As part of our regular Business Beat Basics series, veteran journalists share their expertise and experience for those new to business reporting.

Our latest contribution, Investigative Reporting: An Introduction, is from veteran Wall Street Journal reporter John Emshwiller.

"'Investigative reporting' is a term that can cover many sins -- and, hopefully, uncover at least a few sinners," writes Emshwiller. "The best definition/description I’ve heard of the term is any reporting that uncovers information that people in power would like to keep secret. Under this umbrella, investigative reporting can be a daily story sparked by a sentence buried in a document. Or it can be a months-long project that entails reading through thousands of pages of documents and talking to dozens of individuals."

Emshwiller explains how investigative reporters can identify local stories and angles, as well as some of the challenges and hurdles they face. He also shares some helpful resources and a glossary of key terms.

You can read the full post, as well as other articles on investigative reporting, here.