When I read the details of the years of investigation into Unaoil’s corruption and bribery worldwide, undertaken by a team of investigative journalists from Fairfax Media and the Huffington Post, my first thought – true life is often crazier and more shocking than fiction, and my second thought – Olivia Wolfe would have loved to investigate this corruption scandal. Even though in book one of her new thriller series that kicks off with DEVOUR in July this year, I can see her working with other journalists in future books, as  has happened in real life with the Unaoil scandal.

Congratulations to those journalists!

Sadly, investigative journalism is a dying art because it costs money to fund such investigations over months, even years. But without such journalists striving to uncover the stories the powerful don’t wish us to know, what is the role of the media? To regurgitate press releases? To report what they are fed at press conferences? To peddle gossip as some of the tabloids do? Now that journalists have exposed this bribery scandal, our international criminal investigations units, including the FBI, are starting to look into these claims. Doesn’t the media have a role in keeping the powerful honest? And exposing those who are not? In assisting our law enforecement agencies?

Let me know what you think on Facebook and Twitter. I’d love to read your views.