Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
Adelina began her career as an intern at KALLXO.com at the end of 2015 and within a few months was promoted to the position of a journalist.
Her primary fields of experience are related to security issues and law enforcement. Her articles often arouse regional interest and are published on Balkan Insight. She studies journalism at the University of Pristina.
Day Four in Herceg Novi sees filmmaker Sundermeyer and programmer Bushcek join the line-up.
Pitching, geolocating and interviews with extremists were all on the agenda of Day Four of BIRN’s 2019 Summer School, which saw German ARD filmmaker Olaf Sundermeyer and independent programmer Christo Bushcek share their expertise with participants.
Lead Trainer Blake Morrison of Reuters opened the day with tips on how to pitch investigative stories, including the importance of focus and being able to explain ideas succinctly.
The gathered journalists – from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and the United States – had another chance to practice geolocating using open-source data with investigator Ben Strick of BBC Africa Eye and Bellingcat.
Strick demonstrated how he and his colleagues had identified the soldiers behind civilian killings in Cameroon using maps, satellite images, video footage and official sources.
Sundermeyer, an author, filmmaker and investigative journalist with the German public broadcaster ARD, joined the line-up on Day Four with excerpts from his investigative documentaries and a talk about how to gain access to far-right groups in order to get a full picture of their rise in Germany.
“I respect everybody, every human being, even those who hate me as a journalist,” Sundermeyer said.
Among his tips for successful fieldwork: “A fixer is the most important person for journalists in foreign countries” and “You have to be patient with sources. Pay attention to them, spend time with them but never pay them”.
The last session was reserved for Bushcek, a programmer who works on tools to help investigative journalists.
BIRN’s Summer School is organised in cooperation with the Media Program South East Europe of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, The Balkan Trust for Democracy and Austrian Development Agency, the operational unit of Austrian Development Cooperation, and with support from the European Union.
BBC Africa Eye investigator Ben Strick and Ivana Jeremic, BIRN editor, joined the line-up of BIRN’s 10th Summer School.
“Fact-checkers are not boring,” BIRN editor Ivana Jeremic told participants on the third day of BIRN’s Summer School of Investigative Journalism in Montenegro on Wednesday. “They are here to make your story better”.
That was just one of the messages from Jeremic’s talk on the importance of fact-checking in journalism.
“Keep track of your activities and data. Question your thesis. Use timelines. Use Excel or Google Sheets. Save all the emails, messages and calls. Fact-checking will make your story even better,” Jeremic told the assembled journalists from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and the United States.
In the second session, Ben Strick, an investigator at BBC Africa Eye and Bellingcat, took participants through the fundamentals of open source data from Strava, Google Maps to Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
In an interactive session, reporters had the opportunity to geolocate and chrono-locate various videos and pictures with Strick’s help.
Lead trainer Blake Morrison, Reuters investigative projects editor, discussed the art of the interview.
“Be yourself. Don’t deceive. Don’t get flustered. Ask for help,” he said. “You must be genuinely interested.”
The day ended with a screening of the Bellingcat documentary “Truth in a Post-Truth World”.
BIRN’s Summer School is organised in cooperation with the Media Program South East Europe of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, The Balkan Trust for Democracy and Austrian Development Agency, the operational unit of Austrian Development Cooperation, and with support from the European Union.
US cinematographer Andrew Baker and investigative reporter Dragana Peco joined BIRN’s 10th Summer School in Montenegro.
Day Two of BIRN’s Summer School of Investigative Journalism looked at the importance of proof, how to visualise an investigation for multimedia and methods of tracking offshore companies.
In the Montenegrin coastal town of Herceg Novi, lead trainer Blake Morrison put 30 reporters from the Balkans, Belgium, Hungary and the United States through their paces in trying to prove the stories they were reading were fake.
“Get rid of possible, leave provable,” said Morrison, investigative projects editor at Reuters.
After a short break, the journalists spent three hours with US cinematographer Andrew Baker, who looked at ways to make investigative journalism visual.
