Thursday, the first day of the Global Investigative Journalism Conference was a busy and productive one. Long time reunions, networking, and plenty of sessions on investigative and data journalism.
Below, you can read some highlights of four popular panels on reporting organized crime, teaching investigative reporting, the Migrant Files project, and “finding Africa’s missing money”.
For photos of the first day, you can check out this album. Here you can also see photos of the Opening Ceremony and Keynote Speech.
“In the Balkans it’s like handling snakes, but in Mexico you are in the snake pit,” said OCCRP’s Drew Sullivan of the everyday lives of journalists investigating organized crime.
Although crimes over time expire according to legislation, “we all know that a mafia boss never expires,” said Cecilia Anesi, who investigates the Italian Mafia for Correct!v.
“Data collected from testimonies or news reports, lead us to estimate that 1 billion euros per year is what Europe spends,” to implement restrictive migration policies, said Anne-Lyse Bouyer, Project Manager at Journalism++, an agency that specializes in data-driven storytelling.
Approaches in Teaching Investigative Reporting
“There are lots of people who want to find the truth, and there aren’t many who are digging into the truth,” said Mark Lee Hunter of the INSEAD Social Innovation Centre. “Investigative reporting is not the cherry on the cake, it is the cake.”
“Fifty percent of journalism students do not get jobs after graduation,” said Lee Hunter. “That’s why we need to teach them how to create start-ups.”
Finding Africa’s Missing Money
“Corruption, smuggling, corporate tax abuse and outright stealing is normal in Africa” as multinational companies negotiate deals that leave the continent with virtually nothing, said Musikilu Mojeed, managing editor at the Premium Times.
The sessions were covered by Elaine Wang; Luigi Serenelli; Anne-Mali Thyrum; and Maiken Svendsen.