Author: Eleni Stamatoukou

The 12th annual BIRN Summer School of Investigative Reporting ended on August 27with 30 participants from SEE, CE, Ukraine and Finland pitching their investigative story proposals to BIRN editors.

A total of 11 pitches were presented; some focus on country-based issues while the majority are of a cross-border nature. BIRN editors will choose the best pitches, whose owners will receive funding, editorial support and mentoring from BIRN.

Proposed stories look into environmental issues, corruption allegations, reproductive rights and the ongoing war in Ukraine, to name a few.

Ivana Nikolic, in charge of BIRN’s Investigative Reporting Initiative, thanked all the participants for their motivation and hard work during the past week and urged them to keep in touch and collaborate.

“Summer School is not only about learning innovative skills and techniques; it is also about networking, making friends and finding partners for your next cross-border story,”Nikolic said.

During the week, 30 participants selected from a record-breaking 180 candidates learned about OSINT, database search, digital security, visual storytelling, and financial journalism from award-winning journalists from Germany, the UK, the US and the Balkans.

They also attended a panel discussion about war reporting, giving them a unique opportunity to hear different perspectives and experiences of journalists and filmmakers from Ukraine, Palestine and Serbia. More information about lectures and panels can be found here (https://birnsummerschool.org/)

 

BIRN is inviting media outlets interested in connecting with their audiences and reporting on original stories that will make an impact to apply for Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants.

Individual grants will be awarded to selected media outlets that wish to cover national/regional/local topics on their own. Collaborative grants will be awarded to selected media outlets that want to investigate cross-border issues with a media partner.

Audience-engaged reporting, in which ordinary people’s voices are heard and unresolved issues are tackled, has proven a game-changer. Using it helps media outlets to listen to these voices and report on essential topics for their communities while bringing innovation to their investigative reporting and newsrooms.

Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants support media outlets that want to engage their audiences in reporting by providing them with training and mentorship in engagement journalism and usage of the B-Engaged tool, developed by BIRN.

Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants are part of the Media Innovation Europe project managed by a consortium led by the Vienna-based International Press Institute. The consortium includes the Kyiv-based Media Development Foundation, the Berlin-based Thomson Foundation and BIRN.

Ten (10) successful applicants will receive grants based on this call.

BIRN will grant €4,000 to five (5) successful applicants interested in making an individual audience-engaged story.

BIRN will grant €5,000 to five (5) successful applicants interested in making a cross-border collaborative story.

If you already know a media partner with whom you want to work on a cross-border story, you will receive €10,000 to cover expenses for both partners involved. If you are interested in investigating a cross-border story but don’t have a partner, BIRN can find you a matching media outlet.

Content may include news, analysis, investigations etc, and can be in any form – text, audio, video. The content must be promoted through the outlets’ social media channels.

The selected grantees will undergo a four-day training programme that will be offered online, as well as on-the-job mentoring by BIRN editors on how to use and implement innovative, effective audience-engagement tools for investigative community-based reporting.

The participating media will receive training in the use of the B-Engaged tool, developed by BIRN, an online tool that enables the direct engagement of members of the public who are interested in sharing information and evidence related to issues they are facing.

Through training and mentoring, media outlets will also learn: how to select engaging topics; what is important to the audience; how to develop a callout; how to analyse crowdsourced data; how to incorporate data in stories, and how to shape a story according to engagement journalism standards.

The call is open until October 28, 2022 at midnight CET.

To read the full call for application click here.

To apply for a grant, use the online application form and send us a proposal for a story and the required documents.

You can register for the info session on September 15, 2022 via this link.

Follow BIRN on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to get more notifications.

 

 

During the launch of BIRN’s new video project, Eyewitness Ukraine, on Thursday, Ukrainian journalists and representatives of international and national organizations, called on international media to contribute in fighting against the Russian propaganda on the invasion of Ukraine while explaining their efforts to verify the information on the ground and obstacles in gathering evidence of war crimes.

“European journalists should reach out to cover reality, to keep the focus on Ukraine and the larger are the chances for us to win,” Alya Shandra editor-in-chief of Ukrainian and English-language outlet Euromaidan Press, said.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been followed by constant propaganda and disinformation war, which has been proven very difficult for journalists on the ground who are fighting to combat it by verifying everything in its source. However, they are also in danger for their and their families’ lives due to often being a target by the Russian military despite being press representatives.

