Undercover journalism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Undercover journalism is a form of journalism in which a reporter tries to infiltrate in a community by posing as somebody friendly to that community. Journalists who are famous for their undercover reports include:


The role of undercover journalism has become the topic of much debate as moral and ethical lines have been crossed. The nine elements of journalism as outlined in a book by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel are as follows:

  1. Journalism's first obligation is to tell the truth.
  2. Its first loyalty is to the citizens.
  3. Its essence is discipline of verification.
  5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power.
  7. It must strive to make the news significant, interesting, and relevant.
  8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.

As reporters have gone undercover some of these guidelines have been bent and broken in order to uphold others on the list. Undercover reporting has brought to light numerous atrocities throughout history, yet often these reporters sacrifice ethical and moral code in the process.[1]


While the goal of journalism is to seek and report the truth, the ethics of how the truth is revealed should always be considered. If undercover journalism is an active lie to get the truth, then eventually trust can possibly be broken between reporters and the public. According to the Columbia Journalism Review, “Overreliance on sting operations and subterfuge can weaken the public’s trust in the media and compromise journalists’ claim to be truth-tellers. Undercover reporting can be a powerful tool, but it’s one to be used cautiously: against only the most important targets, and even then only when accompanied by solid traditional reporting.”[2] Undercover journalism exposes a lot of truths that would otherwise stay under the radar. In the 1990’s, ABC Primetime Live went undercover to find out if there was any truth behind the rumors of Food Lion’s unsanitary practices.[3] According to the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics, journalists should “Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information unless traditional, open methods will not yield information vital to the public.”[4] Undercover journalism should be used scarcely and if it is used, then it should be done so if there are no other options to get the information. It also should be accompanied by useful, interesting, and relevant information for the public.

Notable Undercover Journalists[edit]

Hunter S. Thompson was known for his undercover work reporting on the California based motorcycle gang, the Hells Angels. His book, Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, profiles the gang as Thompson spent roughly a year embedded among the Angels, during a time when their notoriety was at an all time high.

Elizabeth Jane Cochran wrote under the pseudonym, Nellie Bly, she became known for her undercover work for the New York World, titled Ten Days in a Mad-House when she checked herself into an insane asylum as a patient to report on cruelty and neglect. After ten days she was released and later went on to help a grand jury prosecute the mental ward.

Gunter Wallraff is a German journalist known for his undercover work, Ganz unten "The lowest of the low," on exposing the oppressive conditions faced by the immigrant workforce in Germany. He sought employment in German factories, pharmaceutical companies, and a wide array of odd jobs for roughly two years before publishing the book.

Donal MacIntyre is an Irish journalist who went undercover to expose employment standards in the Adventure Sports industry following the Lyme Regis canoeing disaster. He also won an award for his undercover work exposing drug dealers and private security firms that work in collusion after living in character for eleven months.

Alex Dolan is a journalist and science teacher best known for her undercover work exposing poor student behavior in her British classroom for the filming of a Channel 4* documentary Undercover Teacher.

Further reading[edit]

Related to this are books such as Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin, in which a white novelist dyed his skin black and traveled the southern United States, and Self-Made Man by Norah Vincent, a woman who dressed and passed herself off as a man. Gentleman's Agreement by Laura Z. Hobson is a fictional account of a gentile journalist who poses as a Jew to investigate antisemitism.

See also[edit]

Reference List[edit]

  1. ^ "Brooke Kroeger on James O’Keefe and Undercover Reporting: A CJR Podcast". Columbia Journalism Review. 15 March 2011. 
  2. ^ Marx, Greg. "The Ethics of Undercover Journalism". cjr.org. Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 1 December 2014. 
  3. ^ [(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_Lion) "Food Lion"]. Wikipedia. Retrieved 1 December 2014. 
  4. ^ "SPJ Code of Ethics". spj.org. Society of Professional Journalists. Retrieved 1 December 2014.