Paul Radu of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project gave an engaging talk at the recent TEDxBucharest gathering, looking at the globalization of crime and how investigation reporters and public-interest hackers can push back. Among the topics he covers: Russian money laundering, European horse meat, and Azerbaijan corruption. Says Radu: “In order to fight a network, you need to create a network.”
Winners of the Global Shining Light Award have donated their US$1000 in prize money to the family of imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist Avaz Zeynalli. The Shining Light Award honors investigative journalism in a developing or transitioning country, done under threat or duress. Zeynalli was editor in chief of the daily newspaper Khural, one of a handful of independent media voices in the repressive, oil-rich nation of Azerbaijan, which lies at the borders of Russia, Iran, and Turkey
In People Problems Part 1, we talked about two common kinds of complaints that you as a manager might hear. “I don’t think Karl is showing enough commitment to his work.” “The technical staff is being rude to our salespeople.” Here is a method for developing your colleague’s problem-solving skills, followed by how to apply it in these two cases. If you focus on developing your people, your organization will develop far more rapidly than if you focus on just the num.
If you are leading a team in a small media organization, you need to get the best out of your people. Everyone has to be a contributor. This is not just a selfish thing. You get the best out of people by helping them develop their own talents, overcome obstacles and reach their own professional goals.
While most of the Christian West woke up on Christmas morning to messages of peace on earth and goodwill to mankind, events in Ukraine continued down a bloody and almost heathen, medieval path. The physical assaults in the last month on journalists, activists, and demonstrators are too numerous to keep track of without a scorecard and a timeline. But the trend is so clear that even the most witless criminal investigator can see the pattern.
The setting was a recent conference on “Business in Society” at INSEAD, the business school based outside of Paris, where the authors of this article were presenting their ideas on media development. Unexpectedly, an executive from a major shipping company stood up and said: “We just learned that one of our sub-contractors in a certain country is in organized crime. We want more investigative reporting, so we can avoid such issues.”
As 2013 nears an end, we’d like to share our top ten stories — the stories that you, our dear readers, found most compelling. The list ranges from impassioned calls for journalists to fight back to the dangers of big data, from the latest techniques for tracking business across borders to the arcane practice of plane-spotting. Please join us in taking a look at The Best of GIJN.org.
Amid media crackdowns, civil war, and social unrest, 350 journalists from Tunisia to Iraq gathered in Jordan earlier this month for the annual conference of Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ). Despite arduous conditions across much of the Middle East and North Africa, the conference provided strong evidence that the region’s best journalists are continuing to fight the good fight — pushing hard against censorship and bringing world-class investigative reporting to the Arab world. The event, ARIJ’s sixth annual gathering, took place in Amman from December 6-8.
Our just-released newsletter, the Global Network News, includes highlights of the 8th Global Investigative Journalism Conference, as well as a big thanks to all of you who made it possible. You’ll also find an update on the big decisions that came from the Rio meeting of GIJN’s Steering Committee, made up of our 90 member organizations.
Let me tell you how I think it will go from here. Free speech – always a lonely and sickly child in the Arab world – is already back in intensive care throughout the region.
Street protests will gradually die out. Dissenters will continue to be arrested and given harsh sentences. Sustained government propaganda will convince any waverers that political stability and economic prosperity are far more important than personal freedoms, rule of law, universal human rights, and democratic values.
Despite the wishful thinking of the crowds, the final chapter of the Arab Spring is being written: it is about over.
Online is no refuge: The PEN American Center, an association of writers and others working to defend free expression, created this interactive report to showcase the global rise of digital repression, using data from its case files over the past 12 years.
Investigative stories are just a click away. But to find them, you need to look in the right place. Marty Steffens, from the University of Missouri, and Paul Radu, from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project in Romania, presented some of the best search tools on the Internet other than Google at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference. They are often used as the starting point for almost all research on international business.
Impunity is defined as “without punishment, without consequences.” It has become a shorthand way to describe the thousands of attacks on journalists and freedom of expression around the world each year. IFEX, the global network of 88 groups defending free expression, each year organizes an International Day to End Impunity. This year it takes place November 23, with events every day this month. Over the past ten years, more than 500 journalists have been killed, and in 9 of 10 cases their killers have escaped — with impunity.
Participants at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference last week got a preview of the newly redesigned Investigative Dashboard, a research tool to help journalists get access to business records around the world. Developed by GIJN member Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, this week OCCRP formally launched ID at the Conflict in a Connected World conference sponsored by Google Ideas, which has supported development of the new tool.
Journalists from across the Middle East and North Africa flocked to Rio for the Global Investigative Journalism Conference (#GIJC13), joining more than than 1,300 colleagues from 90 countries. Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) brought its largest-ever delegation to the global conference with 16 fellows and members speaking and networking on covering conflict, terrorism, fraud, and more.
Journalists from Azerbaijan, South Africa, and Pakistan were honored with the fifth Global Shining Light Award at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Rio de Janeiro Monday night. The prize honors investigative journalism conducted in a developing or transitioning country, done under threat, duress, or in the direst of conditions. The award drew 65 submissions from 28 countries.
In conjunction with the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Rio de Janeiro, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University has published a new e-book, Muckraking Goes Global: The Future of Cross-Border Investigative Journalism, that may be of interest to you and your colleagues. The publication includes a number of articles that address many of the challenges faced by watchdog journalists worldwide today.
More than 1300 journalists from 87 countries have flocked to Rio de Janeiro for the 8th Global Investigative Journalism Conference this weekend. This is the largest ever international gathering of investigative journalists, and there’s lots of excitement, networking, and big stories in the air. For coverage of the 150 panels, workshops, and special events, check out our website, http://gijc2013.org/
The Global Investigative Journalism Conference is getting close! We have more than 800 journalists from more than 80 countries heading to Rio, and we’re delighted you’re joining us. We’ve compiled a list of useful information for everyone.
The Steering Committee of the Global Investigative Journalism Network — consisting of representatives of GIJN’s member organizations — will gather for its biennial meeting at the 8th Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Rio de Janeiro on October 14. The meeting is open, but voting will be limited to a single representative from each of GIJN’s member organizations. GIJN’s membership includes 91 nonprofits, NGOs, and educational institutions in 41 countries. Its missions include sponsoring global and regional conferences, training, and promoting best practices in investigative and data journalism.
