on time ● Attended class and actively participated ● Demonstrated an understanding of the course objectives through your questions, comments and class assignments

OTHER REQUIREMENTS & EXPECTATIONS 1) You are required to attend class on time. Consider the class time the same way you would an appointment for an interview on a reporting assignment. “Berkeley Time” doesn’t apply to this class. 2:00 means 2:00. We only have one hour, so let’s make it count.

2) Be prepared to discuss and engage with class topics and scheduled speakers the way you would prepare if you were interviewing a source.

3) Plan on being “laptops down, phones away” during most sessions. When computer or ​ ​ phone use is permitted, it will only be for note taking or viewing websites being discussed. No web surfing, email, texting, social media, gchat or completing other work that’s supposed to be done outside of class. Please bring paper and a pen to each class.

4) Turn in assignments by the deadline.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY & PLAGIARISM: The high academic standard at the University of California, Berkeley, is reflected in each degree that is awarded. As a result, it is up to every student to maintain this high standard by ensuring that all academic work reflects his/her own ideas or properly attributes the ideas to the original sources.

These are some basic expectations of students with regards to academic integrity: Any work submitted should be your own individual thoughts, and should not have been submitted for credit in another course unless you have prior written permission to re-use it in this course from this instructor.

All assignments must use "proper attribution," meaning that you have identified the original source of words or ideas that you reproduce or use in your assignment. This includes drafts and homework assignments!

If you are unclear about expectations, ask your instructor.

DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS: If you need disability-related accommodations in this class, if you have emergency medical information you wish to share with the instructor, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please inform the instructor as soon as possible by seeing him/her after class or making an appointment.

If you are not currently listed with DSP (Disabled Students’ Program) but believe that you could benefit from their support, you may apply online at dsp.berkeley.edu.

INSTRUCTOR BIO:

Abbie VanSickle is a reporter for The Marshall Project, covering criminal justice in California. ​ Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Times, among other outlets. Prior to joining The Marshall Project, she worked as a staff reporter ​ for the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley. She is a licensed attorney and practiced as a public defender in Seattle and worked on human rights in China and on behalf of genocide survivors at the ECCC tribunal in Cambodia.

August 24 -- What is investigative reporting?

What is investigative reporting? What do we mean by that term? What makes a story an “investigative” piece? We’ll have introductions. We will talk about how to define investigative reporting and stories. Before class, please take a look at these stories with an eye toward the sources the reporters used and the reporting process:

Required Reading: “Fight Club” by Carol Marbin Miller and Audra D.S. Burch, Miami Herald ​ https://www.miamiherald.com/news/special-reports/florida-prisons/article177510156.html

“An L.A. County deputy faked evidence. Here’s how his misconduct was kept secret in court for years,” by Corina Knoll, Ben Poston and Maya Lau, Los Angeles Times ​ http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-brady-list-secrecy-court-20180809-htmlstory.html and the Brady List quiz: http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-brady-list-secrecy/. ​ ​ “The Throwaways,” by Sarah Stillman, New Yorker, ​ ​ https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/09/03/the-throwaways

“Invisible Lives: D.C.’s Troubled System for the Retarded: Forest Haven is Gone, But the Agony Remains,” by Katherine Boo, the Washington Post ​ http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/washington-post-notably-work-katherine-boo

“Origins of an Epidemic: Purdue Pharma Knew its Opioids Were Widely Abused,” by Barry Meier, The New York Times, ​ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/health/purdue-opioids-oxycontin.html?rref=collection%2Fb yline%2Fbarry-meier&action=click&contentCollection=undefined®ion=stream&module=strea m_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=collection

Assignment: To start off our discussion of investigative reporting, I’d like to know what examples inspire you. Before our first class, please email me ([email protected]) an example of a piece of ​ ​ investigative reporting that you admire.

August 31 -- Story Ideas

How do you find investigative story ideas on your beat? How do you know when you’ve got a good story? What are the elements that separate a story from simply a topic or area of interest? What background research should you do when you’ve found a story?

