The Investigative Journalist’s Guide to Impact • Pierre Leibovici

In this masterclass video, Pierre Leibovici, deputy editor-in-chief and environment editor at Disclose — a French independent investigative outlet focused on arms sales, environmental crimes, and human rights abuses — shares six practical strategies to help journalists maximize the real-world impact of their investigations.

He explains why impactful reporting rarely happens by accident, and why it requires deliberate planning: defining target stakeholders, finding local allies within affected communities, and proactively engaging key players before and on the day of publication.

Leibovici also outlines how small newsrooms can build a framework to track and communicate impact over time and addresses the critical line between seeking impact and maintaining journalistic integrity, arguing that journalists should inform and alert but never campaign.

Credits:

• Interview: Sarah Ulrich
• Video Editing: Quentin Egloff
• Music: Lionel Marçal
• Filming: Ron Lopez, Reynald Ramirez, Hashim Hakeem
• Supervision and Coordination: Sandrine Rigaud