Eight investigative reporters share their current favorite tools and apps, for tasks ranging from social media search to locating prisoners, tracking the global supply chain, and uncovering Russian military recruiters.
Investigative journalists have long used information about airplanes to uncover corruption, follow wars, track government officials, and point out the levels of greenhouse gases emitted. GIJN has now revised and updated its reporting guide to planespotting and tracking flights around the world.
The 2023 Global Investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC23) is now scheduled for September 19 – 22 in the historic city of Gothenburg, Sweden. GIJN is excited to join with two local co-hosts for the 13th iteration of its conference: The Fojo Media Institute at Linnaeus University, and Föreningen Grävande Journalister, Sweden’s national association of investigative journalists.
Reporting violations in an active conflict, previously a daunting and life threatening task, has now become easier thanks to open-source reporting techniques, which provide investigative journalists much greater ability to investigate war crimes as they happen.
For a look at current trends, see also The Future of Investigative Journalism.While definitions of investigative reporting vary, among professional journalism groups there is broad agreement of its major components: systematic, in-depth, and original research and reporting, often involving the unearthing of secrets. Others note that its practice often involves heavy use of public records and data, with a focus on social justice and accountability.
Hungarian investigative media outlet Átlátszó and its editor-in-chief, Tamás Bodoky, have become targets in the latest smear campaign by pro-government news outlets, aimed at discrediting what remains of the country’s independent media.
Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares discusses his favorite reporting methods and tools for investigating police misconduct and abuse of power in Rio de Janeiro.
To confront the ongoing legal threats to independent media around the world, the Vance Center and OCCRP are launching Reporters Shield, a multi-million dollar legal support program and defense fund for investigative journalism and newsrooms.
From respecting that different journalists have different styles of reporting to using voices from the field to tell the story, and from keeping it simple with clear language to just ‘getting started,’ here are tips from two experienced reporters for the write-up stage of an investigation.
Veteran Mexican journalist Alejandra Xanic shares the lessons she learned in setting up an investigative nonprofit, from how to move beyond prioritizing survival to the importance of administrative support.