Reporting Tools & Tips
How to Cover Academic Research Fraud and Errors
Tips from three experts who have covered research misconduct or have hands-on experience monitoring or detecting it.
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Reporting Tools & Tips
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Investigative Techniques Reporting Tools & Tips
Finding US Records to Pursue Cross-Border Investigations
A guide to some US government data sources that can help foreign and US journalists covering US wars, arms sales, and the impact of US foreign policy.
Guide Human Rights Reporting Tools & Tips
Reporting Guide to Investigating Disability Issues — Short Version
People with disabilities are the largest intersectional minority group, according to the UN, and virtually every reporting beat has a disability angle.
Guide Resource
Researching Corporations and Their Owners
This resource was last updated in 2023 by GIJN’s Toby McIntosh and Emily O’Sullivan. Investigative journalists play a crucial role in holding corporations to account, and have revealed labor abuses, environmental violations, corporate impunity and other instances of malpractice through deep-dives into companies and their owners. However, government records on corporations often reveal only the […]
How They Did It Reporting Tools & Tips
How a Small Nonprofit Newsroom Broke the Oil Deal Pitching Scandal at COP28
Based on a leaked trove of briefing documents, this exposé revealed the COP28 host country’s plan to push for lucrative oil and gas deals at the world’s premier climate change conference.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Humanizing without Sensationalizing: Investigating Femicide
How can journalists use data without reducing the murder of women to crime statistics, and produce a narrative that humanizes without sensationalizing?
Data Journalism GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Tips to Guide Investigative Journalists in Document Text Analysis
Investigative journalists often face the challenge of reviewing and combining large documents or data in text forms. This can be very exhausting and labor intensive.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Working With Hackers: Where — and How — Journalists Should Use These Sources
The use of hacked data is an ethical challenge for investigative journalists. But responsible use of this information can lead to public interest revelations that would otherwise stay hidden.
Reporting Tools & Tips
GIJN’s Top 10 Investigative Tools of 2023
Having flagged the top tips at NICAR23, IRE23, and GIJC23 in Sweden, GIJN offers the following 10 user-friendly tools that you might consider in your next investigations.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Tips for Better FOIA Requests: Taking Right-to-Information Access to the Next Level
Many reporters rely on FOIA requests and RTI legislation for their investigations. But how do you take these requests to the next level?
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Unleashing the Power of Social Network Analysis for Investigative Journalism
Social Network Analysis (SNA) enables investigative journalists to connect the dots that can lead to groundbreaking revelations and expose deep-seated wrongdoing.
Resource Tipsheet
Tipsheet for Investigative Journalists on War Crimes and Open Source Research
Open source information can be a valuable method of reporting when investigating violations of international humanitarian law or war crimes.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Who’s Behind That Internet Ad?: Tips for Investigating Online Advertising
Global internet advertising revenue is forecast to reach $723.6 billion in 2026. Who makes this money and how they go about it is fertile ground for investigative journalists.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Waste, Fraud, Abuse: Covering the Environmental Crime Beat
Journalists share stories and tips from their investigations into environmental crimes, from deforestation in the Congo to the Beirut port blast.
How They Did It Reporting Tools & Tips
Behind-the-Scenes of the Washington Post’s Investigation Into a 40-Year-Old Grenadian Mystery
Jeff Leen, the head of investigations at the Post for the past 20 years, speaks about their latest podcast and how the outlet tackles in-depth stories.
Resource Tipsheet
Tipsheet for Investigative Journalists on War Crimes and Attacks on Civilians
A quick reference guide to reporting on attacks on civilians during armed conflicts as part of investigations into war crimes.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
From Real Estate to Racehorses: Tracking Hidden Assets Around the World
When reporters know how to follow the money, hidden wealth can often be uncovered in real estate, planes, yachts, artwork, and even racehorses.
Case Studies Reporting Tools & Tips
Collaborating to Uncover ‘Putin’s Shadow War’ in Scandinavia
A unique collaboration between four Nordic public broadcasters sought to uncover the scale of Russian covert spying operations in the region.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Investigating Environmental Crimes: Tips From Reporters Covering the Amazon
Two reporters whose investigative work has exposed systemic land grabbing and illegal mining in the Amazon share their tips.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
‘Rewriting History’: Tips for Investigating Events Years, Decades, Or Centuries Later
Historians have always used archival documents to study what happened years, decades, or even centuries ago. But sometimes journalists are the ones digging into the past and uncovering truths that are big enough to “rewrite history.”
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Follow the Money — and Enablers — When Investigating Kleptocracies and Mafia States
Veteran journalists explained how an industry of enablers is supporting a growing group of kleptocracies and mafia states around the world, and that following the money is a great way to track them.
Reporting Tools & Tips
Introducing FBarchive: A New, Searchable Repository of Facebook Whistleblower Documents
The new, searchable database FBarchive is designed to help researchers, journalists, and policymakers better understand and investigate decisions made at Meta about some of the most influential social media platforms across the globe.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Power and Control: Investigating Food Supply and Agriculture Amid Climate Change
Water depletion in Tunisia, illegal shark fishing in Asia, global seed monopolies: three environmental journalists shared lessons at GIJC23 from their investigations into food production and supply chains.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips
Watchdogs Against Hate: A Reporter’s Toolbox for Tracking Political Extremism
The influence of extremist groups on mainstream politics is on the rise, and journalists need tools to face this threat to healthy democracies.
GIJC23 Reporting Tools & Tips Safety & Security
Recruiting Secret Sources: Where to Find Them, and How to Keep Them Safe
German investigative journalist Bastian Obermayer – who was leaked the Panama Papers documents – explains the art of finding, using, and safeguarding sources.
Resource Video
GIJC23 – The Future of Data Journalism: New Analytical Tools, Data Visualization, and AI
This roundtable will conclude the data track of the conference with a discussion on the tools that are coming to the forefront for doing data stories and with predictions for what is ahead. Join us with your ideas for what is next. ———————– The Global Investigative Journalism Network is an international association of journalism organizations […]
Resource Video
GIJC23 – The Basics of Using Google Sheets
Have you been curious about working with data but haven’t taken that first step? Here’s a great opportunity — we have three of the best data trainers in the biz who know how to get you started. In this introductory session, you’ll learn how to use Google Sheets to do some basic analysis — and […]
Resource Video
GIJC23 – Using Pinpoint to Organize Unstructured Data
Pinpoint is a powerful tool for converting unstructured data (text and other forms of messy data) into datasets that can be analyzed and used for stories. ⚠️ Warning for first-time Pinpoint users: In your web browser you need to be logged into a gmail.com account. Open another tab and go to the following site https://journaliststudio.google.com/pinpoint/about. […]