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Case Studies GIJC23

GIJN’s Top 10 Stories of 2023

A curated list of 10 notable GIJN articles from this past year — a mix of our most popular stories, great reads, data journalism best practices, game-changing reporting tips, and panel takeaways.

GIJN's Top 10 Investigative Tools of 2023

Reporting Tools & Tips

GIJN’s Top 10 Investigative Tools of 2023

Having flagged the top tips at conferences like the NICAR23, IRE23, and GIJC23 in Sweden, GIJN offers the following 10 user-friendly tools that you might consider in your next investigations.

Guide Resource

GIJN Reporter’s Guide to Investigating Digital Threats

Featuring expert advice from journalists and security analysts who are working to combat disinformation, malware, spyware, and trolling. The guide is part of an ongoing Digital Threats project, in which GIJN is working with Craig Silverman and a group of cutting-edge specialists to offer a unique cyber investigations online training program specifically tailored for investigative […]

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Around the World

Register for the Upcoming JournalismAI Festival 2023

Source: Polis | London School of Economics

Registration is still open for the JournalismAI Festival 2023, co-hosted by Polis, the London School of Economics' Journalism and Society think-tank, and the Google News Initiative. The two-day online event, held on December 5 and 6, will feature notable speakers, tips for detecting bias, workshops on creating newsroom guidelines, and best practices for using AI in election coverage. Attendance is free, and events begin each day at 11:00am GMT.

Investigative Reporters Pitch Stories to Filmmakers at Floodlight Summit

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

The first Floodlight Summit is being held in Cartagena, Colombia from November 30 - December 3, where investigative journalists covering crime and corruption will pitch their stories to filmmakers and TV shows. The summit is intended to serve as a pilot for a long-term association connecting international investigative journalists with the film and television industry. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) worked with the Gabo Foundation — set up by Gabriel García Marquez to promote quality journalism in South America — to curate pitches from their networks of investigative journalists. From 270 pitch proposals, 14 were selected for the first Floodlight Summit; 16 journalists from 11 countries will be pitching to film industry participants.

Azerbaijan: Anti-corruption Journalists Detained for 4 Months

Source: CPJ

The CPJ has called for staff from Azerbaijan's independent investigative website Abzas Media to be released following a raid on their office and residences. A court in Baku said director Ulvi Hasanli and chief editor Sevinj Vagifgizi would be detained for four months on charges of conspiring to bring money into the country unlawfully -- charges they deny. An assistant, Mahammad Kekalov, has also been missing since Monday. Abzas Media is one of a handful of independent publications that remain in the country, and the CPJ said the goal of the arrests was to silence the outlet's "bold anti-corruption reporting."

CPJ’s 2023 International Press Freedom Awards Honor Investigative Journalists

Source: CPJ

On November 16, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) honored four investigative journalists at the 2023 International Press Freedom Awards, which are given annually to journalists who champion independent reporting despite government crackdowns, kidnapping, exile, and increasing criminalization of their work. This year’s recipients were Togolese journalist Ferdinand Ayité, Georgian journalist and TV presenter Nika Gvaramia, veteran Indian journalist Shahina K.K., and Mexican journalist María Teresa Montaño. Knight Foundation president Alberto Ibargüen received the Gwen Ifill Award for sustained achievement in the cause of press freedom.    

OCCRP and Partners Release NarcoFiles Collaborative Project

Source: OCCRP

OCCRP and several other reporting partners have launched NarcoFiles: The New Criminal Order, the largest investigative project of its kind to originate in Latin America. Joining OCCRP in the cross-border collaboration were Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Periodística (CLIP), a GIJN member, Vorágine, and Cerosetenta / 070. The group gained early access to the data from two organizations, Distributed Denial of Secrets and Enlace Hacktivista, and then shared the information with journalists from 40 media outlets across 23 different countries. The massive data leak project reveals how global corruption and organized crime is fueling the drug trade around the world.

Detained DRC Journalist Denied Provisional Release

Source: CPJ

Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala, a permanent US resident who works as a correspondent for the Jeune Afrique news website and Reuters in the DRC, was arrested in Kinshasa in September and charged under the penal and digital codes, relating to a Jeune Afrique report on military intelligence’s possible involvement in the murder of a former minister, although the outlet claims Bujakera did not write the article. On November 7, the Kinshasa-Gombe court rejected Bujakera’s third request for provisional release. His lawyers have asked the court to allow a second expert opinion on the evidence presented against him; a decision is expected on November 13.

AIJC Releases 2023 Conference Program

Source: AIJC

The 2023 African Investigative Journalism Conference (#AIJC23) will be held November 20-22 at the University of the Witwatersrand (“Wits”) in Johannesburg, South Africa, and will feature 140+ speakers over 80+ sessions. Themes include AI, health, data journalism, the safety of investigative journalists, and the sustainability and future of investigative journalism. Speakers will include GIJN Board Chair Brant Houston, GIJN’s new executive director, Emilia Díaz-Struck, and GIJN's three Africa editors as well as Anas Arameyaw Anas, David Dembele, Prof Vukosi Marivate, John-Allan Namu, Miriam Ouedraogo, Hamadou Tidiane Sy, Sonia Smith, and Pauli van Wyk.

Latest Death Toll of Journalists Killed in Israel and Gaza Reaches Three Dozen

Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

At least 36 journalists or media workers have been killed so far during the fighting in Israel and Gaza, according to the latest figures from the Committee to Protect Journalists. A vast majority of those journalists killed so far — 31 — have been Palestinian. Four Israeli journalists and one from Lebanon have been reportedly killed as well. In addition, eight journalists have been wounded while covering the conflict, three more are missing, and eight others arrested or detained. News outlets like BBC, Al-Jazeera, RT Arabic, and Al-Araby TV have also complained that Israeli military and police have obstructed their attempts at reporting.

European Press Prize Announces Data Journalism Innovation Focus for 2024

Source: European Press Prize

For its 2024 round, the European Press Prize announced that its annual Innovation Award will prioritize data journalism, with a "focus on work that uses data in innovative ways, either in the journalistic process or in the final publication." The Prize committee hands out awards in five categories each year: Distinguished Reporting, Investigating Reporting, Migration Journalism, Public Discourse, and Innovation. Submissions must not be longer than 5,000 words and only one article per person per category can be entered. Articles need not be translated before submission (shortlisted choices will be translated into English). The deadline is December 15, 2023.

Reporters Without Borders Germany Offers Resilience Fellowship

Source: RSF

Reporters Without Borders Germany, jointly with the taz Panter Foundation — which works closely with the German daily Die Tageszeitung (“taz”) to support independent journalists — has opened applications for its 2024 Rest and Resilience Fellowship, which hosts two journalists from countries with restricted press freedom in Berlin for six months. The fellowship, intended to provide relief from difficult work conditions, provides travel costs, travel health insurance, accommodation, and a stipend for their stay. Applicants must be able to communicate in English, and intend to return to their country after the fellowship. The deadline is November 19.

Case Studies Member Profiles

Danwatch: How a Danish Investigative Site Exerts Global Reach

GIJN member Danwatch was launched in 2007 by civic groups in Denmark with a focus on both research and journalism. Danwatch has since grown to have one of the largest specialized investigative journalism teams in Denmark, with 13 reporters, one of them based in South America.

Projects

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.

climate change pledges investigating country commitments oil drilling protest

Climate Accountability

Today, there is plenty of beat reporting and feature writing about the world’s climate crisis. But what’s missing are the investigative journalists, the ones who follow the money and hold corporations and governments accountable for what they have done – and what they haven’t done. GIJN is working to change this. Our Climate Accountability Project […]

War Crimes

We are seeing mounting evidence of war crimes in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, ranging from attacks on civilians and use of illegal munitions to sexual violence against women and children. In addition to releasing the first reporting guide on this crucial topic in 20 years, GIJN is compiling essential training materials to guide journalists in […]

Videos

Resource Video

GIJC23 – Plenary: Watchdog Journalism in the Age of Digital Subversion (Panel)

Following Ron Deibert’s keynote, we have an all-star panel of journalists on the front lines of the digital war being waged against watchdog media. Moderator Sheila Coronel will lead an hour-long discussion about what it’s like to have your newsroom invaded, your sources exposed, and your actions tracked every day. We’ve asked noted journalists from […]

Resource Video

GIJC23 – What Does AI Have to Do with Investigative Journalism? Everything!

If we follow the headlines, AI is either going to kill us all or solve all our problems. Meanwhile, in the real world, algorithms deployed in hospitals, schools, courts, and even refugee camps are creating new forms of discrimination and exclusion among the most vulnerable citizens. Actual, life-changing harm, not doomsday futuristic scenarios. In this […]

Resource Video

GIJC23 – Plenary: Watchdog Journalism in the Age of Digital Subversion (keynote)

Our keynote speaker this year is Ron Deibert, director of the groundbreaking Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Deibert was among the first to sound the alarm about a global information security crisis — warning that the digital revolution would spark a new era of surveillance, censorship, and disinformation. Deibert’s interdisciplinary team at Citizen […]

Resource Tipsheet Video

Asset Disclosure

Required disclosures by public officials about their income and assets can be invaluable to investigative journalists. And information about wealth and its sources can play a vital role in uncovering corruption. Official filings are often the starting point for classic follow-the-money stories. However, disclosure laws have gaps, so the public records don’t always reveal the […]