The Fifth Estate marks 50 years of investigative journalism
Retrospective documentary goes behind the scenes of high-profile investigations
As the CBC's investigative documentary program The Fifth Estate marked 50 seasons, it invited a live audience to reflect on decades past and think about what the next half-century of investigative journalism might look like.
Close to 400 people attended the full-to-capacity event "The Next 50 Years of Investigative Journalism" hosted in partnership with the Toronto Public Library on Nov. 28.
"In our current moment in today's world, both journalism and libraries find themselves navigating an increasingly complex social and political landscape," city librarian Vickery Bowles said in her opening remarks.
"Both journalism and libraries are navigating their roles as trusted authorities in an era where authority itself is being questioned."
Bowles introduced Bob McKeown, the keynote speaker of the evening. McKeown has been a broadcast journalist for more than 50 years. This would be his final public appearance on behalf of The Fifth Estate before he retires at the end of December.
That night, he received a standing ovation from the audience.
McKeown first joined The Fifth Estate in 1981.
"If you asked me when I was five what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have said, 'I want to be a journalist like my dad.'"
In 2021, McKeown was appointed to the Order of Canada for his "excellence in investigative journalism for television."
McKeown and other journalists who worked at The Fifth Estate were featured in the retrospective documentary "The Fifth Estate: 50 Years of Truth" that screened after his speech.
In the documentary, Adrienne Clarkson, a former governor general and the show's first host, even took a moment to laugh about the origins of the show's name.
Other former and current hosts, producers and videographers broke the fourth wall to take audiences behind the scenes of some of its most high-profile investigations. During the documentary's epilogue, McKeown shared a message for viewers.
"We work for you," he said. "You tell us what you want to see from The Fifth Estate in the next half century to come."
What the audience doesn't see
Later, Elamin Abdelmahmoud, host of CBC Radio's Commotion, moderated a panel called "The Next 50 Years." Joining him were four journalists: Robyn Doolittle, Rianna Croxford, Steven D'Souza and Mark Kelley.
Kelley, a current co-host for The Fifth Estate who has been at the show since 2012, took a moment to share his gratitude for the public's support.
"There's no point in doing what we do if you're not watching. We are here for you."
Kelley also said that preparing episodes of The Fifth Estate takes a "team effort" of producers, lawyers, editors and videographers.
"This is a time-consuming process in the name of public interest and in the name of accountability."
When asked about measuring the impact of all that work, Robyn Doolittle, an investigative reporter at The Globe and Mail, noted it isn't always easy to calculate.
"You believe in the story. You swing. Sometimes you miss."
Doolittle is the journalist behind "Unfounded," an investigative series published in 2017 about how sexual assault cases are mishandled by police services in Canada.
Doolittle is also one of two reporters behind the Secret Canada Project, started in 2021, which probed the efficacy of the country's freedom of information systems and processes.
Doolittle has published many investigations, although she joked that there are many "6,000-word investigations" that didn't make the cut.
Collecting a ton of information is an integral part of a successful investigative project.
Rianna Croxford, an investigations correspondent for the BBC, spoke of her reporting on Mike Jeffries, a former chief executive officer of American retail company Abercrombie & Fitch. He is accused of international sex trafficking and facilitating a prostitution business.
"I spent 2 1⁄2 years in the weeds digging, not really knowing what the outcome would be," said Croxford.
On Oct. 22, Jeffries and his partner were arrested by federal authorities as a result of Croxford's reporting. On Oct. 27, Croxford found herself face to face with Jeffries in court.
"There was absolutely nothing in the public domain about it before we released our investigation. I built a case from scratch, which is quite difficult."
Croxford said she was researching the fashion industry when she spotted a page on Instagram on which a group of male models said they felt that abuse against men in the industry was overlooked. Croxford reached out to someone who commented on the post and that led to a tip that triggered the deeper investigation.
The future of the field
Looking toward the next 50 years of investigative reporting, many journalists may have to rethink news distribution strategies.
"We can't keep expecting [the public] to come to us. We need to go to where they are," said Croxford, which to her includes working with people "that have massive platforms that sit outside mainstream media."
Finding better ways to engage with audiences may be a challenge that the field of investigative journalism will have to grapple with in order to survive.
Steven D'Souza, who joined as co-host of The Fifth Estate in 2022, added that his "biggest fear" around publishing investigative stories is that they're met with "silence" from the public.
D'Souza said it's important then to empower members of the public to have the skills to investigate as well.
Angelique Davies, 58, who lives in the Toronto area, attended the event because she wanted to learn about The Fifth Estate's history and the future of investigative journalism.
"I made myself a promise to be better informed," said Davies.
A recording of the event "The Next 50 Years of Investigative Journalism" is available on The Fifth Estate's YouTube channel and streaming on CBC Gem and CBC News online. It will broadcast on CBC News Network on Dec. 26. at 6 p.m. ET, immediately following "The Fifth Estate: 50 Years of Truth."
The Fifth Estate returns with new episodes as part of its 50th season on Jan. 24, 2025.
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