Watchdog Journalism

Last Thursday we discussed the idea of investigative reporting which can be defined as, "uncovering and documenting activities that have been previously unknown to the public." Although many would argue that this type of journalism can be unethical because it can put people and businesses in a bad light, if executed correctly I feel that investigative journalism is what enables journalists to maintain their "watchdog" reputation because they are able to inform society through rigorous journalism tactics.
In my Comms 300 class we learned about the ethics and laws behind undercover reporting (which can be classified as a specific type of investigative journalism). During our lesson on this topic my professor brought up the civil case with Food Lion and ABC News which serves as an example of watchdog journalism, but also leaves room for discussion on the ethics that were put in to practice in this case.
In the early 1990’s producers working for an ABC news television magazine program decided to investigate unsanitary practices at the Food Lion grocery chain. With the the approval of many within ABC, producers decided that the best way to investigate the store’s practices was to have reporters infiltrate the store as employees. Two female news reporters applied for jobs at Food Lion using false names and invented work histories. The plan worked. Both women were hired, one in North Carolina and the other in South Carolina. To document their findings the producers used hidden miniature cameras and microphones. Their story, complete with video recordings aired on Nov 5 1992 on ABC’s Primetime Live. The report documented allegedly unsanitary meat-handling practices at the stores and was sharply critical of Food Lion.
Food Lion denied the accusations and then filed a law suit against ABC. Food Lion waged its legal battle on the newsgathering front, alleging fraud, trespass, unfair trade practices and breach of duty of loyalty. At trial, the jury sided with Food Lion, however ABC appealed. By a vote of 2 to 1 a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court reversed the verdict for food lion on all but the trespass and breach of loyalty claims. in the end, food lion was awarded a total of two dollars.
I feel that watchdog journalism can become a heated debate when issues like this come about. While this case was useful for informing the public about the unsanitary food handling that was taking place, many would argue that the methods used to obtain this information were unethical and therefore it should not be reported. This is just one of many watchdog examples in which questionable journalism tactics were used in order to uncover a story.
In conclusion, I feel that the idea of watchdog journalism is essential to our society. We need people who are willing to dig up information in order to let the public know what's actually going on. In addition, this practice will keep people on guard and hopefully encourage them to behave more ethically.