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Building Investigative Teams

07 11 2006  Training is BIRN's core activity, aimed at establishing a regional network of investigative reporting teams able to tackle topics related to the region's political, economic and EU integration challenges.

BIRN training activities are designed to build journalists professional capacity to produce relevant reporting that has an impact on societies, opinion-shapers and decision-makers in the Balkans.

Through intensive mentoring of BIRN editors/trainers, local journalists across the Balkans helped produce Balkan Insight, the network’s flagship product, which is of high journalistic quality and relevance, and applies the highest standards of clarity, accuracy and objectivity.

The principal outputs of BIRN training are eminently practical. BIRN training courses are divided into Primary and Advanced Levels, each with its own thematic teaching units.

In Primary Level training, journalists acquire the basic skills of international journalism, and at the same time write articles for Balkan Insight under the mentorship of editors/trainers.

At Advanced Level, journalists deepen the skills they have already acquired and also look in depth at a range of subjects including business and economic, war crimes, human rights and court reporting.

The Investigative Journalism Course is aimed at journalists who want to go on to master the skills of investigative reporting. Those who so wish can become members of BIRN network’s regional and cross-regional investigative reporting teams.

BIRN builds the capacity of local media outlets by training their journalists, who also report for Balkan Insight. BIRN is also able to design specially tailored training courses to meet the needs of other media organisations.


1.0 AIMS AND ACTIVITIES

Our aim is to raise the professional standards of media in the region by taking trainee reporters from first principles at Primary Level through the Advanced Level to the sophisticated and specialised Investigative Reporting.

1.1 BIRN training activities have the central aim of building the network's institutional capacity to produce relevant reporting that has an impact on societies, opinion-shapers and decision-makers in the Balkans.

1.2 There are two formats through which this goal is achieved: training activities and specially designed materials.

1.3 BIRN aims to commercialise its training activities. Our experienced team is capable of putting together specific training programmes that meet the needs of journalists outside the network.


2.0 BENEFICIARIES

The direct beneficiaries of BIRN training are local journalists at all levels who want to further advance their professional skills, become more familiar with international standards, conduct investigations and have a platform to publish them.

2.1 Some will complete only Primary Level and go on to do other things, while others will go through the more advanced training modules. A number will then work as part of investigative teams to further BIRN’s goal of unmasking power abuse within the governmental structures and policy-making.

2.2 Our trainees take what they have learned to other media outlets, which then benefit from the injection of new and different skills.


3.0 BIRN TRAINERS

BIRN deploys its network staff and well-known international trainers to spearhead the training process, combining years of experience in journalism with a wide range of theoretical knowledge.

3.1 International experts are brought in when they can offer unique skills or insight, even though training is principally conducted from in-house resources using the locally-rooted BIRN network of trainers/editors.

3.2 Besides English, BIRN has capacity to offer training in the principal languages of the region: Albanian, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian and Romanian.

4.0 THE TRAINING PROCESS

BIRN training consists of two basic levels, Primary and Advanced. The two are integrated into a logical structure in which more advanced learning builds on knowledge acquired earlier.

The third level, Investigative Training, is the right option for journalists who want to continue building their skills and become investigative reporters.

BIRN team also designs tailor-made courses to suit specific needs.

4.1 Training activities are firmly based around offering expertise, practical support and mentoring to journalists as they tackle complex political, economic and social subjects. Each unit, focused on a particular skill or subject, is delivered by a mix of theoretic sessions followed up by hands-on practice, and is taught via a custom-made package of training materials.

From the initial course known as Primary Level, training is integrated into the editorial process and results in articles published in the on-line publication Balkan Insight, which is widely republished in local and international media. This continues through the Advanced Level, and beyond, to the Investigative Reporting level where journalists join BIRN's investigative reporting teams working on a range of complex themes. At each stage, staff editor/trainers follow the work of the journalists closely and meet them regularly to review progress and direction.

4.2 Primary Level

The Primary Level course introduces journalists to the international standards and structure applicable to features and news analysis. The course consists of initial and follow up workshops.

Each workshop is followed by the writing of articles commissioned for Balkan Insight. Editors/trainers work with the journalists during the story planning process, defining the topic, collecting information, and identifying sources. One-to one mentoring and training continue through the reporting and editing cycle. A follow-up workshop consolidates learning and reviews achievements.

Follow-up workshops are completely practical and devoted to scrutinising and reviewing work in progress. The editor/trainer works with the journalist to identify problems, fill knowledge gaps, suggest solutions and point to the most common mistakes. The trainee team sit together to identify relevant article topics and outline the structure of the story. With mentorship from BIRN trainers/editors, each story is then finalised for publication in Balkan Insight.

4.3 Advanced Level

At this level, training is divided into a number of specialised courses. These cover specialised areas designed to develop in-depth knowledge of a particular subjects such as human rights, war crimes, court reporting, economy and business reporting, international libel, or covering the EU.

As well as units devoted to these subjects, the advanced courses also contain a number of units devoted to honing practical journalistic skills. These units will in some cases be shared, while in other cases they will have features in common but will be tailored to the particular subject.


4.4 Investigative Journalism Course

The course represents a third tier of training that combines elements of the Primary and Advanced Levels with the addition of investigative reporting skills, which are employed them practically in complex cross-regional investigations.

The components of investigative journalism are dealt with in workshops open to all journalists interested in pursuing this career direction.

Depending on their particular interest and direction, the trainees can become part of BIRN network investigative team, producing stories on national and regional level under the supervision of editors/trainers.

4.5 Building investigative teams.

Since the beginning of 2006, BIRN has provided on-the-job training to journalists selected as investigative team members. Through the production of articles for Balkan Insight, these journalists are involved in a range of professional activities, and are given one-to-one mentoring and training by the network’s editors.

BIRN editors/trainers organize monthly investigative team meetings to support ongoing work and identify writing topics.


4.6 Tailor-made courses to meet specific needs.

Courses can be specially designed to meet needs on the ground. BIRN is open to proposals from media outlets from the region and beyond which have specific requirements regarding journalism training.

BIRN’s general skill-building and specialist training units are compatible and can be easily mixed and matched according to demand.


5.0 MATERIALS

BIRN has a coherent and sequential learning structure across the network. A diverse set of materials, drawn from our practical work in the region, is melded into a homogenous, cohesive structure of building blocks.

To support the network's training activities and the needs of local journalists, BIRN constantly generates new materials, so that the range will eventually cover all areas and specialisms.


6.0 WAYS FORWARD

BIRN is a vibrant and expanding network which enables journalists throughout the region to exchange ideas, giving them a platform to gain more experience and produce top quality journalist output. Our network is open to all those who wish to join us on this journey.

6.1 The BIRN Network will continue to train regular freelance contributors by working with them intensively on reporting projects and expand network to new countries, as well as offer tailor designed courses locally and regionally.

6.2 Besides BIRN staff in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia, new editors/trainers will be engaged in Albania and Croatia and will start to create teams there, expanding the network’s regional coverage.

With the additional support of donor organizations, the BIRN Network intends to expand its cross-regional teams of specialist investigative and analytical journalists, through concrete reporting projects and intensive mentoring.

BIRN trainees who become part of the network will be given opportunities for further professional development. Participation is not limited to particular media outlets – working for BIRN is a prestige opportunity for local journalists across the region, and experience tells us that it has never conflicted with their regular employment in other media.

For more information about BIRN training, please contact:
Dragana Nikolic-Solomon dragana@birn.eu.com
Dragana Obradovic d.obradovic@birn.eu.com