The war in Ukraine has already proved deadly for journalists. At least 12 media workers have been killed while covering the conflict so far, and many more have been injured, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

There is evidence that one of them, photojournalist Maks Levin, was executed by Russian forces, media freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders has claimed.

“Thirty eight journalists have been killed (since February 24, 2022) including those on the field (while reporting), those that enlisted as soldiers, and those that were killed during shelling of their cities,” said Ukrainian journalist Lina Kushch, who is also the secretary of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine and coordinates the work of 24 regional offices with more than 18,000 members.

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network launched its Eyewitness Ukraine project on Thursday – a new webpage featuring interviews with Ukrainian journalists speaking about their personal experiences of living and working through the Russian invasion of their country.

The Ukrainian journalists are facing constant struggles, including what they had not considered at first.

Angelina Kariakina, the head of news at the Ukrainian Public Broadcaster, said there are many “the journalists on the ground are verifying information but you need an entire car of supplies… like going in a forest”.

Kariakina says they often look “through Russian propagandastic channels and media” as a source of information to identify prisoners of war.

“They have these videos of hundreds of people in prisons, and you can see a familiar face,” she says explaining that “around 7000 people went missing during this war”.

Shandra, who has had to deal with “wanting to cover the war but had to leave to evacuate my children,” calls on international media not to use the recordings being made of prisoners of war saying that “Defenders of Mariupol (were taken prisoners) and they were recorded admitting their crimes”.

Ukrainian journalists are trying to gather as many evidence of war crimes as possible, in close collaboration with the prosecution and legal experts, to prepare cases when the time comes for the crimes to be tried in courts. However, this has been also rather difficult, especially in occupied areas.

As Kariakina explains, the journalists are dependent on information from the citizens in occupied areas who could only provide it if they manage to leave. The only way of leaving, she says, is through Russia and they can only return and provide information if they have enough resources.

Maja Sever, the president of the European Federation of Journalists, EFJ, said that she is “amazed that journalists in Ukraine have the will to fight for the truth,” considering they are in the most difficult situation a journalist can be.

As the war continues, BIRN will add more interviews to the Eyewitness Ukraine webpage to give more insights into how media workers are dealing with the ongoing stress of living through months of conflict while continuing to do their jobs.

 

 

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network launched its Eyewitness Ukraine project on Thursday – a new webpage featuring interviews with Ukrainian journalists speaking about their personal experiences of living and working through the Russian invasion of their country.

The journalists talk frankly about how they reacted when they first heard that the invasion had started in February, the dangers that they have faced reporting on the war, and how their work during wartime has affected their personal lives.

They also discuss issues like the war’s impact on media freedom, the challenges of upholding objectivity while reporting on an invasion of your own country, and the problems posed by official restrictions imposed under martial law, as well as Russian disinformation and propaganda.

“These interviews highlight Ukrainian journalists’ commitment to reporting the war in their country despite the risks they face,” said Matthew Collin, BIRN’s editor on the Eyewitness Ukraine project.

“Almost six months into the conflict, they have remained dedicated to seeking the truth, informing the public and upholding media freedom as best they can in a state under invasion,” Collin added.

 

Among the interviewees are prominent media figures like Angelina Kariakina, the head of news at the Ukrainian Public Broadcaster, Andriy Tsaplienko, a television journalist for 1+1 TV who is renowned for his war reporting, and Nataliya Gumenyuk, co-founder of the Public Interest Journalism Lab and of Hromadske TV.

In her interview for the Eyewitness Ukraine project, Kariakina said that she and other Ukrainian journalists have witnessed terrible violence during the conflict.

“I’ve seen the bodies on the streets, I’ve seen the horrific demolitions of the residential areas, I’ve seen villages just burned down,” she said.

“But I’ve also seen and I’ve witnessed incredible examples of solidarity and courage and help,” she added.

Kariakina argued that the purpose of journalism has remained the same despite the war – “to put light into dark places, to give voice to the voiceless, to report the truth, and just to be there for the people”.

As the war continues, BIRN will add more interviews to the Eyewitness Ukraine webpage to give more insights into how media workers are dealing with the ongoing stress of living through months of conflict while continuing to do their jobs.

The war in Ukraine has already proved deadly for journalists. At least 12 media workers have been killed while covering the conflict so far, and many more have been injured, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

There is evidence that one of them, photojournalist Maks Levin, was executed by Russian forces, media freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders has claimed.

See the Eyewitness Ukraine interviews here.

