Case Studies Reporting Tools & Tips
Collaborating to Uncover ‘Putin’s Shadow War’ in Scandinavia
A unique collaboration between four Nordic public broadcasters sought to uncover the scale of Russian covert spying operations in the region.
Stories
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Data Journalism Top 10
Visualizing War in Israel and Gaza; Australia’s Indigenous Voice Vote, Aging Taiwan, Romance Novel Covers
Featuring the first-round results of Argentina’s presidential election and a closer read of Australia’s “No” vote on Indigenous recognition.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Investigating Environmental Crimes: Tips From Reporters Covering the Amazon
Two reporters whose investigative work has exposed systemic land grabbing and illegal mining in the Amazon share their tips.
How They Did It
Death Weapons: How a Reporting Team Infiltrated Online Neo-Nazi Networks
A team of investigative journalists from Germany and the US used undercover reporting, OSINT, and data analysis skills to connect online extremism with offline terror.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
‘Rewriting History’: Tips for Investigating Events Years, Decades, Or Centuries Later
Historians have always used archival documents to study what happened years, decades, or even centuries ago. But sometimes journalists are the ones digging into the past and uncovering truths that are big enough to “rewrite history.”
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Follow the Money — and Enablers — When Investigating Kleptocracies and Mafia States
Veteran journalists explained how an industry of enablers is supporting a growing group of kleptocracies and mafia states around the world, and that following the money is a great way to track them.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Introducing FBarchive: A New, Searchable Repository of Facebook Whistleblower Documents
The new, searchable database FBarchive is designed to help researchers, journalists, and policymakers better understand and investigate decisions made at Meta about some of the most influential social media platforms across the globe.
Tipsheet
Tipsheet for Investigative Journalists on War Crimes and What Is Legal in War
An accurate understanding of the applicable laws by journalists can ensure and improve credible reporting, and raise awareness of potential violations.
GIJC23 Sustainability
Crowd-Driven Journalism: Four Groundbreaking Investigative Projects Powered by Public Engagement
Communities are often considered merely our audience in journalism. But local communities can be engaged to help report impactful stories, provide tips and resources, and even boost the finances of watchdog media around the world.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Power and Control: Investigating Food Supply and Agriculture Amid Climate Change
Water depletion in Tunisia, illegal shark fishing in Asia, global seed monopolies: three environmental journalists shared lessons at GIJC23 from their investigations into food production and supply chains.
10 Questions
From Tracking Blood Diamonds to Investigating a Wrongful Murder Conviction
After being wrongfully convicted of murder, Rowe taught himself watchdog reporting while in prison, and eventually worked his way onto the BBC’s prestigious Today and Panorama programs.
GIJC23 Methodology
Tips for Better Collaborations: Smaller Newsrooms, More Vetting, and Less Ego
Collaboration has emerged as the killer app for investigative journalism in the past decade, and a panel of editors at GIJC23 shared key insights into how watchdog partnerships can thrive.
Data Journalism Top 10
Data Journalism Top 10: Israel-Hamas War, Breathing Machine Defects, Loneliness Epidemic, and Nobel Prize Winners
Featuring the New York Times’ mapping of the recent events in the Israel-Hamas war, ProPublica’s investigation into defects of a company’s breathing machines, and El País’ gender analysis of Nobel Prize winners.
Getting Started in Investigative Journalism GIJC23
Freelancing Survival Tips for Investigative Reporters
From cold-pitching to collaborating, and from promoting your work to getting top commissions, being a freelancer brings a whole series of challenges, especially for investigative journalists.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Watchdogs Against Hate: A Reporter’s Toolbox for Tracking Political Extremism
The influence of extremist groups on mainstream politics is on the rise, and journalists need tools to face this threat to healthy democracies.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips Safety & Security
Recruiting Secret Sources: Where to Find Them, and How to Keep Them Safe
German investigative journalist Bastian Obermayer – who was leaked the Panama Papers documents – explains the art of finding, using, and safeguarding sources.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Investigating Cryptocurrency: Key Questions and Tips for Reporters
Criminal activity tends to thrive where state oversight is weakest. So it’s no wonder that cryptocurrencies are the financial tool of choice for criminals around the world, which makes insightful coverage of them increasingly important for investigative journalists.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
How — And Why — Journalists Should Investigate Sports
Hands-on tips for scaling your sports investigations from three award-winning journalists who have covered doping, sexual abuse, sportswashing, and more.
GIJC23
Beyond Facial Recognition: State-of-the-Art Research Techniques
In the fast-evolving landscape of investigative journalism, knowledge of the latest tools and cutting edge techniques can help newsrooms and reporters stay ahead of the curve and tell impactful stories.
GIJC23 Sustainability
Survival Strategies for Exiled Investigative Media — and Any Independent Newsroom
Autocratic regimes and threats to press freedom have forced independent journalists and newsrooms into exile with alarming frequency in recent years. Founders and editors from three newsrooms in exile from Bangladesh, Russia, and Venezuela shared their tactics for survival.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Finding — and Protecting — Sources for Human Trafficking Investigations
Finding victim-survivors to talk about human trafficking is difficult. Three journalists at GIJC23, who cover human trafficking and irregular migration, shared tips on how to find and protect sources.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Tracking Planes and Ships: Tips from Experts
Tracking ships and planes is essential for investigative journalists covering a wide range of stories around the world, from smuggling to sanctions evasion to environmental crimes.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Tips for Using Online Surveys to Spice Up Your Investigations
A well-designed, properly distributed survey can build a powerful dataset for an investigation. Here are top tips on planning, designing, and executing them from the team at CORRECTIV.
GIJC23
Stronger Together: Strategies for Women Investigative Journalists
“In some parts of the world it is harder to be a female investigative reporter than in others,” GIJN’s Gabriela Manuli said at a GIJC23 panel discussing the challenges facing women reporters and editors around the globe.
News & Analysis
Doc of the Day: 2023 Global Organized Crime Index
This week, GITOC released its second worldwide assessment, the 2023 Global Organized Crime Index, a eight-chapter report that found economic crises and political realignment have fueled global organized crime, which preys on the resulting civic instability, financial vulnerability, and shortage of food, fuel, and other commodities.
GIJC23
‘Make Them a Participant in Their Story’: Investigating Children’s Issues
When reporting on children’s issues, it’s essential to treat them as individuals in their own right and give them agency over the telling of their stories.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
How Old-School Field Reporting Powers High-Tech Visual Investigations
Forensic visual investigation has rapidly become a critical method of journalistic inquiry, thanks to new technologies, innovative skills, and the global ubiquity of social media imagery.
GIJC23
Following the Money, from Laundromats to Central Banks
How did three reporters investigate complex financial stories featuring Nigerian billionaires, Eurasian oligarchs, and the head of Lebanon’s central bank?