Required Reading: “Three Simple Ways to Find Stories,” NPR Training -- https://training.npr.org/audio/3-simple-ways-to-find-story-ideas/

“Storytelling Advice from Sarah Stillman of the New Yorker,” https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/storytelling-advice-from-sarah-stillman-of-the-new-yorker/s2/ a711997/

“15 Rules,” Nieman Storyboard -- http://niemanstoryboard.org/stories/katherine-boos-15-rules-for-narrative-nonfiction-now-this-is- a-must-read/

“The Miseries of Eviction: An Interview with Matthew Desmond,” -- https://www.currentaffairs.org/2016/08/the-miseries-of-eviction-an-interview-with-matthew-desm ond

Assignment: Use the techniques that we discuss to find a story that you’d like to pursue this semester. It could be off of your beat or another area of interest on campus or in Berkeley. Please write a pitch of no more than 250 words with your story idea. Be sure to include links to any other ​ ​ stories that have been written already and how your idea is different.

September 7 -- Ethics

In the past, I’ve taught a class in ethics toward the end of the semester, but it’s such a vital topic, particularly as you start off your reporting, that I’m moving it up this year. We’ll be using three cases to start off our discussion, but we will also discuss issues that you’ve experienced in the past or that you’re anticipating this semester.

● Covering white supremacists/Neo-Nazi groups ● Someone wants you to take down info from the Daily Cal website -- what do you do? ● You’re reporting on a vulnerable person -- do you ever intervene?

Required Reading: “The Journalistic Method,” by Nicholas Lemann -- http://c-lab.columbia.edu/0199.html ​

“A Voice of Hate in America’s Heartland,” by Richard Fausset, The New York Times, ​ ​ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/25/us/ohio-hovater-white-nationalist.html, as well as the ​ reporter’s response: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/25/insider/white-nationalist-interview-questions.html

Jason Kessler interview and NPR: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/10/637390626/a-year-after-charlottesville-unite-the-right-rally-will-b e-held-in-d-c and ​ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/business/media/charlottesville-jason-kessler-npr.html?smi d=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur

Twitter thread by Lois Beckett, The Guardian: ​ ​ https://twitter.com/loisbeckett/status/1028269158021128192

“Getting Racist Ideas Backwards,” On the Media (transcript): ​ ​ https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/racism-enduring-misconception/

NPR “Ethics Handbook” -- “How to Explain Why We Won’t Take Down a Story” -- http://ethics.npr.org/memos-from-memmott/how-to-explain-why-we-wont-take-down-a-story/ and ​ how to explain the implications of talking -- http://ethics.npr.org/memos-from-memmott/this-story-about-you-is-going-to-be-on-the-web-forev er-and-you-may-come-to-regret-that/

Online News Association -- “Removing Material from Your Archives” -- https://ethics.journalists.org/topics/removing-material-from-your-archives/

“Are We Journalists First?” https://archives.cjr.org/feature/are_we_journalists_first.php ​

Assignment: Write a short reflection of our discussion on ethics (no more than 250 words). What scenario ​ ​ stood out most for you, and why? Can you think of a time that you’ve struggled with an ethical dilemma in a story? What did you do, and how did you make your decision?

September 14 -- Interviewing

How do you prepare for an interview? What are different interviewing techniques to use? There are a wide array of interviewing styles and approaches -- what might work best for your story? We’ll discuss some of the approaches from the readings and then talk through common scenarios. Required Reading: “Oriana Fallaci and the Art of the Interview,” by Christopher Hitchens, Vanity Fair, ​ ​ https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2006/12/hitchens200612

“The Four Principles,” by Stephen Isaacs, http://www.columbia.edu/itc/journalism/isaacs/edit/MencherIntv1.html

Public Radio tips, http://prndg.org/host-interviewing-tips ​

“Terry Gross and the Art of Opening Up,” by Susan Burton, The New York Times Sunday ​ Magazine, ​ https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/magazine/terry-gross-and-the-art-of-opening-up.html

Assignment: Choose an interview and write a response of no more than 250 words about whether you ​ ​ found the interview effective or not and why. It could be an example from class (Fallaci or Terry Gross), or it could be an example from a podcast, a tv show, etc. The goal is to get you thinking about how journalists prepare and skillfully interview, and what you think is effective and what isn’t.

September 21 -- Public Records Requests

A standard practice for reporters of all kinds is the public records request. We’ll talk about federal and state records requests and how to craft them. We will also talk about techniques for getting answers to your requests and what do with the information you receive.

