Slavery is not a vestige of the past, and according to UN data there are an estimated 40 million victims of modern slavery today. An all-star team of journalists, editors, and consultants who have investigated and exposed extraordinary cases of modern slavery and forced labor shared their stories and tips for reporters at GIJC21.
Investigative journalism has to compete in a crowded media landscape, in constant competition with other forms of creative content. At GIJC21, investigative reporters who have innovated with innovative storytelling formats shared tips for other outlets interested in using music, theatre, and comics to reach new audiences.
From investigating the US Capitol rioters to creating a database of the deaths of the homeless in the UK, to uncovering mistreatment in nursing homes in Australia, crowdsourcing and community-based reporting are changing how investigative journalists across the globe do their work. In this GIJC21 session, journalists share how they did it.
Among five leading environmental journalists who covered COP26, there is cautious optimism, but also a recognition that there is still much to be done. Speaking at the GIJC21, they highlighted a wide range of topics related to climate change that are still underreported by newsrooms around the world.
Indigenous communities are often under siege by dominant cultures, and suffer the consequences of colonialism. Their resources stolen, and their people subjected to discrimination and abuse. Indigenous journalists from Australia, Canada, and the United States talk about their award-winning investigations, ranging from forced displacement to fake tribes, and deaths in custody.
At GIJC21, hard-hitting investigations journalists shared some great story ideas that could be replicated by reporters across the globe to bring about changes in their society.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists worldwide were suddenly thrown into the public health beat, trying to make sense of competing claims, and a science that seemed to change by the day. A session at the GIJC21 walked reporters through the COVID-19 pandemic, offering tips on covering the drug development and approval processes, evaluating scientific studies, unearthing conflicts of interest, and exposing fraud and malpractice.
In an expert panel on visual investigations at #GIJC21, three members of the New York Times’ pioneering team showed that it is now possible to report exactly who did what, and when, at various incidents.
After 80 panels and workshops — presented by 200 speakers and attended by close to 1700 editors and reporters from 148 countries — the 12th Global Investigative Journalism Conference closed with renewed resolve for innovative investigations, and a broad invitation to an in-person conference in Sydney in 2022.
In a GIJC21 session that focused on stories across the Asia/Pacific region, investigative journalists discussed best reporting best practices and how telling great investigative stories requires a range of skills and determination to uncover the truth.
