A special report is a detailed document that provides in-depth analysis or research on a specific subject. It is often used in journalism or academic research. Special reports can range from topics such as alleged wrongdoing and corruption to more technical subjects like genetics. Regardless of the subject matter, a special report should be presented in an informative and interesting manner to engage its readers.
During times of breaking news, radio and television programs may present a special report during regular scheduled programming. Typically, these reports will air in place of a normal commercial break or use a special ticker to provide up-to-the-minute information about the story. Some of these reports can last a few minutes or continue for hours or days. Depending on the severity of the event, networks may also change their lower thirds and station imaging promos to convey a sense of urgency.
Another example of a special report is an audit engagement done on unique elements, accounts or items in the financial statements. This is done either as a separate engagement or alongside a standard financial statement audit. This type of engagement can be done when an entity needs to comply with reporting provisions that are different from Generally Accepted Accounting Principles such as price level basis of accounting or when they want to report results to a client or governmental agency that is different from the process and procedures used in a standard audit.
The Hastings Center regularly publishes special reports that contain the results of bioethical research projects. These include essay sets organized around central topics in bioethics, consensus documents, and lively conversations among groups that reached differing moral conclusions about a project’s central questions.