Global Investigative Journalism Conference 2015 (https://gijc2015.org/author/abbyellis/)
Western journalist Ashoka Mukpo spent two years in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, prior to the outbreak. When the crisis unfolded he found himself right in the center: as a freelance journalist reporting on the outbreak, as a local producer and camera operator working for a myriad of international outlets and correspondents, and as a victim. Mukpo came down with the virus in October 2014.
In order to publish or broadcast a piece of journalism that successfully empowers citizens to hold those in power accountable, the work must be, above all, one thing: credible.
“The skill of digging into complex wrongdoing is required for both my day job and my evening job,” said Jim Mintz, founder of the Mintz Group, of his days as a private investigator and his nights teaching investigative reporting at Columbia University.
For journalists trying to raise money for investigative reporting projects, three experts offered advice on how to develop relationships with donors, including tracking impact and planning ahead.
The hint that spawned an investigation into Italian police officer Dino Maglio, over accusations he had drugged and raped young female travelers, transpired over Italy’s first whistleblowing platform: Irpileaks, based on GlobaLeaks Whistleblowing Software. Maglio allegedly lured women to his home by using the popular online hospitality exchange couchsurfing.com. “An alleged victim came across the platform and sent the leak,” Alessia Cerantola, board member and reporter for the Investigative Reporting Project Italy (IRPI) told a room of two dozen journalists at the 9th Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Lillehammer, Norway. “This is a good indication that leaks are working,” Cerantola said. The leak sparked a year-long investigation unveiling at least 14 other young women from around the world who shared similar stories about an Italian police officer who used the website, resulting in a unique transnational collaboration between news publications.