Stories
Case Studies
How They Did It: Exposing Right-Wing Radicalization on YouTube
To investigate radicalization on YouTube, journalists from two Dutch media outlets teamed up and examined 600,000 videos, 120 million comments, and 20 million automatically-generated recommendations —using software they wrote for this occasion. Dimitri Tokmetzis, who runs the data desk at De Correspondent, wrote about how they did it for GIJN.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Document of the Day: ProPublica’s Guide to Collaborative Data Journalism Projects
Increasingly, the most ambitious data journalism projects are fueled by collaborations. But these take a lot of planning. Before you embark on a collaboration, check out ProPublica’s playbook.
Data Journalism
GIJN’s Data Journalism Top 10: Giraffe Anatomy, 3D Animation, Pub Crawls, ISIS Talks, Trump Lobbyists
What’s the global data journalism community tweeting about this week? Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from October 14 to 20 finds National Geographic illustrating the unique anatomy of giraffes, The Washington Post explaining the process of building a 3D interactive animation on autonomous driving, The Pudding creating a fun pub crawl generator, and Robert Kosara investigating how people read pie charts.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Digging into the Extractive Industries: Tips from the Experts
Natural resource extraction industries make billions of dollars each year. And where there is big money, there is corruption — plus mines can have a destructive impact on the environment and on communities. Leonie Kijewski rounded up top resources and tips for reporting on the extractive industries around the globe for GIJN.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Here’s How to Turn Students into Sleuths in 15 Weeks
Rookies can become top-notch investigative reporters in a matter of months. Megan Clement rounded up tips for GIJN on how one professor in Chile gets it done.
Reporting Tools & Tips
My Favorite Tools: Joel Konopo
For our series about journalists’ favorite tools, we spoke with Joel Konopo of Botswana’s INK Centre for Investigative Journalism. He told GIJN’s Olivier Holmey all about how he uses satellite images to expose corruption, Cryptomator to encrypt sensitive files, and lots more.
Reporting Tools & Tips
How to Write Openings That Hook the Reader
So you’ve got a great investigation — now you just need to get people to read it. Here are seven types of beginnings that can hook readers into your story, from starting with a detail to beginning with a revelation.
Data Journalism
GIJN’s Data Journalism Top 10: Fall Foliage, Housing Data, Knife Crimes, Charts vs. Text
What’s the global data journalism community tweeting about this week? Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from October 7 to 13 finds The New York Times tackling the topic of auto emissions as a significant climate problem, The Washington Post mapping the colors of America’s fall foliage across the nation, St. Louis Post-Dispatch sharing its newsroom process in data transparency, and Nicholas Strayer offering a tutorial to build your own cool resume using R.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Advice for Reporters Working with Survivors of Child Abuse
Three reporters who have worked with survivors of child abuse shared advice on how to build trust with sources, take care of their well-being, and connect with survivor communities. Brenna Daldorph rounded up their tips for GIJN.
Reporting Tools & Tips
The User-Generated Content Revolution: 8 Steps on Gathering and Using it for Investigations
A documentary producer, a BBC reporter, and a human rights researcher shared eight steps toward gathering and using user-generated content for investigations at the recent Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Hamburg. Here’s Charlotte Alfred for GIJN on how it’s done.
Reporting Tools & Tips
How to Become a Deep Web Super Sleuth
Search engines only show a small fraction of the content that is actually available online. Leonie Kijewski highlights four tips on finding databases that can give you all the info that Google won’t, based on journalist Albrecht Ude’s presentation at the recent Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Hamburg.
News & Analysis
Journalismfund.eu’s Ides Debruyne: ‘Investigative Journalism is Booming’ in Europe
Journalismfund.eu is an independent nonprofit that promotes cross-border and in-depth journalism in Europe. In this interview, Journalismfund.eu’s Managing Director Ides Debruyne shares his thoughts on “impactful” journalism and why investigative journalism is booming.
Data Journalism
GIJN’s Data Journalism Top 10: UN Votes, Disaster Reporting, Big Data Stories in Small Newsrooms
What’s the global data journalism community tweeting about this week? Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from September 30 to Oct 6 finds Al Jazeera Labs analyzing the key issues debated and voted at the United Nations General Assembly since 1946, Datajournalism.com gathering expert advice on doing data journalism during natural disasters, Knight Center offering a free data visualization course in three languages, and El Confidencial visualizing the internal migration patterns in Spain’s provinces.
