Mainland investigative reporters are suffering burnout over intimidation and many plan to quit, the first report to focus on this group has found.

“Investigative reporting is influential and crucial to public opinion and the country needs a new generation of passionate and qualified investigative reporters,” said Zhang Zhi’an, professor with Fudan University’s school of journalism, who compiled the report with Dr Shen Fei of Hong Kong City University’s department of media and communication.

Sunday’s report drew on a pool of 343 investigative reporters working for mainland newspapers and magazines. Some 84 percent of investigative reporters are male, 76 percent are 35 years old or younger and 50 percent have been working in the field for between six and eight years, the report found.

“Some local authorities and special interest groups have become more adept at interfering with and obstructing investigative reporters,” Zuo Zhijian, director of the feature department of the Guangzhou-based 21st Century Herald’s Shanghai office, told the Global Times Monday.

Low incomes, heavy workloads and risks associated with the job, which include physical harm, have also made many choose either to quit or move to other beats, said Zuo, who has worked as an investigative reporter for nearly 10 years.

Only 13 percent of those questioned believe they will stay in the field for up to five more years, while 40 percent have decided not to pursue the career, the report found.

“As the media’s frontier fighters, investigative reporters’ strategies and working methods are very valuable to other reporters,” Zhang told the Global Times.

The development of the Internet has boosted press freedom over the past decade, Zhang said.

“Mainland investigative reporters became more connected with the help of BBS message boards at the beginning of the century and then more so thanks to instant messaging software and, most recently, microblogging,” Zhang said.

Many investigative reporters have used microblogging to update their investigations, search for contacts and appeal for help when in danger, he said.

“Microblogging has provided an open platform for the public to understand investigative reporters, to contribute to investigations and to supervise the authorities,” Zhang added.

The report’s sample pool covered more than 95 percent of the investigative reporters on the mainland, Zhang said, adding that the relatively small group of investigative TV reporters was not included.

Though most investigative reporters work in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, more than 30 percent of them hail from Hunan and Henan provinces. Many others also come from the provinces of Anhui, Hubei, Sichuan, Hebei, Shandong, Fujian, Jiangsu, Liaoning and Zhejiang, the report said.