Global Network News: Growing Networks, Fundraising Partnerships, Summer Schools

Growing Networks, Global Reach

Despite tough economic times and often hostile governments, the global investigative reporting community continues to grow and is attracting a new generation of journalists. That was the clear message from two outsized conferences last month in Boston and Hamburg. Investigative Reporters and Editors hosted its largest conference in years, drawing an enthusiastic 1200 people to Boston in mid-June. GIJN’s secretariat worked closely with IRE to bring journalists from a record 42 countries to the conference. Among the groups represented: Consejo de Redaccion (Colombia), Gravande Journalister (Sweden), Netzwerk Recherche (Germany), and SKUP (Norway) as well as journalists from Brazil, China, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe. There were panels and workshops on data journalism, best practices for nonprofit newsrooms, slavery supply chains, investigative journalism in China, and international networking. “When this many journalists from throughout the world join together to learn and help each other improve their skills, it sends a powerful signal about the strength and vitality of investigative journalism,” noted IRE Executive Director Mark Horvit. Meanwhile, in Hamburg, Germany’s investigative journalism association, Netzwerk Recherche, drew 800 to its annual conference. Many participants were students and young journalists. Called DigiTal der Ahnungslosen: Recherche Jenseits von Googeln und Mogeln (The Digitally Clueless: Investigations Beyond Googling and Muddling Through) the gathering featured 100 panels ranging from neo-Nazis and sports to the latest digital tools, including tips for digging into “the dark web.”

GIJN Partners in 5 Countries to Fundraise for Global Conference

The GIJN’s provisional secretariat has formed partnerships with member organizations in five countries to fundraise for the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Rio next year. By working with national journalism NGOs, the Global Network is expanding its capacity in an ambitious fundraising effort targeting foundations, media and technology companies, and international aid agencies. Thanks to Abraji in Brazil, IPYS in Peru, Netzwerk Recherche in Germany, SKUP in Norway, and VVOJ in the Netherlands. Interested in helping? Contact us at hello@gijn.org.

Summer School for Muckrakers

Here’s a healthy sign of the growing global interest in investigative journalism: there are summer schools in four countries for investigative reporters over the next two months. Top trainers – many from GIJN member organizations – will be teaching at sessions held by the Centre for Investigative Journalism at City University in London (July 6-8); Columbia University’s School of Journalism in New York City (July 9-27); the Stockholm School of Economics Riga Centre for Media Studies in Riga, Latvia (August 16-18); and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Mavrovo, Macedonia (August 19-25).

Follow GIJN’s Daily Feeds for the Latest

Keep up to date with the latest tools, techniques, stories, and conferences through GIJN’s Facebook and Twitter feeds. Our Facebook community has tripled in recent weeks, with more than 2200 people in 40 countries. Among our top cities: Cairo, Tunis, Buenos Aires, Karachi, London, Washington, Casablanca, Lima, Oslo, and New Delhi. The Facebook feed includes The Story of the Day, featuring great investigative reports from around the world. (Have a story? Send suggestions to hello@gijn.org.)

TOOLBOX

• Tools for Data Visualization: From Arbor.js to Timeline, 35 Ways to Make Your Stories Come Alive
• Google Fusion Tables: Find public data and merge it in with your own

STORIES OF NOTE

• Xi Jinping Millionaire Relations Reveal Fortunes of Elite, Bloomberg
• Eight Ways to Commit Grand Corruption, Watchdog Watcher
• Security Firm Spies on Reuters Correspondent, Reuters
• Undercover Report: Muslim Leaders Urge Women to Total Submission, Uppdrag Granskning (Assignment Investigate), Swedish Public Television (SVT)
• Where Is the Copper Money Going?, Zambia Daily Mail
• Cocaine Incorporated, New York Times Magazine
• The Fall of Vladimir Antonov, re:Baltica
• La Gran Vida (The High Life), ABC Color (Paraguay)
• Why “Institutes of Excellence” Won’t Address Africa’s Information Needs, GIJN.org

CALENDAR

• July 6-9: Centre for Investigative Journalism Summer School, London, UK
• July 9-28: Columbia Journalism School Summer Investigative Reporting Course, New York, New York, USA
• July 12-14: Abraji Congresso Internacional de Jornalismo Investigativo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
• August 16-19: SSE Riga Centre for Media Studies Summer School on Investigative Journalism, Riga, Latvia
• August 19-26: BIRN Summer School of Investigative Reporting, Mavrovo, Macedonia
• September 9-11: Highway Africa/Global Forum for Media Development, Grahamstown, South Africa.
• October 12-15: COLPIN–The Latin America Conference on Investigative Journalism, Bogota, Colombia
• October 29-31: Power Reporting–African Investigative Journalism Conference, Johanessburg, South Africa
• November 16-17: European Investigative Journalism Conference, Antwerp, Belgium
• November 23-25: Annual Conference for Arab Investigative Journalists, Tunis, Tunisia
• February 28-March 3, 2013: IRE/NICAR Computer-Assisted Reporting Conference, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
• June 20-23, 2013: IRE Annual Conference, San Antonio, Texas, USA
• October 14-17, 2013: Global Investigative Journalism Conference, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil