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Inside GIJN News & Analysis

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Around the World

Cambodian Government Detains, Charges Investigative Journalist with ‘Incitement’

Source: Overseas Press Club - Cambodia

The Cambodian government detained and charged Mech Dara with "incitement" last week, and he now faces up to two years in prison if convicted. Dara is an accomplished investigative journalist "whose stories over the last decade have uncovered corruption, environmental destruction, and human trafficking at scam compounds across the country." He was arrested outside the capital of Phnom Penh, when six government vehicles swarmed his car. "The arrest of Dara is a clear attempt to intimidate and silence him and other journalists in a country where press freedoms are routinely curtailed," the Overseas Press Club said in a statement.

2024 International Press Freedom Award Winners Announced

Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) announced the winners of its annual International Press Freedom Awards. This year, the CPJ's honorees include four women from four different continents — Shrouq Al Aila (Gaza), Alsu Kurmasheva (Russia), Quimy de Léon (Guatemala), and Samira Sabou (Niger) — and the posthumous recognition of Christophe Deloire, the longtime leader of Reporters Without Borders, with the esteemed Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award. The awards ceremony will be held on November 21, 2024, in New York City, and the event's master of ceremonies will be Last Week Tonight host John Oliver.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Newsroom Wins Press Freedom Award While Battling Defamation Case

Source: The National Press Club (US)

The nonprofit, non-partisan site Mississippi Today was awarded the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award by the US National Press Club, as the newsroom battles an ominous defamation case. The site, and reporter Anna Wolfe, were awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 2022 for an investigation into US$77 million worth of misspent welfare funds by the former state governor's office. That former governor sued Mississippi Today in 2023 and is now trying to compel Wolfe and other members of the editorial team to reveal the anonymous sources who tipped them off about the misconduct. If the state's supreme court rules against them, the journalists could face jail time for refusing to identify their sources.

New GIJN Member Investigates Hidden Ownership of Greek Media

Source: Solomon

Solomon, a Greek investigative site just inducted as a GIJN member, has released the results of its comprehensive look at more than 800 media companies in the country. To piece together the media landscape, the site's investigative team "spent 18 months analyzing thousands of balance sheets, corporate disclosures, and court rulings, tracing ownership structures across more than 30 countries." The findings confirm that the nation's media groups are owned by a largely opaque concentration of a few business interests and powerful families and echo concerns raised by the European Federation of Journalists and Reporters.

Grants Available for Data Investigations Into Environmental Crime

Source: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GITOC) has open submissions for its ECO-SOLVE amplifying grants. The program is "designed to fund initiatives that combat the illicit wildlife trade and timber trafficking" and supports collaborative projects across the Americas, Africa, Southeast Asia/Oceania, China, and India that "reduce gaps in law enforcement integration, overcome institutional and political barriers to data sharing, and identify innovative solutions." There will be four grants of €250,000 (US$275,000) each and the projects will run for one year. Deadline is October 18, 2024 and grants will begin in February 2025.

Kyrgyz Supreme Court Upholds Decision to Shut Down GIJN Member Kloop

Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Investigative outlet — and GIJN member — Kloop lost it appeal to the Kyrgyz Supreme Court, which upheld a lower court ruling that declared the outlet must be dissolved. That initial decision from a year ago came in the wake of Kloop's numerous corruption investigations into the country's president and other state officials. "The forced shuttering of international award–winning investigative outlet Kloop is a shameful episode in the history of modern Kyrgyzstan — a country long viewed as a haven for press freedom in Central Asia — and is a clear indication that under President Japarov this reputation no longer holds,” said the CPJ's Gulnoza Said.

Registration Open for AccessFest 2024, IRE’s Virtual Conference

Source: Investigative Reporters & Editors

IRE members who were unable to attend this year’s Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) conference, or the NICAR data journalism conference, can register for AccessFest, IRE’s annual “virtual-by-design” event. (Attendees can also apply to become an IRE member online.) Taking place on October 17-19, 2024, AccessFest focuses on expanding IRE’s efforts to provide more accessible training and inclusion to improve newsrooms and coverage. It will also feature the best data classes and investigative reporting sessions from IRE’s in-person conferences this past year. Journalists, students, and educators of color are eligible to apply for AccessFest fellowships.