Guest Speaker: Jason Paladino, public records researcher, Investigative Reporting Program

Required Reading: Look over the federal government’s FOIA portal: https://www.foia.gov/how-to.html ​

Take a look at California’s state Public Records Act: http://ag.ca.gov/publications/summary_public_records_act.pdf

California League of Cities summary of PRA: https://www.cacities.org/Resources/Open-Government/THE-PEOPLE%E2%80%99S-BUSINES S-A-Guide-to-the-California-Pu.aspx

East Bay Times and the Ghost Ship fire: http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/staff-27 ​ ​

“Badge of Dishonor: Top Oakland Police Department Officials Looked Away as East Bay Cops Sexually Exploited and Trafficked a Teenager,” by Darwin BondGraham and Ali Winston, https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/badge-of-dishonor-top-oakland-police-department-offi cials-looked-away-as-east-bay-cops-sexually-exploited-and-trafficked-a-teenagerdepartmen/Co ntent?oid=4832543

Assignment: Write a sample public records request under the California Public Records Act. The request can be for the story that you’re working on, or it can be just an exercise in writing a request.

September 28 -- Court Records

Court records are among the most commonly used records in stories. Whether it’s a quarrel over a will, a lawsuit against a company by its employees, a constitutional rights battle over prison conditions or a legal fight over the treatment of immigrants, the court system contains thousands of stories and the documents to help you tell them. We’ll go through a few examples to give you a sense of what a case looks like and the documents available to you. Librarians from UC Berkeley School of Law have agreed to join us to explain some of the campus resources available to you.

Guest Speaker(s): Berkeley Law librarians

Required Reading:

Berkeley Law library guide: http://libguides.law.berkeley.edu/c.php?g=326643&p=2192603 ​

Assignment: Look up a court case. It could be either a case that’s relevant to your story or a separate case. Either state or federal is fine. Look up the docket and write up a short summary of what you’ve discovered about the case. Your summary should be no more than 250 words. ​ ​

October 5 -- Story Workshop

We’ll talk about your stories. Each student will have a few minutes to present a short update and to share with the class. We’ll talk about questions, concerns and anything else that might help move the stories forward.

October 12 -- Data Reporting

We’ll talk about using data in your stories, whether it’s for reporting the piece or whether that data becomes part of the way you tell the story (visualization). Data forms the basis for many of the most powerful investigative stories, and we’ll talk about how to approach data, whether by requesting government datasets or creating your own.

Guest Speaker: Yolanda Martinez, The Marshall Project

Required Reading: “How we made ‘sending even more immigrants to prison,’” by Yolanda Martinez -- https://source.opennews.org/articles/how-we-made-sending-even-more-immigrants-prison/

“Sending Even More Immigrants to Prison,” by Yolanda Martinez, The Marshall Project -- https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/05/20/sending-even-more-immigrants-to-prison

“Murder with Impunity: An Unequal Justice,” by Wesley Lowery, Kimbriell Kelly and Steven Rich, Washington Post, ​ https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/investigations/black-homicides-arrests/?utm_ter m=.937e00da873d

“The Age that Women have Babies: How a Gap Divides America,” by Quoctrung Bui and Claire Cain Miller, The Upshot ​ https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/04/upshot/up-birth-age-gap.html?rref=collection%2 Fsectioncollection%2Fupshot&action=click&contentCollection=upshot®ion=rank&module=pa ckage&version=highlights&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=sectionfront

“When Deportation is a Death Sentence,” by Sarah Stillman, New Yorker, ​ ​ https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/01/15/when-deportation-is-a-death-sentence and a ​ story about her database -- https://www.npr.org/2018/01/09/576858224/how-one-group-is-tracking-violence-experienced-aft er-deportation

“Failure Factories,” Tampa Bay Times ​ http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2015/investigations/pinellas-failure-factories/

Eviction Lab -- https://evictionlab.org/ ​

UC Berkeley Human Rights Center Investigations Lab -- https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/human-rights-center/programs/technology/human-rights- investigations-lab-internships/

Assignment: Next week, will be discussing your stories. Please send me a short update (an email is fine) on how it’s going and come prepared to talk about your progress and anything that you’d like to share with the class or ask for help with.

October 19 -- Using Academic Research and Studies in Your Work

Academic research can be both a good guide and a key source for stories. We’ll talk about how to use the resources available to you as students (JSTOR, Nexis, journals), as well as how to do a literature review and how to cultivate academic sources for your stories.

