Investigative Journalism

During the spring semester, students will generate an investigative journalism project, learning to apply critical thinking to identify a significant and suitable topic; dig for information, sources and documents; pursue best practices in interviewing, research and fact-checking; be fair and accurate. Fieldwork will generate a finished journalism article or series that will enlighten readers and be worthy of publication.

Over the spring semester, students will meet once weekly for a two-hour workshop led by alumni and industry experts Gretchen Morgenson ’76 and Karla Hult ’95. There will also be group sessions meeting at least once per week to work collaboratively on the project. Workshop leaders will also host weekly office hours to allow for time to check in on progress, and answer any questions.

Note: This experience will require a (minimum) average of 10 hours per week during the spring semester.

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Application Deadline: Friday, December 1 at 11:55pm.

The specific objectives of this program are to:

Gain experience in hands-on journalism, and more specifically, how to do investigations
Identify a topic or issue that is being overlooked
Develop a project, run an investigation, serve as reporters
Write a story, or series of stories for potential publication
Clips to be leveraged in future internship/job applications
Learn and apply key skills required for investigative journalism (i.e. writing style, interviewing tips, ethics, objectivity, news values)
Receive written and practical feedback on how to explore and get a job within the journalism industry

The following topics will be explored during the weekly workshop sessions:

Identifying an investigation subject that will compel and enlighten readers.
Finding and cultivating sources.
Understanding the crucial role documents play in investigations, where to find them, how to interpret them.
The use of court documents and legal proceedings.
Honing your interviewing skills.
Ensuring the reporting is fair.
The importance of fact-checking and reliance on primary sources.
Synthesizing your findings into words; how to write cogently and simply and keep your reader reading.
How to present your reporting on multiple platforms (digital, text, social

Gretchen is the senior financial reporter in the Investigations unit at NBC News, a position she assumed in December 2019. Previously, Ms. Morgenson spent two years as an investigative reporter at The Wall Street Journal and almost 20 years as assistant business and financial editor and columnist at The New York Times. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for her “trenchant and incisive” coverage of Wall Street in The Times.

Ms. Morgenson began her career in 1976 upon graduation from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. She joined Vogue Magazine as an editorial assistant and began writing the personal finance column for the magazine several years later. In 1981 she became a stockbroker at Dean Witter, a job she held for three years. Ms. Morgenson joined Money Magazine as a staff writer in 1984 and moved to Forbes in 1986. She was named assistant managing editor at the magazine in September 1997.

Ms. Morgenson is co-author, with Joshua Rosner, of Reckless Endangerment, a New York Times bestseller about the origins of the 2008 financial crisis published in May 2011 by Times Books. In 2023, Ms. Morgenson co-authored an expose on the private equity industry with Rosner, These are the Plunderers, which became a Wall Street Journal bestseller.

Ms. Morgenson has won two Gerald Loeb Awards, one in 2009 for her coverage of Wall Street and another in 2002 for excellence in financial commentary. In 2010, she received the Elliott V. Bell Award from the New York financial Writers’ Association for her “significant long-term contribution to the profession of financial journalism.” In 2018, she received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers for her “outstanding contribution to business journalism.” Ms. Morgenson has also served on two Pulitzer Prize juries, evaluating investigative reporting entries in 2009 and 2010. Ms. Morgenson and her husband live in New York City and have a son, who is also an Ole.

Karla Hult is an Emmy, Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite award-winning journalist who’s worked in eight different newsrooms throughout the country. Her favorite stories include those touching on international, political and cultural issues and, of course, stories shared from the heart, including her award-winning work on her family’s own Alzheimer’s journey.

Karla built her career on a foundation of esteemed education. She received a Master’s of International Affairs from Columbia University in New York, where she also earned a writing fellowship. Karla graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from St. Olaf College in Minnesota.

Today, she continues to report and anchor for KARE 11, the NBC affiliate in Minneapolis, while also often teaching tomorrow’s journalists as an adjunct professor at her alma mater, St. Olaf. But Karla remains most proud of her work as a fierce fighter, emcee and overall advocate for the Alzheimer’s Association and other organizations committed to helping the underserved in our greater and global communities. Karla also launched her own company, So Many Goodbyes, which is dedicated to helping families, caregivers and the long-term care community understand and cope with the cruelty of Alzheimer’s and other dementia.

Karla lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Gary, their two strong girls, Grace and Isabella, and their new puppy, Kaija June. The family loves traveling, reading and catching the sunset at Nana and PopPop’s home on their beloved Clear Lake in Forest Lake, Minnesota.

Meghan McMillan (she, her, hers)

Associate Director, Ole Career Launcher, Innovation and the Arts

Tomson Hall 270M

P507-786-3565

Emcmill2@stolaf.edu

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Piper Center for Vocation and Career

Investigative Journalism

Program Overview

Note: This experience will require a (minimum) average of 10 hours per week during the spring semester.

Application Deadline: Friday, December 1 at 11:55pm.

The specific objectives of this program are to:

Gain experience in hands-on journalism, and more specifically, how to do investigations

Identify a topic or issue that is being overlooked

Develop a project, run an investigation, serve as reporters

Write a story, or series of stories for potential publication

Clips to be leveraged in future internship/job applications

Learn and apply key skills required for investigative journalism (i.e. writing style, interviewing tips, ethics, objectivity, news values)

Receive written and practical feedback on how to explore and get a job within the journalism industry

More details to come!

The following topics will be explored during the weekly workshop sessions:

Identifying an investigation subject that will compel and enlighten readers.

Finding and cultivating sources.

Understanding the crucial role documents play in investigations, where to find them, how to interpret them.

The use of court documents and legal proceedings.

Honing your interviewing skills.

Ensuring the reporting is fair.

The importance of fact-checking and reliance on primary sources.

Synthesizing your findings into words; how to write cogently and simply and keep your reader reading.

How to present your reporting on multiple platforms (digital, text, social

Workshop Leaders

Karla built her career on a foundation of esteemed education. She received a Master’s of International Affairs from Columbia University in New York, where she also earned a writing fellowship. Karla graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from St. Olaf College in Minnesota.

Karla lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Gary, their two strong girls, Grace and Isabella, and their new puppy, Kaija June. The family loves traveling, reading and catching the sunset at Nana and PopPop’s home on their beloved Clear Lake in Forest Lake, Minnesota.

Questions?

Meghan McMillan (she, her, hers)