Former Politician Convicted in Killing of US Investigative Reporter

Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

A jury in Las Vegas, Nevada, found a former politician guilty of the murder of investigative reporter Jeff German. Robert Telles, previously a Clark County public administrator, lost his re-election bid in the summer of 2022 after German extensively reported on misconduct and possible corruption in Telles' office. German, a veteran reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was found dead outside his home several months later. "The conviction sends an important message that the killing of journalists will not be tolerated,” said the CPJ's Katherine Jacobsen. “It is vital that the murder of journalists should be taken seriously and perpetrators held accountable.”

Journalists Arrested During Democratic National Convention in Chicago

Source: Reporters Without Borders

At least three journalists were arrested covering protests during the US Democratic National Convention in Chicago. On Tuesday, August 20, a small group of protesters gathered outside Chicago’s Israeli Consulate to protest the war in Gaza. Overnight, according to the Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, more than 70 people were arrested, including three credentialed journalists. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the journalists’ credentials were seized and that they were charged with disorderly conduct and failure to obey police. Citing press freedom concerns, RSF called for all charges against the journalists to be dropped.

Application Deadlines Approaching for Two FIJ Grants

Source: Fund for Investigative Journalism

The application periods for two different journalism grants from the Fund for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) are coming to a close. FIJ's regular grants program provides up to US$10,000 for stories that "break new ground and uncover wrongdoing in the public or private sectors," but journalists must provide a commitment from a news outlet as part of the application. FIJ's seed grants program is aimed at freelancer reporters and offers up to US$2,500 for initial research (open-records fees, travel, logistics costs) to solidify investigative pitches. The regular grants deadline is end of day Sept. 9 and the seed grants deadline is end of day Sept. 20.

Projects

LATAM Focus

Our first regional spotlight series celebrates the achievements of our members in Latin America and others reporting from the region. These articles tell the stories of reporters across the continent, digging into the investigations that matter, and detailing how outlets are creating innovative reporting projects amid their own specific local challenges.

Man voting in Brazil while others wait in line to vote

2024 Elections

Global elections in the year ahead will affect more citizens than in any previous year, and will likely reset humanity’s liberty compass for years ahead. This ongoing project will feature an updated elections reporting guide, stories on cutting-edge tools for investigating campaigns and candidates, and lessons learned from the best in local watchdog reporting from […]

GIJC23 conference investigative journalism Gothenburg Sweden

GIJC23

The 13th Global Investigative Journalism Conference (#GIJC23), held in Gothenburg, Sweden from Sept. 19 – 22, 2023, gathered more than 2,100 journalists from 132 countries to hold workshops, share innovative methods, and celebrate a community increasingly facing censorship, corporate hacking, and authoritarian threats. This project is a compendium of GIJN’s coverage of the conference panels.

Videos

Resource Video

Expert Tips for Fundraising for Investigative Journalism in Africa

Despite the funding and sustainability challenges that watchdog reporting faces today, journalists across Africa are producing top-tier investigative stories. This is evident in, among others, the GIJN Editor’s Picks stories for the region from 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and the decade before. However, Africa needs to catch up to the rest of the muckraking world […]

Resource Video

Investigating the Extractives Industry in Africa

Africa is home to a substantial amount of the global mineral wealth. The continent, according to the Natural Resource Governance Institute, holds about 30% of the world’s oil, gas, and mineral resources. This includes up to 92% of the world’s platinum and chromium reserves, 56% of cobalt, 54% of manganese, and 40% of its gold. […]

Resource Video

Investigating the Israel Hamas Conflict

Seven months into the conflict between Israel and Hamas, journalists carrying out their work in the region have faced unparalleled challenges. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, as of April 9th, preliminary investigations show at least 95 journalists and media workers were among the more than 34,000 estimated killed since the conflict began on […]