Syrian journalists have gained extensive experience documenting possible human rights violations and war crimes by the Russian military. GIJN spoke with several of these reporters to understand the lessons they learned, and how investigative journalists can cover the Ukraine invasion more effectively.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, GIJN has published a series of stories and tipsheets for investigative journalists covering the war.
Speaking during GIJN’s Tips and Tools from Women Investigators webinar, reporters from Germany, Kenya, and Turkey recounted their experiences dealing with court injunctions, going undercover, and investigating under-reported stories.
Female-identifying journalists often encounter obstacles, whether when they’re out reporting or even back in their newsrooms. GIJN has gathered resources for female-identifying journalists that want to connect, handle harassment, and address discrimination issues. We also provide advice and tips from great women investigative journalists that will serve as inspiration.
Satellite imagery provides information that can enhance the ability to write compelling narratives about the state of our planet, cutting across multiple beats. But such a tool tends to be complex and out of the reach for many journalists, so this guide offers a process that reporters interested in covering the climate crisis can use for story projects.
Katie McQue, a British freelance journalist that spent five years reporting from Dubai covering human rights and migration alongside her “business” beats of energy, healthcare, and finance, speaks to GIJN about her work and the best practices reporters can adopt when covering forced labor and human trafficking in the region.
Reducing methane emissions is the single fastest way to fight climate change, according to climate scientists. In this guide, identify specific sources of methane and hold companies and countries accountable.
This guide was written by Toby McIntosh, senior advisor to GIJN’s Resource Center. Editing was by Reed Richardson and Laura Dixon. Illustrations were created by Marcelle Louw.
Journalists receiving threats often have to flee their homes in a matter of a few hours. Conflicts, though, are often foreseeable and that’s why those in fragile regions should have an exit plan in place and crucial documents ready to go. We’ve listed what documents journalists should gather as well as which organizations support journalists with relocation.
Data reporter Melissa Lewis is interviewed about a recent podcast for Reveal, which investigated what happens when local residents call police on unhoused people in their neighborhood, analyzing arrest data across six major US West Coast cities with large homeless populations.
Among the most frequently used forms of legal coercion against investigative journalists are SLAPPs (“strategic litigation against public participation”), which aim to intimidate reporters into abandoning their investigations. The practice of abusing legal systems by those in power to silence critics has reached global proportions. Its damage is far-reaching and curbing it is an imperative for democracy and maintaining peace.
In this edition of GIJN Toolbox, we profile three brand new — or newly expanded — tools to dig into financial secrecy and hidden gains from corruption or crime. Our list includes a user-friendly database to search for sanctions and conflict-of-interest red flags, a site that uses an algorithm to detect hidden bank accounts, and a newly expanded database on the true owners of offshore companies.
Can Snapchat, an outlet famous for avatars and disappearing videos, be used by investigative journalists as a reporting tool or as a publishing outlet? How can they use it? And what are the best ways to approach it?
This updated and expanded guide was written in cooperation with Migrant-Rights.org. Illustrations are by Marcelle Louw. The project manager was Majdoleen Hasan. Editing by Reed Richardson.
In a lightning round session at #GIJC21, a panel of leading reporters and editors needed just five minutes each to outline new tools and databases that any reporter can use to gather hard-to-find facts.
In a session on high-level corruption at #GIJC21, a panel of reporters from Liberia, Ukraine, Sudan, Russia, and Lebanon suggested a series of strategies that can pry facts from obstinate government agencies, find whistleblowers, and deliver alternate forms of accountability for officials seemingly above the law.
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.
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.
Despite China’s growing secrecy and media crackdown, the country’s global footprint opens new ways to report on Chinese affairs, according to panelists at a Nov. 4 session at the 12th Global Investigative Journalism Conference (#GIJC21).
Cross-border collaborations allow newsrooms to pool resources and overcome financial hurdles. On the fourth day of GIJC21, journalists based in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, and Malaysia offered tips for conducting successful collaborative reporting projects.
Spending time with vulnerable communities and focusing on systems of exploitation were the central takeaways from a #GICJ21 panel on covering inequality, in which journalists based in three of the world’s most unequal societies — Brazil, South Africa, and the United States — shared tips on how to tackle this global crisis.
At GIJC21, Washington DC-based nonprofit C4ADS introduced Icarus Flights, a comprehensive new system that helps journalists track and investigate nearly any aircraft around the world.
How to hire staff and plan out your shoots to tips for better photography and helpful case studies.
In a GIJC21 session on investigative podcasts, journalists and producers who have created award-winning podcasts shared ideas on how to leverage this audio storytelling technique to better connect with the audience and tell impactful stories.
In a GIJC21 session on using maps and satellite imagery for investigations, three experts explained their approaches to analyzing satellite and drone images, and using open source tools. One of the innovative techniques described led to a Pulitzer Prize this year — for exposing China’s network of Muslim detention centers — while another exposed government deception about fires in the Amazon, and a third literally put a vulnerable community in Africa on the map.
Bulletproofing your story demands much more than getting the facts right. It requires a meticulous approach from the start in order to pass quality control.
