When faced with data journalism, journalists often say “Oh, I can’t do that, it’s too complicated” [or] “I hated math in school, I really can’t take the time to learn how to do this”. However, data expert Helena Bengtsson stresses that data journalism is not that hard, and insists that every journalist should have basic knowledge of how to sort and filter a spreadsheet, and do simple calculations.
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.
The old news business model has been serving advertisers and investors at the expense of the most important people in the media equation — the public, the readers, the users. But now that digital media have broken up that arranged marriage of advertising and news content, publishers are rediscovering the importance of focusing on serving readers.
As GIJN has grown to 145-strong member organizations, we’re finding a wealth of unique methods they’re using to increase revenue, expand outreach, and support investigative work. Here are a few out-of-the-box ideas and programs implemented by GIJN members that are worth a second look.
Despite growing state controls and censorship, Chinese journalists are still finding ways to publish groundbreaking investigative reports about issues that matter to the Chinese people. In this piece, GIJN China has selected nine enterprising stories that showcase the best of Chinese muckraking last year.
We’re delighted to announce that GIJN has launched two new initiatives with our members: GIJN in Russian, in partnership with the Regional Press Development Institute (RPDI); and GIJN Arabic, in partnership with Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ). We’ll be sharing the best investigative tips & tools, groundbreaking stories, grants & fellowships, data sets and more.
Non-transparent media ownership in Hungary has created a government-friendly and controlled media environment, but investigative journalists such as Hungarian-born Tamás Bodoky are increasingly going online to report on “sensitive” topics including corruption. Small investigative outlets in the country have so far survived with crowdfunding campaigns and institutional grants.
Access to public information, accountability and participatory democracy may have been a reality in many countries for some time — but in Spain they sounded like a utopia. Entrepreneur Jacobo Elosua and computer technician David Cabo decided that this had to change. Their brainchild, Civio, was just recognized with the Gabriel Garcia Marquez award in innovative journalism for its Medicamentalia investigation.
The Center for Investigative Reporting embarked on a new experiment last year: piloting an Animated Investigations collaborative course with the California College of the Arts. The course, which is intended for three semesters and a malleable work in progress, first taught students to animate existing Reveal investigations. However, it slowly transformed into a course where students identified their own underreported stories to animate.
Pioneering British journalist David Leigh, former Guardian investigative editor, shares his insights on story-led investigations, defending your work from lawsuits, dealing with donors, and lifelong learning in journalism.
