shoe leather journalism

noun

Investigative journalism done with great effort.

Similar
shoe leather reportingshoe-leather reporting
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Meanings

nounshoe leather journalism (uncountable)

alternative shoe-leather journalism

  1. uncountablejournalismInvestigative journalism done with great effort.

    “A lot of it is – award winning investigative shoe leather journalism! – but not all of it.”

    2024 December 29, Ed Simon, “Belt’s Top Stories of 2024”, in Belt Magazine
    1 more example

    The novel is laugh-out-loud funny in places and also something of an elegy to the days of shoe leather journalism.

    2025 May 2, Mitch Teich, “North Words: A book about a book about a book... Metafiction can be a lot.”, in News, North Country Public Radio

    Synonyms: shoe leather reporting, shoe-leather reporting

Synonyms & antonyms

nounInvestigative journalism done with great effort.

Similar
shoe leather reportingshoe-leather reporting
Also see
shoe leather reporting

Origin

From shoe-leather + journalism.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

shoe leather journalism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoe%20leather%20journalism

MLA

“shoe leather journalism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoe%20leather%20journalism. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shoe leather journalism,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoe%20leather%20journalism.

Source: shoe leather journalism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.