“Know your story and follow it. Know your scene”, said Baker. “You have to be flexible, to know to pick up a camera or microphone, even if it is not your job. And always have a sound guy.”
Those attending the weeklong course, the 10th edition of BIRN’s Summer School, also heard from Dragan Peco, an investigative journalist with Serbian KRIK and the international Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, OCCRP, about how to track hidden offshore firms.
BIRN’s Summer School is organised in cooperation with the Media Program South East Europe of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, The Balkan Trust for Democracy and Austrian Development Agency, the operational unit of Austrian Development Cooperation, and with support from the European Union.
Reporters from across the Balkan region and beyond have gathered on the Montenegrin coast for a week of lectures, debates and workshops on the very best practices of investigative journalism.
The 10th edition of the BIRN Summer School of Investigative Journalism kicked off on Monday in the Montenegrin coastal town of Herceg Novi.
The weeklong summer school brings together journalists from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and the United States.
On the first day, after an introduction by Marija Ristic, regional director of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, those attending heard from Reuters investigative projects editor and the school’s lead trainer Blake Morrison about how to approach complex investigative stories, pitch ideas and find the right words to craft them.
“Experts aren’t simply meant to be quoted in stories,” Morrison said in one of his tips for those attending.
“The best ones – the most helpful, at least – are the ones who serve as your guide to understanding what you cover. Find a few. Be aware of their biases and treat them with a reporter’s skepticism. Ask them what are you missing. What do they see?”
Suddeutsche Zeitung journalist Frederik Obermaier, who was part of the Panama Papers investigation, spoke about investigating data, verifying leaks and the problems he and his team faced as they trawled though terabytes of data.
“Authenticity, public interest, no conditions, request for comment and known identity of the source, are 5 tips on what to check for when dealing with data leaks,” said Obermaier.
The debate continued during Obermaier’s second session when he looked at the case of the video leak that brought down Austria’s right-wing vice-chancellor, Heinz-Christian Strache, and eventually the country’s coalition government.
After a break, the reporters discussed story proposals and heard from BIRN’s investigative editor, Ivan Angelovski, about how to track ships and planes online.
BIRN’s Summer School is organised in cooperation with the Media Program South East Europe of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, headed by Hendrik Sittig, The Balkan Trust for Democracy and Austrian Development Agency, the operational unit of Austrian Development Cooperation and with support from the European Union.
In the framework of the EU-funded project ‘Contribute to strengthening independent, investigative and publicly beneficial journalism and freedom of expression in Kosovo’, the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) is launching a call for 25 interns who are interested in pursuing a career in journalism.
Application Criteria:
To apply for an internship position, the candidate must:
Duties and responsibilities:
The successful candidates will be responsible for:
Duration
Selected candidates will be engaged in their internship for a period of 1 to 3 months in the offices of the project partners, BIRN and AJK.
How to apply?
To apply you must send a Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a letter of motivation via email to [email protected], including your name, surname and position to which you are applying by August 31, 2019, 23:59. You are encouraged to send other documents to support your experience.
BIRN offers equal engagement opportunities to all interested individuals, and encourages applications from all, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or political views.
Kao deo projekta koji finansira EU „Doprinos u jačanju nezavisnog, istraživačkog i javno korisnog novinarstva i slobode izražavanja na Kosovu“ ”, Balkanska istraživačka mreža (BIRN) i Udruženje novinara Kosova (UNK) objavljuju poziv za angažovanje 25 novih stažista u oblasti novinarstva.
Kriterijumi za prijavljivanje:
Da bi se prijavio/la i ispunio/la kriterijume za ovo mesto, kandidat/kandidatkinja mora da:
Dužnosti i odgovornosti:
Uspešni kandidati će biti odgovorni da:
Vreme angažmana
Izabrani kandidati će biti angažovani da obavljaju praktičan rad u prostorijama BIRN-a i UNK-a, partnera na realizaciji projekta, u trajanju od jednog do tri meseca.
