Five Steps to Start an Investigative Team at Your TV Station

By Paul Greeley

Lauren Weppler-Geissler has been the news director for more than 10 years at WTOL, Nexstar’s CBS affiliate in Toledo, and has been a frequent guest commentator for News Blues.

Weppler-Geissler has graciously given News Blues permission to publish her social media post on trying to land your first TV job or getting back in after time away.

Here are some other guest commentaries from Weppler-Geissler:

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Weppler-Geissler launched WTOL’s investigative team back in 2018.

“We won a National Murrow for our investigative work including at least 10 regional Murrow Awards, 10 Ohio APME awards, 3 Emmy awards, and two National Headliner Awards. Just to name a few.”

Five Steps to Start an Investigative Team at Your TV

Here are five steps to help get it off the ground:

1. Hire a digger.

Find someone with a relentless curiosity and a nose for news. Investigative journalism starts with a person who can’t let go of a question and is driven to uncover the truth.

2. Build a team around them.

Great investigations rarely happen alone. Connect your investigator with a photographer, producer, digital journalist, and others who want to grow their investigative skills. Create a team that shares the same mission.

3. Commit to making investigative journalism part of your daily culture.

It’s a balance of quick-turn accountability stories and longer-term investigations. Make room for both, and make sure the work consistently finds its way into your newscasts and digital platforms.

4. Partner with marketing.

Your marketing team can help amplify the impact of your reporting, build audience awareness, and strengthen your investigative brand. Don’t overlook their role in the process.

5. Secure leadership support.

This may be the most important step. Investigative journalism often makes people uncomfortable. You’re uncovering information that some would prefer remain hidden. There will be criticism, pressure, and tension. You need leaders and GMs who understand the value of accountability journalism and will stand behind the work when challenges arise.

Investigative journalism isn’t easy. It requires patience, resources, trust, and commitment. But when done well, it can create meaningful change in a community and remind people why local journalism matters.

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