“Investigative Reporting: From Premise to Publication” has been selected by the Center for Afghan Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha to be translated into Dari and Pashto as part of a program that teaches modern journalistic techniques to students in Afghanistan.
The project is part of a $2.8 million U.S. State Department grant that includes updating the journalism textbooks and curriculum at the University of Kabul. The goal is to help the university meet international journalistic standards and prepare students for careers in media.
Burstiner’s book provides a step-by-step guide on conducting investigative journalism. It assumes no prior knowledge of investigative reporting techniques and walks students through each step, from finding sources to writing a story.
Although Burstiner originally wrote the text for students in her investigative reporting class—JMC 326—she says the book has global applications.
“The whole point it that anyone can do investigative reporting—it’s not rocket science,” Burstiner says. “Once you realize that you don’t have to be the next Bob Woodward, it’s empowering.”
Burstiner says that many investigative journalism textbooks operate on the premise that readers have access to public documents. But in Afghanistan and other countries, that may not be the case, she says.
“My book doesn’t assume anything, so it doesn’t matter if you’re in the U.S. or somewhere else,” she says. “The process is still the same.”
Burstiner, who has taught journalism at Humboldt State since 2004, is also the faculty adviser for HSU’s student-run newspaper “The Lumberjack.” She teaches investigate reporting, public affairs, mass media and popular arts and mass communications at HSU. She previously worked as a business reporter for 10 years.