News & Analysis
When Autocrats Attack: How Journalists Around the Globe Are Fighting Back
Reporters, especially the most independent, critical, and investigative ones, have long been at the receiving end of autocratic governments’ intolerance of dissent. What’s new is the use of the internet and social media platforms to undermine journalists’ credibility, combined with a more sophisticated application of legal instruments and bureaucratic punitive measures, writes GIJN Spanish Editor Catalina Lobo-Guerrero.
News & Analysis
Full Text: Maria Ressa’s Keynote Speech for #GIJC19
By popular demand, we are publishing the prepared remarks that Rappler’s CEO and executive editor Maria Ressa delivered during a rousing keynote speech at the 11th Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Hamburg.
News & Analysis
How to Dig into Businesses that Prop Up Criminal Networks
Standing in front of every shadowy network of international criminals are legitimate businesses, such as banks and law firms. But these gatekeepers can also provide a way into your story, writes Megan Clement for GIJN.
News & Analysis
Document of the Day: UK Cities Refuse Public Scrutiny of Accounts
When the Bureau of Investigative Journalism asked to see a contract between property developers and the North London borough of Haringey, its reporters were disappointed to receive a heavily-redacted document. This was part of a drive by the UK nonprofit to test the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, which gives citizens and journalists the right to access the accounts and related documents of city councils and other local authorities.
Investigate, Collaborate — But Take Care of Yourself! Reflections on GIJC19
How did I end up talking about empathy, compassion, and how to help each other in front of a crowd at the farewell of the 11th Global Investigative Journalism Conference that just ended in Hamburg, Germany?
News & Analysis
Tips on Investigating Disinformation Networks from BuzzFeed’s Craig Silverman
One of the most fundamental parts of investigating disinformation is looking for the network around a social media account or website. Craig Silverman, media editor at BuzzFeed News, offers up some tips and tools on digging in.
News & Analysis
The “First Contact” Tactics that Helped New York Times Reporters Expose How Trump Got His Money
Russ Buettner showed up at strangers’ doorsteps with an overstuffed file under his arm, while he was reporting the Pulitzer Prize-winning expose on how Donald Trump got his money. It was part of a “first contact” strategy for the team of three New York Times reporters to ensure that high value sources helped with key details.
GIJN Elects Board 2019
GIJN’s member organizations voted to re-elect six current board members who were up for election this year, and one new board member. Congratulations to Marina Walker Guevara, Brant Houston, Paul Radu, Fernando Rodrigues, Rana Sabbagh, Julia Stein and Estacio Valoi.
And…It’s a Wrap: #GIJC19 Highlights
Over the past four days, 1,700 journalists from 130 countries gathered in Hamburg, Germany, to share experiences, learn from expert speakers, network with kindred spirits, and find new partners for their next investigations. It was the most diverse and largest-ever international gathering of investigative journalists, and a perfect place to be inspired.
Maria Ressa on the Battle for Truth, the Role of America’s Social Media Platforms, and What Comes Next
Before she could even start to speak, Maria Ressa received a standing ovation, which brought tears to her eyes. She was out on bail, and was forced to pay a travel bond in order to leave the Philippines and come to Hamburg, where she gave a keynote address to an auditorium full of fellow investigative journalists from around the world.
Investigations From Peru, Philippines, South Africa Win Global Shining Light Award
Stories on Latin American corruption, extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, and state capture in South Africa won the eighth Global Shining Light Awards, announced tonight at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Hamburg, Germany. The prize honors investigative journalism conducted in developing or transitioning countries, done under threat, duress, or in the direst of conditions.
News & Analysis
Watch Your Language: How English is Skewing the Global News Narrative
The dominance of the English language might be skewing local and international reporting — as well as the global media development space — writes GIJN’s Managing Editor Tanya Pampalone. She wrote the opening essay for Hostwriter’s new book “Unbias The News: Why Diversity Matters for Journalism.”
#GIJC19 Kicks Off: ‘If Autocrats Thought We Were Going Away, They’re in for a Surprise.’
The 11th Global Investigative Journalism Conference launched in Hamburg today to calls for retooled defiance, as a growing assault on human rights, democratic institutions, and the independent press rages around the world.
Here’s How to Follow the Global Investigative Journalism Conference from Home
Can’t join us in Hamburg for the 11th Global Investigative Journalism Conference? There are still lots of ways you can follow along from home as more than 1,500 journalists from around the world gather to discuss their craft and share insights.