The force of the fourth Estate: Investigative journalism in my country

by Naiara Arteaga Taberna, Spain

Uncovering stories in the name of public interest is a journalistic practice relatively new to Spain. Due to its political context in the 20th Century, the function of investigative journalism –also called the Fourth Estate- could not be completely fulfilled: many irregularities within the governments were not reported of as investigative journalism was not feasible. This is because during the civil war (1936-1939) and the subsequent dictatorship of Francisco Franco (1939-1975), freedom of the press as well as other rights were reduced according to the interests of the regime. Towards the end of the dictatorship there was a process of democratisation, guaranteed later on by the Spanish Constitution of 1978.

Compared to other journalistic work, not many investigative journalism pieces have been made in Spain up to now. Nevertheless, the amount and their relevance have exponentially increased from its beginning. All in all, it is a costly product in terms of resources –human, material and time-wise. Besides, the Spanish media law as well as the logistics of the Spanish media –its financial and political ties to certain companies or political parties- sometimes make investigative journalism articles too compromising to be published. The procedure to get the information is frequently illegal too. This type of journalism is considered to be the most committed of all, and it has certain risks. Since its beginning in Spain, there have been some journalists that went to jail for not revealing their sources or the manner in which they got the information.
Contemporary investigative journalism in Spain has faced three phases: the first took place between 1975 and 1982; the second from 1982 to 1991 and the third since 1991 until nowadays. They are characterised by the economical, political and social circumstances of the period; the factors that shaped the manner in which journalism was understood both by media professionals and the rest of the society, including politicians, corporations and other civil actors such as NGO’s.

All things considered, it can be said that Spain has developed a high level of freedom which allows journalists to work properly in their profession. Due to the considerable corruption activities in Spain –it was ranked 32 out of 180 countries by Freedom House in its Transparency International's 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index-, journalists have the right and the moral obligation to work as watchdog journalists, to uncover stories that are relevant for a big group of society. As they observe what politicians, judges, police, companies and individuals do, they constitute the force of Fourth Estate, after the other supreme powers of legislature, executive and judicial branches.

However, there are some challenges that investigative journalists are facing in Spain. Because of the current economic reductions in all Spanish media, staff is being reduced or maintained but not increased, while the work has become instantaneous. Consequently, not many full-time employed journalists can spend time working on investigative journalism and must focus on more current issues that are prioritised by their newsroom.

It is a rather unfortunate situation in which the relevance of the investigative work is recognised, yet it is not so easy to practice. The fact that, in order to get the information, journalists must sometimes work secretly or use unconventional means makes investigative work difficult and risky. The present situation in media leads to an uncertain future. Investigative journalism may not disappear, but it will certainly change. Regular media outlets -newspapers and television- may still feature investigative news pieces in Spain; nonetheless, a profusion of online sites that will offer a new platform to gather that content is likely to happen. Even though there could be a market for this, it is unlikely that journalists in Spain will specialise in the topic whilst working full time for a media outlet as they once used to. In any case, journalists would be able to take advantage of new technologies to combine different formats and offer a more in depth information. The force of the Forth Estate would then be assured in a platform that is more accessible and less controlled: with journalists fulfilling their social responsibility in a new manner and more adjusted to the future.

Naiara Arteaga Taberna was born and brought up in Spain. As part of her Erasmus Mundus Master Journalism and Media within Globalisation the 25 year-old has so far lived and studied in Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia and Germany.