As co-founder and inaugural executive director of the Global Investigative Journalism Network, David Kaplan has led the organization from an initiative with a few hundred followers in 2012 to a “network of networks” spanning some 244 groups in 90 countries. WAN-IFRA sought his insights on the future of investigative journalism in a divided world.
After more than a decade of leadership of the Global Investigative Journalism Network, Executive Director David Kaplan has announced he will retire from his position in September 2023 at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Gothenburg, Sweden. Kaplan was among those representing 30 member organizations that founded the Network in 2003 and became its first full-time executive director in February 2012.
Investigative journalists face extraordinary challenges, with legal and physical threats, growing surveillance, online trolls, and a financial model that’s all but collapsed. Now add to that a global pandemic and a backlash against democracy and independent media, and you can see our field is under tremendous pressure.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be rolling out our new video series on investigative tips and tools. This compact set of crash seminars features leading experts with insights on what investigative journalism is, as well as how to follow public records, investigate with data, understand financial records and the best online search strategies.
December might be when thoughts turn to the holidays, but this year it’s also when anti-corruption activists and advocates for transparency and accountability came together at two major international events: the 17th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) and the 2016 Open Government Partnership summit.
The Global Investigative Journalism Network exists to support the world’s truth tellers and provide them with the training, strategies, and networks that help them hold the powerful accountable and give voice to those who otherwise have none. Your support today can help us meet the tremendous demand for these capacity-building efforts in the months to come.
Cross-border cooperation was the big takeaway from a three-day meeting of investigative journalists from 17 countries in San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 4-6. Billed as “The First Caribbean Meeting of Investigative Journalists: Tracking the Stories that Connect Us,” one aim was to create a counterweight to the power of organized crime by cooperating across borders, according to Carla Minet of the Center of Investigative Journalism of Puerto Rico.
