Language
English
2858
posts
Guide Resource
Partnerships and Collaborations
Collaborations on investigative projects are increasingly popular. Working together with partners can multiply and maximize reporting resources and increase readership. Special skills can be acquired, such as analyzing data, creating visualizations, or preparing multimedia elements. There is a steadily growing amount of literature on how to do collaborative investigations — how to build trust, create […]
Guide Resource
Freelancing: Platforms That Earn Income for Writers
There are a growing number of sites that help writers earn money while self-publishing. Whether these are right for you will require research. In this section, we are not exploring the many places that help create websites, newsletters and blogs, or looking into the plug-ins that permit sales and subscriptions. Nor are we getting into […]
Resource
Freelancing: Media Liability Insurance
Freelance investigative journalists should seriously consider having insurance to protect against the risk of being sued. “Media liability” policies are shields against the financial costs of litigation over libel, slander, defamation, invasion of privacy, plagiarism, copyright infringement and more. Insurance can cover potentially very large legal bills and monetary damages due to adverse court judgments […]
Resource
Freelancing: Risk Insurance
Having insurance while on risky assignments may be a prudent investment and less expensive than you fear. Get the publisher to pay for it if possible. What to insure for? Classic travel problems: missed flights, lost documents, etc. Medical issues: sickness, injury, etc. (COVID-19 coverage is excluded.) Evacuation, if necessary. Kidnapping. Disability insurance. Repatriation of […]
Resource
Freelancing: Contracts and Negotiation
Contractual Considerations Contract negotiations for investigative articles should cover several issues that aren’t as relevant for, say, a feature about cute kittens. There are some fairly universal points on which to concentrate, including: A definition of the scope of work and how changes will be handled. The terms of payment. Who owns the rights. For […]
Resource
Freelancing: Places to Pitch Story Ideas
There are no platforms designed specifically for journalists to sell investigative story ideas, but a few websites may prove useful. To find a publisher for an investigative idea, most reporters suggest alternative routes, such as doing research on possible outlets and making personal contacts. (See more about networking in the section on pitching stories.) However, […]
News & Analysis
What to Watch: DIG’s Investigative Documentary Shortlist
The jury for the DIG Awards – an annual celebration of the best investigative documentaries made around the world – has revealed the films and programs that have made it onto the annual shortlist. The final awards will be given as part of DIG’s festival, which is taking place in the historic city of Modena in northern Italy this week.
Data Journalism
Data Journalism Top 10: Black Voter Suppression, K-Pop, Data Privacy Rights, and Global Coronavirus Deaths
Personal data is big business, and not only for private firms. Our NodeXL #ddj mapping from September 21 to 27 finds a number of troubling investigations: Channel 4 News revealed that Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign used personal data from Facebook and Cambridge Analytica to deter Black voters from casting their ballot; Consumer Reports found that companies were making it difficult for people to opt out of having their data sold despite a landmark California law that protects individual data rights; and Noteworthy and The Business Post highlighted a concerning lack of clear regulation surrounding access to, and use of, genetic and patient data by private firms.