Kako da se prijavite?
Da biste se prijavili dostavite svoju biografiju – Curriculum Vitae (CV) i propratno motivaciono pismo elektronskom poštom na adresu [email protected], i naznačite svoje ime, prezime i mesto za koje se prijavljujete, najkasnije do 31. avgusta 2019, u 23:59 časova. Ohrabrujemo vas da dostavite druga dokumenta koja svedoče o vašem iskustvu.
BIRN podstiče prijavljivanje osoba svih polova i pruža jednaku mogućnost angažovanja svim zainteresovanim licima, bez predrasuda po rodnom, verskom, etničkom ili političkom ili bilo kom drugom osnovu.
Në kuadër të projektit të financuar nga BE “Kontribut në forcimin e gazetarisë së pavarur, hulumtuese dhe të dobishme për publikun, si dhe në lirinë e shprehjes në Kosovë”, Rrjeti Ballkanik për Gazetari Hulumtuese (BIRN) dhe Asociacioni i Gazetarëve të Kosovës (AGK) shpallin thirrjen për angazhimin e 25 praktikantëve të rinj në fushën e gazetarisë.
Kriteret për Aplikim:
Për të aplikuar dhe për të përmbushur pozitën, kandidati/ja duhet:
Detyrat dhe përgjegjësitë:
Kandidatët e suksesshëm do të jenë përgjegjës për:
Koha e angazhimit
Kandidatët e përzgjedhur do jenë të angazhuar të kryejnë punë praktike në zyrat e BIRN dhe AGK, partnerëve të implementimit të projektit në kohëzgjatje nga 1 deri në 3 muaj.
Si të aplikoni?
Për të aplikuar duhet të dërgoni një Curriculum Vitae (CV) dhe një letër motivimi përmes postës elektronike në adresën [email protected], duke shkruar emrin, mbiemrin dhe pozitën për të cilën aplikoni, më së largu deri më 31 gusht 2019, ora 23:59. Inkurajoheni që të dërgoni dokumente të tjera që dëshmojnë përvojën.
BIRN inkurajon aplikuesit nga të gjitha gjinitë, si dhe ofron mundësi të barabartë angazhimi për të gjithë personat e interesuar pa kurrfarë paragjykimi mbi baza gjinore, fetare, etnike ose politike, apo ndonjë bazë tjetër.
Serbeze Haxhiaj is covering issues related to establishing justice and
facilitating reconciliation after the 1998-1999 Kosovo war. Her
particular focus is on war crimes, human rights issues, rehabilitation of
victims and peace approaches in dealing with conflict and its aftermath.
Serbeze has been working as an investigative journalist and news editor in Kosovo and for international media for 20 years, dealing mainly with the most pressing issues such as corruption, human rights, security issues, religious extremism, terrorism and war crimes.
She is currently an editor at Radio Television of Kosovo and a journalist for the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN). She has previously worked for the daily newspapers Rilindja, Zeri, Lajm and Koha Ditore. She was the correspondent in Pristina of the French Courrier des Balkans. Her articles were also published in some of the main newspapers in Europe and recently she had articles published in The Financial Times, Der Standard, Neue Zurcher Zeitung and Al Jazeera.
She also has worked for five years as a researcher for Navanti, an American research and analysis company.
For her reporting on war crimes, organised crime, corruption, human rights and violence against women, Serbeze has been awarded 19 times by various local and international organisations.
Serbeze holds MA in International Law.
She speaks Albanian, English and Serbian.
Goce Trpkovski has been working as a journalist since 2004.
He joined BIRN from the beginning of 2018, and prior to that he has been working as a reporter and editor in the daily newspapers Vreme and Nova Makedonija.
In May 2019, he was given an award by the Macedonian National Council of the International Council of Museums for raising awareness about the poor condition of cultural heritage in the country.
