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Resource Tipsheet

Tips to Uncover the Spy Tech Your Government Buys

In June, a French court indicted executives from two surveillance companies on charges of complicity in torture in Libya and Egypt, following revelations by journalists about their alleged technology sales to repressive regimes. In a series of interviews, investigative reporters shared tips and tools that newsrooms around the world can use to uncover the spyware and monitoring systems their governments are buying.

Reporting Tools & Tips

Seeking Comment for Your Investigation: Tips for the ‘No Surprises’ Letter

For many investigations — especially those involving corporations, or institutions in the West — the final step is to send a letter that sets out your findings and urges a response. Here, several investigative reporters share their tips on how to deal with obstructive subjects and ensure fairness — including fairness for dangerous governments that cannot be alerted to your findings before publication.

Resource

Why Journalists in Autocracies Should Report as If They’re in a Democracy

In a RightsCon session hosted by GIJN, three editors shared survival strategies for independent newsrooms in authoritarian nations, as threats to the press, and institutions of accountability, grow around the world. They described a form of journalistic judo, where journalists can find advantages in the very tactics used to repress them.

News & Analysis Press Freedom

Smear Campaigns, Oligarch Media, and Street Gangs: Serbia’s Embattled Investigative Media Are a Warning to the World

Serbia’s investigative nonprofits face an extraordinary array of threats and harassment due to a new model in which autocrats outsource repression to oligarchs, pro-government media, street gangs, and other proxies. In a series of interviews, three leading editors told GIJN about the sinister tactics they face, and the determination required to keep accountability alive.

Data Journalism

12 Tips to Make Data Come Alive in Radio Reporting

Without a primary visual medium, radio reporting has trailed other media formats in data journalism. But creative data solutions for radio are emerging — and experts shared a dozen tips to help radio reporters broaden their storytelling repertoires, populate digital versions of their stories with data, and empower listeners to visualize without visuals.

News & Analysis

What to Do When You — or Your Sources — Are Being Followed

In 2018, private investigator Igor Ostrovskiy revealed to US investigative reporter Ronan Farrow that he was spying on him, and became a whistleblower on the threat of “hunting journalists.” Ostrovskiy recently briefed journalists on how to deal with the growing menace of physical surveillance.

News & Analysis

From Traditional Journalism to Sustainable Journalism

In this chapter for a new book on the role of civil society and journalism in sub-Saharan Africa, the head of policy for Sweden’s Fojo Media Institute argues that sustainable societies require a kind of journalism that addresses the sustainability challenges facing the planet.

Data Journalism

New Data Tools and Tips for Investigating Climate Change

Wondering how to investigate climate change and where to find the best data? At a recent conference, science reporters from BuzzFeed News, NPR, and ProPublica shared tips on little-known data sources that can make climate change stories both easier to report and understand.