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Investigative “Stakeholder Media” Emerge in U.S., France

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The Marshall Project’s recent launch announcement confirmed that in coming years, many new investigative news media will resemble stakeholder media — vehicles that are aimed at specific communities of interest. This non-profit Marshall Projectorganisation’s strategic goal is to become the central information hub for public insight into the criminal justice system. But within that general public, the first target will clearly be those directly concerned by the system. The stakeholder community for this venture is immense. It includes present and former prisoners, their families, law enforcement and auxiliaries, justice departments, the courts, lawyers — an audience of millions.

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New Global Consortium for Investigative Journ Educators

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This week the Investigative Journalism Education Consortium begins a new initiative in bringing together journalism educators from throughout the world who teach investigative reporting. The idea to expand the range of IJEC emerged from the Global Investigative Journalism Conference held in October in Rio de Janeiro where the conference organized, for the first time, a professor track of sessions and presentation of papers. Professors from six continents found they had much in common and were eager to continue the conversations and share research and teaching methods.

Data Journalism

Top Ten #ddj: The Week’s Most Popular Data Journalism Links

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What’s the data driven journalism (#ddj) crowd tweeting about? Here are the week’s Top Data Journalism Links on Twitter (for February 13-19), including items from The Tow Center, The Financial Times, and IJNet, among others. Also, it’s funny to note the influence of Valentine’s Day on the list.

freedom of information

Reporting that Makes an Impact? Some Answers from Pakistan

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On February 15, Pakistan became one of only four countries in the world that make tax records public. The other three are Norway, Finland and Sweden. A year ago, no one would have thought this was possible. Pakistan, after all, is a cesspool of corruption and a paragon of opacity. But check the website of the Federal Bureau of Revenue and you’ll find prominently displayed there a link to the Parliamentarians’ Tax Directory. Click on the link and you’ll get a PDF that lists how much income tax each and every member of Parliament paid in 2013. On March 31, a similar listing will be made publicly available for the tax payments of all citizens. How in the world could this happen in Pakistan?

Data Journalism

Investigative Apps: Useful Tools, if Rough on the Edges

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There are a lot of websites out there that can help you find hidden information. But there are also software applications and browser plug-ins that can be of use to investigative journalists. Created by up-and-coming developers and enthusiasts on a budget, many of these programmes are rather unsophisticated, so don’t expect slick interfaces and 24-hour help desks. That said, if you can get past the jargon and rough-and-ready feel, you’ll find nifty little apps that can help you discover nuggets of information which would be unavailable through conventional means.

data driven journalism

Top Ten #ddj: The Week’s Most Popular Data Journalism Links

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What’s the data driven journalism (#ddj) crowd tweeting about? Here are the week’s Top Data Journalism Links on Twitter (for February 6-12). This week our links include items from Morgenpost, Más Investigación, and Twitter blog, among others. Thanks to Marc Smith of Connected Action for gathering the links and graphing them.

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Reporters Without Borders Releases Press Freedom Index

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Reporters Without Borders today released its 2014 World Press Freedom Index, spotlighting major declines in media freedom in such varied countries as the United States, Central African Republic, and Guatemala while noting marked improvements in Ecuador, Bolivia, and South Africa. The same trio of Finland, Netherlands, and Norway heads the index again, while Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea continue to be the biggest information black holes, again occupying the last three positions. You can find RSF’s full index and a 3-dimensional map here. The report is also available in several languages other than English.

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A Resource Guide to the Millennium Development Goals

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IPI has compiled a set of useful resources and contacts for journalists covering topics related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). While certainly not exhaustive, the links below may help point the intrepid reporter in the right direction.

corruption

Holding Big Fish Accountable: How to Uncover Corruption

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In a 2011 Transparency International survey, more than 3,000 business executives from around the world were asked to assess the effectiveness of various approaches to weeding out corruption. The result: nearly half (49%) indicated that investigative journalism played a critical role. Respondents from Pakistan (73%) and Brazil (79%), countries where the press reports fiercely on suspected acts of corruption, placed particular faith in the media’s ability to uncover wrongdoing. Why did the participants feel so strongly that journalists can help?