Global Investigative Journalism Network (https://gijn.org/category/english/)
Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, data-driven reporting on COVID-19 has gone through several phases, including infection trends and vaccination rates. Here, a leading Malaysia-based data journalism trainer shares five post-pandemic coverage areas where data reporting can be equally effective.
Tracking the most popular data journalism stories on Twitter from September 27 to October 3, we found a series of articles based on discoveries from the Pandora Papers offshore leak. In this edition, we also feature reporting on the damage caused by the eruption of the volcano on La Palma, data journalism podcasts, and a roundup of the German election results.
A jury of 10 veteran journalists assembled by GIJN member DIG (Documentari Inchieste Giornalismi, Italian for Documentaries, Investigation, and Journalism) announced winners in seven categories this week. From betrayals by Western oil companies in Africa to hidden radiation poisoning and collusion between criminals and government spooks, the winning teams tackled tough topics with dogged patience and innovative approaches.
Legendary investigative editor Andrew Lehren believes in the power of curiosity, and learning-by-doing — and a string of prize-winning stories and impactful careers flowing from his class at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism in New York provides ample evidence. Here, he and some of his stellar former students describe the fruits of a method of journalism instruction that emphasizes collaboration, new tools, and innovative story pitching.
State-embedded actors are the most dominant criminal actor type in the world. The degree to which criminality permeates state institutions varies, from low-level corruption to full state capture, but across the spectrum this involvement has implications for countries’ capacity to respond to organized crime.
National laws that govern arms dealing are uneven, contradictory, influenced by corrupted leadership, and rife with loopholes. Other barriers to exposing the weapons trade range from maritime and aviation secrecy concealing the transportation of arms; corporate entities that shield dealers and operators; the role of neighboring countries as conduits, and a barter system that allows one illicit commodity, such as ivory, to be exchanged for another.
Tracking the most popular data journalism stories on Twitter from September 20 to September 26, using NodeXL mapping and our own human curation, we found investigations into burning oil in the Greek islands and heat-related deaths in German cities. In this edition, we also feature an exclusive story about China’s vast, secretive fishing fleet, a look at the US arms race, and an analysis of suspicious anomalies in the recent Russian election results.
When using data for investigative stories, it is important to learn how to obtain and clean the information. But it is also vital that you interpret your findings correctly and extract the right conclusions from the numbers, filters, and spreadsheets. If you do the math correctly but fail to read the answers properly, you may end up misleading your audience.
Climate reporter Liz Weil and visual reporter Mauricio Rodríguez Pons first became interested in Thermal, which is just north of California’s Salton Sea, because it is one of the hottest places in America. They soon realized it’s also a prime example of how wealth inequality is inextricably linked to climate justice.
For GIJN’s My Favourite Tools series, we spoke with Indian journalist and information designer Gurman Bhatia. She has worked at the Hindustan Times in Delhi and been a part of the award-winning team at Reuters Graphics, where she worked on visualizations for topics as diverse as election fraud in India, use of force during protests in Hong Kong, and bushfires in Australia.
Networks of business interests, government officials, and criminal groups run illegal operations that harm the environment in multiple ways. They drive worldwide illegal trafficking in wildlife and seafood, timber, minerals, hazardous waste, and toxic chemicals. Such environmental crimes are sometimes connected with other criminal activity, such as drug trafficking and money laundering.