Call for Proposals for EU-Funded Project to “Contribute to strengthening independent, investigative and publicly beneficial journalism and freedom of expression in Kosovo”.
Deadline for applications: 4 pm, August 27, 2019.
BIRN and the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, AJK, have the honour of notifying all interested parties of the opening of the third Call for Proposals to implement sub-grants in the scope of the EU-funded project entitled “Contribute to strengthening independent, investigative and publicly beneficial journalism and freedom of expression in Kosovo”.
This Call for Proposals aims to provide opportunities for the public broadcaster, national and local televised media and print and online media who operate and work in Kosovo to implement actions that aim to produce new content for their respective media. The project seeks to develop independent, investigative, impartial, unbiased and publicly beneficial journalism, and equip the beneficiaries with the required skills and resources to implement creative, investigative, legally sound and publicly beneficial journalism.
This Call for Proposals contains one lot:
LOT I: Supporting production of new content through investigative reporting and/or in-depth analysis on good governance, human rights, public procurement and local governance issues related to public service delivery, energy efficiency, culture, dealing with the past and safety and security, etc.
Applications MUST be sent by email to [email protected] by 4pm on August 27, 2019.
All applications must be prepared and submitted in either the Albanian, Serbian, or English languages.
Information sessions will be held at 10am on August 15, 2019, at the EU Information and Cultural Centre in North Mitrovica and at 2pm on August 16, 2019, at the EU Information and Cultural Centre in Prishtina.
Questions about the propositions of the Call for Proposals may be sent in English, Albanian or Serbian by email by August 18, 2019, to the email: [email protected].
Thirrje për Propozime për Projekt të Financuar nga BE
“Kontribut në forcimin e gazetarisë së pavarur, hulumtuese dhe të dobishme për publikun, si dhe në lirinë e shprehjes në Kosovë”
Afati i fundit për aplikim 27.08.2019, në ora 16.00
BIRN dhe AGK ka nderin të njoftojë të gjithë të interesuarit për hapjen e thirrjes së tretë për propozime, për zbatimin e projektit të financuar nga BE me titull “Kontribut në forcimin e gazetarisë së pavarur, hulumtuese dhe të dobishme për publikun, si dhe në lirinë e shprehjes në Kosovë.”
Kjo Thirrje për Propozime ka për qëllim ofrimin e mundësive për OJQ/OSHC-të locale duke përfshirë këtu gazetarët që veprojnë dhe punojnë në Kosovë për trajtimin e çështjeve që kanë të bëjnë me lirinë e medias dhe lirinë e shprehjes. Skema e ofruar synon të zhvillojë gazetari të pavarur, hulumtuese, të paanshme, joparagjykuese, dhe në të mirë të publikut, dhe t’i pajisë përfituesit me shkathtësitë dhe burimet e nevojshme për të ndërtuar një gazetari krijuese, hulumtuese ligjore dhe në të mirë publike.
Kjo Thirrje për Propozime përmban 1 llot:
LLOTI I: Mbështetja e implementimit të përmbajtjes së re përmes raportimit hulumtues dhe/ose analizave të thella mbi qeverisjen e mirë, të drejtat e njeriut, mjedisin, zhvillimin e qëndrueshëm, konkurrencën në fushën e investimit, punësimin, prokurimin publik, sigurinë, efikasitetin energjetik, kulturën, dhe ballafaqimin me të kaluarën.
Aplikacionet DUHET të dërgohen me postë elektronike në adresën [email protected] deri më 27.08.2019, ora 16:00.
Të gjitha aplikacionet duhet të përgatiten dhe dorëzohen në shqip, serbisht ose anglisht.
Seancat informuese do të mbahen më 15 gusht 2019 në ora 10:00 në Qendrën Informative dhe Kulturore të BE-së në Mitrovicën e Veriut dhe më 16 gusht 2019 në ora 14:00 në Qendrën Informative dhe Kulturore në Prishtinë.
