While precarious employment, low pay and trumped up defamation lawsuits means Italian journalists are under increasing financial pressure, it’s the constant threat from mafia and organized crime that is putting reporters at risk and making in-depth reporting that much more difficult.
In the wake of Hurricane Maria’s devastating impact on Puerto Rico, amid shortages of food, water and electricity, international and local media have set up shop in the island’s Convention Center, creating a de facto newsroom where officials give press conferences and citizens look for resources. Among those leading the way are journalists from GIJN member Centro de Periodismo Investigativo.
At a time when press freedom is deteriorating in many states participating in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, having a voice to raise journalist cases and hold governments to account is vital. In a recent interview, the organization’s new Freedom of the Media representative Harlem Désir discusses his plans and explains why he is prioritizing journalist safety, fighting impunity and combating violent extremism online.
Mongolia held its first international investigative reporting conference earlier this month, drawing over 100 attendees from 10 countries, including trainers from Germany, Japan and the United States. The event recognized the enterprising work being done by local journalists while launching Central Asia’s first nonprofit investigative newsroom, the Mongolian Centre for Investigative Journalism.
Last week a court in Paris held a hearing in a defamation lawsuit against French broadcast journalists Elise Lucet and Laurent Richard over their 2015 investigative report for the France-2 television show “Cash Investigations” in which Azerbaijan is referred to as a “dictatorship.” Richard will be speaking at #GIJC17 in Johannesburg in November.
In the run-up to #GIJC17 in Johannesburg in November, we are publishing a series of articles on the state of journalism in Africa to give conference-goers perspective on the continent. In this piece, researcher Jonathan Rozen shows how internet shutdowns in Ethiopia, the Republic of Congo and Cameroon are impacting journalists.
Venezuela is currently in the midst of an economic, political and constitutional crisis. Amid widespread rationing, tensions between President Nicolás Maduro and members of the opposition continue to escalate. Ewald Scharfenberg, cofounder of GIJN member organization Armando.info, talks about the role investigative journalism plays in Venezuelan politics. Scharfenberg will be speaking at #GIJC17 in November in Johannesburg.
As we prepare to gather in Johannesburg for #GIJC17, it’s worth noting the many challenges African journalists face. From South Africa to Somalia, July was a particularly ominous month for free expression on the continent.
While legal notices can result in civil or criminal defamation cases, journalists in India say companies are using them as part of a tactic known as Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, or SLAPP, in an effort to intimidate or censor them. Indian journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta spoke to Aayush Soni about the increasingly popular intimidation tactic.
Fifteen years ago, Abraji — the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism — was first formed. As they celebrate an impressive anniversary, Abraji is launching the ambitious Tim Lopes Project to help protect journalists under fire across Brazil.
Twelve extraordinary investigative projects from around the world are finalists in the seventh Global Shining Light Award, a prize that honors investigative journalism in developing or transitioning countries, done under threat, duress or under dire conditions. Winners will be announced at #GIJC17 in November in Johannesburg.
University of California, Berkeley hosted the first-ever summit for the growing workforce of college students being trained worldwide to review and verify digital content that could help human rights lawyers prosecute war criminals.
In the midst of increasing threats to press freedom, the journalism community in Japan met in June for a two-day international symposium at Sophia University and Waseda University to discuss investigative journalism.
With over 136 sessions and 270 speakers and trainers, Germany’s annual Netzwerk Recherche conference covered everything from data journalism and computer-assisted reporting to debates about “fake news,” press freedom and the credibility crisis of media.
In an explosive report, Citizen Lab and their Mexican civil society partners identified more than 75 text messages sent to the phones of 12 individuals, most of whom are journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders in an effort to monitor the target’s devices. They say the findings are a flagrant and disturbing example of the abuse of commercial spyware.
Last month, Javier Valdez Cárdenas became the sixth member of the Mexican press to be killed in a two month period. It’s time to let the Mexican government know the international journalism community is watching: #ourvoiceisourstrength and #nuestravozesnuestrafuerza.
Journalists can no longer afford to ignore the growing threats of targeted surveillance and digital attacks, writes Citizen Lab’s Ron Deibert in the recently released book “Journalism After Snowden: The Future of the Free Press in the Surveillance State.”
At the recent European Investigative Journalism and Dataharvest conference, Nicholas Diakopoulos spoke about the emergence of algorithmic accountability reporting, and how it applies the core journalistic functions of watchdogging and investigative reporting to algorithms.
The April gathering in Ouagadougou marked the start of operational activities of the Norbert Zongo Cell for Investigative Journalism in West Africa, an investigative hub where journalists can access grants, resources, mentoring and form cross-border collaborations.
The topic of big media ownership is often left unquestioned, but Mexican investigative journalist Marcela Turati believes that it is important to unveil the hidden interests of big companies because companies that disguise their business strategies as journalism can do much harm.
Today, on World Press Freedom Day, GIJN was honored with its first award, the Difference Day Honorary Title for Freedom of Expression. Awarded by two prominent Brussels universities, VUB and ULB, the Honorary Title is given annually “to a journalist, writer, artist, cultural thinker or any other person, association or institution that has made a vital contribution to protect and promote freedom of thinking and expression in an ever changing, democratic society.”
This year, World Press Freedom Day’s theme “Critical Minds for Critical Times” drives home the need for everyone to sharpen their minds to defend the freedoms — free, independent, and pluralistic media — that are essential for justice and peace. Without audiences demanding well-researched and conflict-sensitive narratives, critical reporting will be increasingly side-lined. Every citizen has a direct stake in the quality of the information environment.
It has only been 26 years since the world’s first website and server went live. Since then, digital journalism has evolved quickly through the portal era, the search era, and the social era. At present, digital journalism has entered a new phase — the Stories as a Service (SaaS) era — where journalism is paid for by readers, for readers, which will likely result in quality journalism, trustworthiness, and the building of new communities.
Global press freedom has continued its decline, now at its lowest point in 13 years in 2016 due to unprecedented threats to journalists and media outlets in major democracies, intensified crackdowns by authoritarian states, and moves by Russia and China to increase their influence beyond their borders, according to Freedom of the Press 2017, the latest edition of Freedom House’s annual report on media freedom worldwide.
Reporters Without Borders this week released its 2017 World Press Freedom Index of 180 countries, and the news is not good. The report found media freedoms falling in democracies and that “nothing seems to be checking that fall.” Nearly two thirds (62.2%) of countries measured had deteriorated freedoms, while the number of countries where the media freedom situation was “good” or “fairly good” fell by 2.3%.
‘Tis the season of media awards with lots of great investigative journalists — and great investigative stories — getting honored for their muckraking. We’ve picked some notable winners and finalists from the European Press Prizes, the Pulitzers, and the IRE Awards. Big congratulations to the winners and finalists, who have showcased grit and determination in exposing injustices and corruption across the globe. Despite all the challenges we face, muckraking has never been in better hands.
It’s been a busy first quarter of 2017 for GIJN members — from picking up Pulitzer Prizes to launching crowdfunding campaigns. There have also been new projects and new collaborations forged. Here are some noteworthy splashes made by GIJN members around the world.
In a time where too many editors are perceiving investigative reporting as a luxury which they can no longer afford, South African journalists are still spending their time digging and probing to expose wrongdoing. As Suzanne Venter picked up her Taco Kuiper Award for the story on the mentally ill patient scandal, she cited “not giving up”, “putting in extra hours” and “speaking to everyone involved” as the keys to do good journalism.
