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14 04 2007 An investigative journalism training workshop for seven journalists was held in Montenegro from March 30 - April 1 in Podgorica, as part of BIRN’s ongoing Minority Training and Reporting project.
| Investigative Journalism Training in Montenegro |
The
group comprised journalists who after primary level training have become regular
BIRN contributors from different parts of Montenegro.
Also, one journalist from Kosovo attended the workshop in order to participate
in planning and commissioning cross- border investigative
articles.
The
journalists were: Bojana Stanisic, a freelance journalist; Nedjeljko Rudovic
from Vijesti; Petar Komnenic from Monitor and RFE; Nikola Donscic, freelance
journalist; Tufik Softic from Radio Berane; Sead Sadikovic, freelance
journalist; Samir Adrovic from Vijesti and Krenar Gashi from BIRN Kosovo.
Over
the course of the three-day training session, BIRN editor-in-chief, Gordan
Igric, and the editor of BIRN Serbia, Aleksandar Vasovic, discussed how to
shape
an investigative project from beginning to end - from finding the right topic,
forming a hypothesis for the story, through choosing the angle, initial probing,
careful planning to actual writing.
Special
attention was devoted to the issue of sources and interviews - finding sources,
checking their reliability, building the network of sources, protection of
sources, use of anonymous sources, dealing with sources in positions of power,
confrontation interviews, etc.
One
session dealt with aspects of Montenegrin law that journalists must be aware of
when producing their investigations.
Dusko
Vukovic, from the Media Institute, presented legal do’s and don’ts, relating to
libel, censorship, access to information and source
protection.
Seki
Radoncic, investigative journalist from Montenegro, currently living in
Bosnia and
Herzegovina, talked about his work and risks of
the profession. He presented the case study of his investigation about Bosnian
Muslims that were arrested and deported from Montenegro to
Republika Srpska in summer 1992, after which most of them were murdered.
The
internationally-acclaimed documentary “Carnival”, based on Radoncic
investigation, was organised for the journalists, followed by lively debate.
During
the training, Igric and Vasovic worked with journalists on the preparation of
articles for a special package dealing with the issue of the new constitution
and the way in which it will resolve some of the most disputed topics in
Montenegrin society, such as official language, religion, minority rights,
etc.
Also,
several investigative articles were commissioned and outlined.
A
special package on Montenegro is due to be published
towards the end of April.
The
workshop was organised with the help of British Embassy in Belgrade as well as the National Endowment for Democracy,
NED in Washington.
At the beginning of 2010 BIRN network published Digging Deeper - A Guide for Investigative Journalists in the Balkans, written in cooperation with Sheila Coronel, Director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism and professor of professional practice at Columbia University, New York.