Pyetjet në lidhje me propozimet e Thirrjes për Propozime mund të dërgohen në anglisht, shqip ose serbisht përmes postës elektronike deri më 18 gusht 2019 në adresën: [email protected]
Poziv za predloge za projekat koji finansira EU
“Doprinos u jačanju nezavisnog, istraživačkog i javno korisnog novinarstva I slobode izražavanja na Kosovu”
Krajnji rok za prijavu je 27. avgust 2019. u 16 časova.
BIRN i Asocijacija novinara Kosova (ANK) obaveštavaju sve zainteresovane o otvaranju trećeg Poziva za podnošenje predloga u okviru projekta koji finansira EU, pod naslovom „Doprinos u jačanju nezavisnog, istraživačkog i javno korisnog novinarstva i slobode izražavanja na Kosovu“.
Ovaj poziv ima za cilj da pruži mogućnosti lokalnim nevladinim i organizacijama građanskog društva, uključujući novinare, koji rade na Kosovu, a koji se bave pitanjima vezanim za medije i slobodu izražavanja u svojim zajednicama. Program ima za cilj razvijanje nezavisnog, istraživačkog, nepristrasnog, objektivnog, društveno angažovanog novinarstva i kao i pružanje korisnicima potrebne veštine i resurse za implementaciju kreativnog, istraživačkog, pravno dobrog i javno korisnog novinarstva.
Ovaj poziv za podnošenje predloga sadrži jedan lot:
LOT I: Podrška u produkciji novih sadržaja kroz istraživačko izveštavanje i/ili detaljne analize o dobrom upravljanju, ljudskim pravima, životnoj sredini, održivom razvoju, konkurentnosti i investicionoj klimi, zapošljavanju, javnim nabavkama, sigurnosti i bezbednosti, energetskoj efikasnosti, kulturi, suočavanju sa prošlošću.
Prijave se MORAJU poslati e-mailom na [email protected] do 27. avgusta 2019. u 16:00 časova.
Sve prijave moraju da budu popunjene na albanskom, srpskom ili engleskom jeziku.
Informativne sesije će biti održane 15. avgusta 2019. u 10:00, u Informativno-kulturnom centru EU u Severnoj Mitrovici i 16. avgusta 2019. u 14:00 u Informativno-kulturnom centru EU u Prištini.
Pitanja u vezi predloga Poziva za predloge se mogu poslati na engleskom, albanskom ili srpskom jeziku e-mailom pre 18. avgusta 2019. na e-mail: [email protected].
BIRN and Share held a training course from July 22-24 for its newly-selected digital rights monitors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Serbia and Romania on how to classify and gather data on online attacks and freedom violations.
The training course, held in Perast in Montenegro, introduced the participants to the various categories and types of abuses, manipulations and violations.
The second part of the training course was dedicated to brainstorming with BIRN journalists on upcoming regional in-depth investigations into digital rights and information warfare.
In June, BIRN began cooperation with SHARE Foundation in order to determine who are the main players involved in disinformation and propaganda campaigns in Southern and Eastern Europe.
Share Foundation told the course participants in detail about their expertise and standardised rules for categorising digital violations, while BIRN’s editors presented them with BIRN’s editorial policy and guidelines on journalistic standards to help ensure the quality of future stories.
The monitors learned about the methods used for online attacks, and how to distinguish various types of violations, such as information security breaches, information privacy and personal data breaches, pressures exerted because of statements and activities on the internet and manipulations and propaganda in the digital environment.
The cases collected by the monitors will be filed in a newly-created database which was presented during the training course. Continuous monitoring of digital threats and reporting on digital freedom violations will be carried out in accordance with detailed methodology and guidelines based on SHARE Foundation’s know-how and expertise.
Over a period of one year, the monitors will collect information in order to provide facts about digital violations and also to emphasise the use of technology to highlight social issues in countries that are targeted.
The database will be part of the broader online BIRN Investigative Resource Desk (BIRD) and will contain a description of each case and its corresponding sources.
