Muckrakers of the World Unite

This blog on the Global Investigative Journalism Conference, the fifth such assembly since 2000, describes the arrival of 500 reporters from 87 countries to share tips on everything from investigating war criminals to exposing corruption in sports. The author, David Kaplan, indicates that investigative journalism is thriving outside the United States (US), where news organisations are shutting down investigative teams and laying off their most experienced reporters.

The article suggests that "[b]uffeted by plummeting ad revenue and shifting technology, newsrooms from Australia to America to Italy are being hit with shrinking budgets and smaller staffs. But elsewhere, ...there are now I-teams [investigative reporting teams] at major media outlets in Brazil, China, and India, as reporters test the limits of local laws and take on powerful vested interests. [Conference o]rganizers [including the Global Investigative Journalists Network] attribute the rapid spread of investigative techniques, in part, to the global gatherings."

"The conference teemed with talk of new models of investigative reporting, including Internet-driven investigations, multinational networks, and community-driven journalism. Of special interest was the rise of nonprofit news organizations, like ...[the] Center for Public Integrity...one of at least 43 nonprofit investigative journalism centers worldwide. More than half of the centers have been founded just since 2000, with new groups in just the last year launched in Chile, Nigeria, and Serbia. Some provide training, like conference host SKUP - Norway’s investigative reporting association. Others are reporting organizations, like the Center for Public Integrity and its International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Still others are grant-making organizations, such as the Fund for Investigative Journalism here in Washington and the Denmark-based SCOOP."

The article concludes that this is a journalist-led initiative and, thus, will continue to be sustainable despite "tough economics, widespread criminal defamation laws, and frequent, violent attacks on journalists who focus on public accountability."