Okuzeka
Journalism & Media vocabulary · News Gathering and Sources

Undercover reporting

Meaning in journalism & media, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In journalism & media, undercover reporting means: Journalistic investigation in which the reporter conceals their professional identity to obtain information.

In Turkish: gizli kimlikle habercilik

How it is used

Use for concealed professional identity; consider necessity, public interest and editorial safeguards before using the method.

Example sentences

  1. The investigation used undercover reporting to document conditions hidden from scheduled visitors.

    Concealed identity changes what the reporter can observe directly.

  2. The editor asked whether the evidence could be obtained without undercover reporting.

    The method requires justification beyond convenience or a dramatic story.

Common collocations

  • use undercover reporting
  • undercover reporting investigation
  • justify undercover reporting
  • investigative journalismJournalism that spends weeks or months uncovering hidden information, often about wrongdoing, corruption or abuse of power, using documents, data and confidential sources.
  • public interestThe benefit of society as a whole, used to judge whether publishing information, especially private or secret information, is justified.

More terms: News Gathering and Sources

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: