Lighthouse Reports Extends Application Deadline for OSINT Workshop for Young Syrians Based in the EU
Source: Lighthouse Reports
GIJN member Lighthouse Reports is holding workshops in Berlin in January 2025 for young Syrians and Afghans living in the EU who are interested in pursuing a career in OSINT and investigative journalism. The December 4 application deadline has been extended to Wednesday, December 11 for Syrian applicants. The workshop will “combine training, practical exercises and Q&As with expert guest speakers. Trainers will cover social media investigations, analyzing satellite imagery and plane and ship tracking, amongst other topics.” The workshop is open to students, recent graduates, or young professionals already based in the Schengen Area.
European Federation of Journalists to Stop Publishing on Social Media Site X
Source: European Federation of Journalists
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) announced that it will soon stop publishing content on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. The EFJ, which represents nearly 300,000 journalists in 44 countries, said that it will no longer update its account with content from its members as of January 20, 2025. It joins the Guardian and other European media sites that have ceased updating their X accounts, citing numerous actions by new owner Elon Musk which includes downranking news links, ending free verification, and changing its algorithm to push right-wing content. The EFJ said that it can "no longer ethically participate in a social network that its owner has transformed into a machine of disinformation and propaganda."
Applications are Open for the Kim Wall Memorial Fund
Source: IWMF
Swedish journalist Kim Wall had an accomplished career as an international correspondent, reporting from Cuba, Kampala, and Sri Lanka. When she was killed while reporting a story, her family set up a memorial fund in her name, in co-ordination with the International Women's Media Foundation.
Since 2018, the fund has awarded more than a dozen $5,000 reporting grants to women and nonbinary journalists "whose reporting carries forward Kim’s legacy."
“We can never get Kim back, but we can see to it that her spirit and will live on, and inspire other young journalists to go out in the world and find the stories," her family said. Deadline: December 8.
Apply Now for Rest and Resilience Journalism Fellowships
Source: Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is offering its annual Rest & Resilience Fellowship to two journalists for a six-month period in Berlin, Germany. The program is for working journalists who reside in countries with onerous press freedom restrictions, who will be invited to Germany from May until October, giving them time to decompress from stressful conditions related to their reporting work. Fellows receive additional training through workshops and network with other international journalists. All travel, lodging, and other costs are covered by the program, which also includes a €1,000 (US$1,100) monthly stipend. Deadline: November 25.
Study on the State of Ocean Reporting Released
Source: Pulitzer Center
The Pulitzer Center's Ocean Reporting Network has released a new study, Making Waves, that examines the state of ocean reporting. The project looks at initiatives for more impactful ocean storytelling and includes expert voices, opportunities to increase coverage, identifies key stakeholders and audiences, and offers advice on network building and better engagement. To learn more, there is also an upcoming webinar on the report hosted by Pulitzer Center Ocean Editor Jessica Aldred on December 3.
Reporters Without Borders Sues X/Twitter for Identity Theft, Spreading Disinformation
Source: Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is pursuing criminal charges in a French court for the alleged failure of X (formerly Twitter) to respond to policy violations involving the press freedom group. According to RSF, Elon Musk's company repeatedly ignored posts and accounts that misrepresented RSF's positions and falsely used the group's logo and photos, all violations of the EU's Digital Services Act. "X’s refusal to remove content that it knows is false and deceitful — as it was duly informed by RSF — makes it complicit in the spread of the disinformation," said RSF Director of Advocacy and Assistance Antoine Bernard.
IPI Publishes 2nd Media Capture Monitoring Report, on Hungary
Source: International Press Institute
Public broadcasters and media regulators have become "fully captured" by Hungary's governing Fidesz Party, according to the second in a series of Media Capture Monitoring Reports assessing the state of press freedom in European countries. This series, a joint project between the International Press Institute and the Media and Journalism Research Center, found that media capture is "well entrenched" in the Central European nation. It further cites a "stark gap between the laws nominally designed to protect media independence and how they are applied in practice."
Applications Open for Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investation Network
Source: Pulitzer Center
The Pulitzer Center is accepting applications for its fifth cohort of the Rainforest Investigations Network (RIN), which supports investigative reporting and cross-border collaborations to produce stories "at the intersection of climate change, corruption, and governance” in the tropical rainforest regions of the Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia. RIN fellowships are for one year, full-time, with financial support. Fellows will work on both individual and joint investigative projects that examine the root causes and structural drivers of deforestation. Seasoned investigative journalists, whether freelance or on-staff, can apply.
2024 AIJC Hosts 450 Journalists from 55 Countries
Source: African Investigative Journalism Conference
The 20th edition of the African Investigative Journalism Conference (AIJC) featured three days of speeches, panels, and workshops aimed at helping the continent's watchdog reporters. Held at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa, the AIJC brought together media workers, academics, and trainers from more than four-dozen countries. OCCRP Africa editor and AIJC convenor Beauregard Tromp said: "Speaking to these young journalists and seeing how enthused they are about not only the projects and stories they’ve taken an interest to in the sessions, but also the kind of tools that are available to them and the heights they can work towards has been amazing."
Global Impunity Index Finds 80% of Journalist Murders Go Unpunished
Source: Committee to Protect Journalists
According to the 2024 Global Impunity Index from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a vast majority — 77% — of journalists' murders have gone unsolved or had no one held to account. This is a slight improvement from one decade earlier, but CPJ warns that impunity for killing journalists remains an entrenched phenomenon around the world. Its latest report also finds two small countries — Haiti and Israel — are now the top two worst offenders in allowing the killing of journalists to go unpunished. Israel had never appeared on CPJ's Index since the report's first edition in 2008, but it has seen a spike in unsolved murders of media workers during the country's ongoing conflict in Gaza and Lebanon.