The disturbing assassination of veteran reporter and author Anna Politkovskaya on Saturday shocked the world. Widely considered perhaps the most brilliant and respected journalist in Russia before her death, she had been a fearless critic of her government’s litany of war crimes in Chechnya. She was only 48 years old.

In her trademark blank, unornamented style, she exposed countless rapes, kidnappings, and murders perpetrated by Russian forces, and didn’t spare the Chechens either. She was shot in the head outside her modest apartment in Moscow just before she was expected to file an exposé of the Chechen prime minister. A dropped Makarov pistol was found by her side, a weapon of choice for Russian hitmen.

Politkovskaya’s editor at the bi-weekly newspaper Novaya Gazeta has ascribed the reason for her murder to her writing, saying “we don’t see any other motive.” She had long been prey to death threats, and had even claimed that she was poisoned once on a plane en route to report on the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis. It appears that her many evasions of those who wished her dead, combined with her stature and gender, had made her seem almost impervious to friends and colleagues.

Instead, her murder has robbed us of a brave mind and impoverished Russia’s intellectual climate. Politkovskaya was one of a dying breed of investigative journalists whose determination to uncover corruption and injustice is sadly old-fashioned.

Meanwhile, in America, another member of this slowly shrinking class of reporters is dealing with fallout from the release of a controversial new book. Bob Woodward, one of those rare journalists who enjoys name recognition due to his role in breaking the Watergate story, has infuriated the White House with State of Denial. The book contains condemning interviews and evidence that the Bush administration-surprise-bungled the Iraq War. Most glaringly, it contains transcripts of meetings and discussions that make the president look childish, shallow, and uncurious about the world.

Predictably, the requisite list of media sources have rallied around him, including most obviously The Washington Post, where he serves as an assistant managing editor. Many have also clamoured to knock holes in some aspect of the book or Woodward himself, with FOX News featuring pundits accusing him of self-aggrandizement and of wanting to sell books (presumably not something they want to do). Commentators on both sides mainly share an enviousness of him, declaring their awe of how he was able to get interviews with every name in Washington, how he could have coaxed them into being so open with him.

Woodward insinuated himself into being on a first-name basis with people who mattered by devoting himself to one beat his entire career. That took time, concentration, and an attention span-skills that today’s journalists are not encouraged to develop. Politkovskaya also concentrated her efforts into one demanding area, and did the world and her country a service thereby. In a field where the number of so-called “experts” multiply daily, and soundbite-length coverage of issues is the norm, they stand out because of their refusal to be satisfied.

Investigative journalism is one of our world’s safeguards against having the wool pulled over our collective eyes. Anna Politkovskaya’s killers must be brought to justice. Meanwhile, newspapers and politicians alike would do well to honour her by encouraging others to follow in her footsteps.