Required Reading: “Evicted,” by Matthew Desmond (Chapters 1 and 2)

“Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes,” (Chapter 1)

UC Berkeley Library Guide for Journalism Students -- https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/subject-guide/92-Journalism

“There are No Children Here,” by Alex Kotlowitz (Chapter 1)

“The Marriage Cure,” by Katherine Boo, New Yorker ​

Assignment: Do a brief literature review for your story. Who are the main experts in the field? What are the publications, if any, that are on point? Who are sources that you can be reaching out to? Please write up a short review -- no more than a single page. ​ ​

October 26 -- Nonprofits and Businesses

Whether you’re reporting on higher education or business, an understanding of the records available to you is crucial. We’ll look at tax forms, SEC filings and court records and demystify these records.

Guest Speaker: Miguel Barbosa, Founder & CEO of Citizen Audit

Required Reading:

Bloomberg tax series: http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2015 ​

New York Times and Wal-Mart in Mexico: http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/david-barstow-and-alejandra-xanic-von-bertrab

Tesla stories from Reveal: https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/tesla-and-beyond-hidden-problems-of-silicon-valley/

“All Work, No Pay” -- https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/inside-a-rehab-empire/ ​

Assignment: Choose a nonprofit or a business and look it up in Guidestar, CitizenAudit, the SEC or OSHA. Find one document and write a one-paragraph summary of what you found and ​ ​ how you found it.

November 2 -- Interviewing Survivors of Trauma and Other Vulnerable People

Many students in this course have pitched stories about vulnerable people -- survivors of abuse, homelessness in Berkeley, and undocumented students, among others. I’ve found it useful to include a class about interviewing and reporting on vulnerable groups. We’ll discuss techniques to use and how to approach these interviews.

“Conducting Safe, Effective and Ethical Interviews with Survivors of Sexual and Gender-based Violence,” Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma/Witness -- https://dartcenter.org/content/conducting-interviews-with-survivors-sexual-and-gender-based-vio lence-by-witness “Tragedies & Journalists: A Guide for More Effective Coverage,” Dart Center -- https://dartcenter.org/sites/default/files/en_tnj_0.pdf

“A Formerly Homeless Photographer on How To -- and How Not To -- Photograph Homeless People,” https://www.pdnonline.com/features/photographer-interviews/formerly-homeless-photographer-n ot-photograph-homeless-people/

“Where Health and Economic Issues Collide,” Center for Health Journalism -- https://www.centerforhealthjournalism.org/resources/lessons/homelessness

“How to Report on Undocumented Students in the Time of Trump,” Education Writers’ Association -- https://www.ewa.org/blog-higher-ed-beat/how-report-undocumented-students-time-trump

Assignment: There is no written assignment for this class. Please continue reporting and writing your stories.

November 16 -- Investigative Reporting and the Law

It’s important for reporters to have a basic understanding of how the law intersects with journalism. When can you record an interview? What is defamation/libel? How can you fact-check your work?

Guest Speaker: Jim Wheaton, First Amendment Project

“The New Yorker’s Chief Fact-Checker on How to Get Things Right in the era of ‘Post-Truth’” https://www.cjr.org/the_delacorte_lectures/new-yorkers-fact-checker-post-truth-facts-fake-news- trump.php

“Student Press Law Center Tip Sheet on Covering Protests,” http://www.splc.org/article/2015/11/splc-tip-sheet-covering-protests

“Daily Californian Journalist Recounts Freeway Protest, 20-Hour Jail Stint,” http://archive.dailycal.org/article.php?id=108555

“A Guide for Journalists Covering Protests,” https://muckrack.com/blog/2017/02/02/a-guide-for-journalists-covering-protests

“Invasion of Privacy Law,” http://www.splc.org/article/2011/06/invasion-of-privacy-law ​

“Guide to Publishing Leaked Material,” http://www.splc.org/article/2001/09/splc-guide-to-publishing-leaked-material

Assignment: Prepare to present your story and reporting process to students after Thanksgiving.

November 23 -- No class -- Thanksgiving

November 30 -- Story Presentations

We’ll end the semester by presenting the reporting you’ve done this semester. Stories may be in various stages, but each student will share work and get feedback from peers.