Legal pressure and intimidation of journalists has always existed, but the last few years have seen a worrying rise of bullying, harassment, and attacks in the courts to silence the press. In many countries, the law is easily weaponized against watchdog reporting, and it has become increasingly common that those investigating politics, crime, or corruption […]
Security is essential for journalists, and for investigative journalists in particular. Tackling the issue, let alone understanding its complexities, can be challenging. To make the process easier, GIJN has worked with experts at the Ford Foundation to adapt Ford’s Cybersecurity Assessment Tool (CAT) for use by watchdog journalism groups. Our new Journalist Security Assessment Tool […]
The figures are grim for our colleagues around the world. Since 1992, 978 journalists have been killed, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. More than 60 percent have been murdered with impunity; that is, no killer was ever brought to justice. And today, 232 journalists are in prison worldwide, many for doing what would […]
For many investigations — especially those involving corporations, or institutions in the West — the final step is to send a letter that sets out your findings and urges a response. Here, several investigative reporters share their tips on how to deal with obstructive subjects and ensure fairness — including fairness for dangerous governments that cannot be alerted to your findings before publication.
A November 18 press release, claiming a safe vaccine that protects 95% of people against COVID-19, by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech was greeted with excited headlines. In this article, two leading health reporters shared tips on how to read such releases and balanced cautious optimism with the provision that the release relied on interim results from a trial in an accelerated setting.
For the past seven weeks, a special GIJN project, #gijnElectionWatchdog, has provided US reporters with tools to tackle the toughest election stories in daily tweets and weekly roundups. Here, with just a few days remaining til a hugely consequential election, we share quick-reference tools that matter in this period for time-pressed journalists.
Journalists are playing a critical role informing the public about the virus. Understanding it — and the measures governments are putting in place to control reporting of the pandemic — are vital if journalists are going to report safely.
In a global crisis like this, journalists play a critical role: they inform the public and they monitor and report abuses of power by officials. But how can they do this when they’re dealing with psychological stress and threats to their own health and safety? In this webinar “Staying Safe: How to Report a Pandemic,” two experts will focus on how to best manage the multiple threats faced by journalists when reporting on COVID-19.
It is difficult to fathom how far the novel virus might spread, and what the ultimate consequences will be. With all the uncertainties, journalists around the world are faced with the many challenges of covering the epidemic — including combating misinformation and health risks to reporters in the field — while not fueling panic.
Journalists in Brazil are coming under attack more than ever, both on and offline, says Leandro Demori, executive editor of investigative site The Intercept Brasil. This is happening in a context of increasing political polarization in the country.
