An example of an investigative reporter would be Greta Van Susteren of Fox News. She has been on the ground with the family and grandparents of the missing girl Caylee Anthony since day one. She is on terms with the grandparents and therefore may have a chance of breaking any new developments. Other reporters interview her for new information on the story.

Reporters who have a better street sense, have better digging skills, and better connections are usually given the title "investigative." Greta is different in that she has a degree in economics and a law degree, which indicates the degree of "attention to detail" that she has.

It is not a competitive field but it is a nitch in the reporter field, which is hard to break into, especially if you are looking for that anchor desk on the nightly news. Long nights and hard work are the norm in the beginning when you are building your contacts in the local community.