Investigative journalism is difficult, time-consuming and expensive.

 

But somebody's got to do it.

A group of former Seattle Post-Intelligencer journalists today launched InvestigateWest, a nonprofit organization they hope will deliver in-depth stories to the region and find a way to save what is becoming an endangered craft.

"There's nobody we can point to and say, 'That's us,'" said executive director Rita Hibbard. "We're really kind of breaking the mold, even making the mold."

 

It won't be easy, but the group has promising connections. Last week it became a founding member of the nonprofit Investigative News Network, which aligns 25 investigative entities around the country in partnerships with such organizations as the Center for Investigative Reporting and the Pultizer Center on Crisis Reporting.