Global Investigative Journalism Network (https://archive.gijn.org/tag/investigative-reporting/page/20/)
Data reporter Melissa Lewis is interviewed about a recent podcast for Reveal, which investigated what happens when local residents call police on unhoused people in their neighborhood, analyzing arrest data across six major US West Coast cities with large homeless populations.
Investigative journalists went all out last year in covering surveillance issues. From a deep-dive into the dark side of pandemic tech in Singapore’s techno-utopia to an in-depth look at how schools are spending thousands on unreliable “aggression detectors” in the name of student safety, global reporters have been holding Big Tech accountable for its role in fueling authoritarianism worldwide.
This was a tough year for Chinese journalists, who continue to work in a repressive press landscape. Yet several outstanding investigations were produced by courageous newsrooms in 2021. In this curated roundup, we list eight fine examples from China and Taiwan.
In 2021, as the mainstream Indian media continued to transform into the propaganda arm of the ruling party, intrepid digital platforms, mainly from the English-language press, have published some groundbreaking investigative stories and forced the rest of the legacy media to follow their lead.
Over the last 12 months investigative journalists in Bangladesh uncovered cases of corruption, abuse of power, money laundering, and institutional negligence. The biggest topic last year, as in previous years, was corruption. But in picking the top stories of 2021, we also considered significance and novelty, the diversity of issues covered, impact, and a focus on the vulnerable and marginalized sectors of society as much as the depth and techniques used in any investigation.
Despite myriad challenges, 2021 saw a number of remarkable investigations by German-language media. They uncovered scandals linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, investigations linked to big money and tax fraud, while others touched on morals and ethics. Other stories that made our list dug into the EU, working conditions at top restaurants, migration, and terrorism.
At a time when newsrooms in Africa are increasingly struggling with shortages of cash and threats to press freedom, the level of investigative journalism that emerged from sub-Saharan Africa in 2021 was remarkable. Here, we share 10 outstanding examples from the region.
Despite worsening legal and physical attacks on the press, solidarity among journalists in Russia and the Eastern European region is growing. Our list of the eight best investigations of the year reveals that more and more cross-border, joint investigations are being carried out, and illustrate continuing reporting courage in the region that should inspire the entire journalism community.
One of our core missions at GIJN is providing journalists in the field with the latest tools and techniques. To do that, we work hard to find original stories that will be of immediate, practical help for watchdog reporters around the world. Here is a curated list of 10 of the notable stories we’ve published this year, reflecting our most popular articles, groundbreaking discoveries, topical issues, and stories you just shouldn’t miss.
In a GIJC21 session on business models for investigative journalism, panelist Claudia Urquieta from Chile’s CIPER shared how the investigative outlet started a membership program from scratch, what it takes to make this model work, and how its partners saved CIPER from an uncertain future.