The Jeremiad Over Journalism

the American ‗Investigative Reporters and Editors, for one was on the podium. The American
association inspired the creation of a Swedish association of investigative journalism that
spurred the idea of a Danish counterpart.‖ 465
Hence, an American example, in the shape of Ric Tulsky, was the only foreign element highlighted
in the pages of Journalisten when The Danish Association of Investigative Journalists was
established. The organization was established right around the time that the Berlin Wall fell and in
the subsequent years, articles in Journalisten and DJH courses were increasingly oriented towards
the United States. Moreover, DJE in 1990 started collaborating with the Florida-based Poynter
Institute and brought in American lecturers annually to teach writing and coaching. 466
Yet, asserting that all attempts at investigative journalism in Denmark were inspired by the United
States would be going too far. As we saw, Ekstra Bladet, in 1982 was described as one of the
Danish outlets, who had succesfully practiced investigative journalism in Denmark, and there are
examples of a variant of American-style investigative journalism being practiced at the newspaper
before anyone had even heard of Watergate.
According to an internally produced anniversary book by Ekstra Bladet, the newspaper launched a
series of investigative articles uncovering fraud in the housing market in and around Copenhagen
under editor-in-chief Victor Andreasen from 1963 and foward. In Ekstra Bladet‘s lore, the article
465 Mette Stenumgaard, "Ny Forening Af Snushaner [New Association for Snoopers]," Journalisten, January 17, 1990.
Page 10-11. My translation. Original text reads, ―Foreningen har til formål at fremme undersøgende, dybdeborende og
kritisk journalistik og vil arbejde for bedre uddannelse i undersøgende journalistik. En anden idé med foreningen er at
udveksle erfaring mellem medlemmerne og med tilsvarende foreninger i udlandet. På to dage præsenterede seminaret
en række danske og udenlandske gæster, der berettede om deres personlige erfaringer og visioner for undersøgende
journalistik. Om fredagen var det blandt andet Pulitzer-prisvinder Ric Tulsky, der er formand for den amerikanske
‗Investigative Reporters and Editors,‘ på talerstolen. Den amerikanske forening inspirerede til dannelsen af en
svenskforening af ‘Gravande Journalister‘ som igen gav idéen til en dansk pendant.‖
466 Knud Søndergaard, "Mød Don Fry [Meet Don Fry]," Journalisten, May 16, 1990. Page 21. According to
Søndergaards course description, several Danish journalists had visited the Poynter Institute in January with great
succes. In terms of ―coaching,‖ the same sequence of transmission, transnationalization and appropriation as the one
described for New Journalism and investigative journalism is also detectable. See for example Flemming Reinvard,
"Journalistisk Coaching [Journalistic Coaching]," Update(1999),
http://www.update.dk/cfje/vidbase.nsf/%28VBFriTekstMultiDB%29/5FFCA21174C7320FC12567F2002CE19F?Open
Document. Article accessed December 28, 2010.
Reinvard‘s article is based on a book by The Poynter Institute‘s Roy Peter Clark from 1992. The Poynter Institute
continues to play an important role in knowledge exchange between Danish and American journalists to this day. Søren
Dalsgaard, "Dit Svære Valg Ved Karrierens Korsvej [Your Hard Choice at the Career's Cross Road]," Update, Spring
2011.
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