Purpose This study aims to focus on investigative journalism during the 2022 mass protests in Sri Lanka, examining how structural constraints and journalists’ perceived ethical responsibilities interact in a politically unstable environment. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in Critical Political Economy of Media Theory and Social Responsibility Theory, the research uses partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyse responses from 200 journalists. Findings The findings show that factors such as government pressure, lack of resources, media ownership influence, legal challenges and perceived life threats significantly and negatively affect investigative journalism. However, perceived media freedom showed no significant impact. Perceived social responsibility emerged as a strong positive predictor of investigative journalism, significantly mediating the influence of all structural constraints except perceived media freedom. Originality/value These results empirically confirm the vital role of ethical commitment amid institutional adversity. The study contributes to the expansion of Social Responsibility Theory into non-Western and illiberal contexts and provides empirical depth to Critical Political Economy of Media Theory by quantifying structural-media effects. These findings offer important theoretical and practical insights, highlighting the need for policy reforms and institutional support to safeguard journalistic autonomy.
Xu et al. (2026) studied this question.