Global Investigative Journalism Network (https://archive.gijn.org/tag/sources/)
For every human source who assists investigative journalists, there are dozens of officials, victims, and potential whistleblowers with vital information whom reporters never engage.
Looking for sources? Finding experts in a particular field is a good place to start for many stories. GIJN took a look at various guides to expert sources. After cutting those that are outdated, too specialized, or tools of the PR industry, we found a handful worth consulting. Here are six services with functioning, reliable databases used by journalists searching for expert sources.
After six months of the global crisis, investigative journalists find themselves reporting on a precarious and demoralized world, which has seen millions of jobs and more than 775,000 lives lost. In a GIJN webinar titled “Where do we go from here?”, a panel of senior journalists from Bosnia, India, Uganda, and the United States shared tips on the topics now ripe for investigation, as well as areas to improve on.
There are hundreds of stories in business registries and court documents around the world just waiting for a journalist to uncover them. Emmanuel Freudenthal shares his five tips on finding open-source secrets in Africa with GIJN — helpful guidelines which can be used around the world.
Journalists face some unique problems keeping their data and communications secure in the digital environment. This tends to be especially true when doing investigations, working in war zones or traveling in unfamiliar terrain. If these are concerns for you, The Journalist Survival Guide has your back — or, more precisely, offers insights and expertise on how you can protect yourself, your sources, your data and digital equipment. Good stuff to know about because it can get dangerous out there.
One of the central ethical tenets of professional journalism is “first, protect your sources.” But in this digital age, it is becoming more dangerous to keep your sources safe as governments are able to track reporters and their sources digitally. Here are 20 guidelines for working with whistleblowers in the digital era. What’s missing?
A unique collaboration between five international investigative teams and recently-formed Signals Network is offering unprecedented protection to whistleblowers, and has received the backing of famed NSA exposer Edward Snowden. Their first project? A broad call on the misuse of big data. A GIJN report by Rowan Philp.
Peru’s IDL-Reporteros was facing pressure from the Peruvian judicial and legislative authorities to reveal its journalistic sources after publishing a report revealing alleged acts of corruption in the judicial system. But after a push back by journalists and civil society, prosecutors have rescinded their orders.
Crowdsourcing is a powerful tool for journalism. It can help fuel reporting, provide answers, and engage community participation. Jess Ramirez, who works as an engagement reporting fellow at ProPublica, lists the questions you can ask yourself when approaching an engagement project.
Investigative journalism in this wired world is vastly different from what it used to be. Cobrapost editor Aniruddha Bahal writes about how journalism has changed over time, from postcard complaints to internet trolling, meeting sources in parking lots and using apps and being highly competitive versus collaborative.