 

• The Media Innovation Europe consortium is excited to announce the launch of four new calls for newsroom innovation, business strategy and digital transition projects for publishers in Europe.
• The Transition Accelerator, Deep-Dive Business Consultancies and Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants are open to applicants until 28 October at 23:59 CET.
• The International Press Institute is also opening a two-year rolling application for the Media Innovator’s Mentorship Programme, matching industry leaders with individuals and newsrooms for peer-to-peer support for challenges in their newsrooms.
• See full information and frequently asked questions.

VISIT THE MEDIA INNOVATION EUROPE WEBSITE AND APPLY

Newsrooms across Europe face new challenges that demand innovative solutions. Against a backdrop of waning trust in media and plummeting ad revenues, publishers are pressed to find new ways to engage audiences, restore public confidence and navigate digital transformation. For publishers, starting the innovation journey requires buy-in from their teams, identifying a problem to solve and fitting solutions into a broader strategy for sustainability and growth.

The Media Innovation Europe consortium, led by the International Press Institute (IPI) and in partnership with Thomson Foundation (TF), the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and the Media Development Foundation (MDF), is launching calls for four new funding and support programmes across Europe to help newsrooms solve these challenges.

“Together, we believe that innovation is key to the editorial independence and financial sustainability of newsrooms as they navigate the digital transition and build back trust in independent journalism,” said Jacqui Park, IPI’s head of network strategy and innovation.

Transition Accelerator

 Managed by IPI, the Transition Accelerator is a six-month programme for small to mid-sized digital or legacy media outlets seeking to transform their journalism, products or business by investing in audience research, experimenting with new revenue models, deepening audience engagement, or investing in new content and distribution products based on user needs, among other strategies. Participating teams will benefit from being part of a smart cohort of European media, access to some of the smartest media thinkers and doers and structured learning and mentoring opportunities. Drawing on design thinking practice and centering the audience, media teams will have the space and support to experiment and build new journalism, product and revenue models.

Participants in the Transition Accelerator will also have access to grants of up to €20,000 plus training, mentoring and networking opportunities.

Who is eligible?

The Transition Accelerator is open to independent media eager to invest in digital transformation and serve their communities with journalism of value. To apply, you must have a team of at least two staff members that will participate in the six-month accelerator.

Applicants must be based in one of the following countries: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine.

How to apply?

Applications are open until 28 October 2022 at 23:59 CET and can be submitted here. For any questions, email us at [email protected].

Deep-Dive Business Consultancies

 Run by Thomson Media, the Deep-Dive Business Consultancies are designed to level up the business capacities of print and online media outlets that need strategic guidance in order to set their path toward business viability. The consultancy will be implemented by Thomson Media’s network of business consultants, media professionals working in the industry in the EU and Western Balkans.

The consultancy will last nine months. After the completion of month five, participants will receive a grant to support activities related to the implementation of new products and/or strategy. Once a clear business strategy has been established, the media outlets and business consultants will meet on a bi-weekly basis to evaluate the strategy and progress direction.

The available grant funding is between €4,500 and €10,000 per media outlet.

Applications are open until 28 October 2022 and can be submitted here. Eligible countries include: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine.

For any questions, email Davor Marko at davorm@thomsonfoundation.org.

Unable to decide which best suits your needs? Sign up for the upcoming info session on the accelerator and business consultancies or read the FAQs at the bottom of the page.

 Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants

 Run by BIRN, the Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants support innovative investigative journalism projects that embed audiences and strengthen the capacities of independent media outlets across the Visegrad and Western Balkan region. The call for application is open to 10 participants in the first year and 10 participants in the second year (one media outlet per country per training cycle). Individual grants of €4,000 will be awarded to each selected media outlet that wants to cover national/regional/local topics on its own. Collaborative grants of €5,000 will be awarded to selected media outlets that want to investigate cross-border topics with a partner.

 Who is eligible?

The grants are open to newsrooms based in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Serbia and Slovakia, and applications can be submitted until 28 October 2022.

How to apply?

Find the application here.

For any questions, email Karla Junicic, karla.junicic@birnnetwork.org or look at the FAQs.

Media Innovator’s Mentorship Programme

The mentorship is an opportunity for media innovators to connect with experts in their field and engage in peer-to-peer learning. Participants will answer a few questions to assess their needs and based on this, they will be matched with experts in this area to provide support.

The mentorship is designed to allow mentors and mentees to agree on a framework for interaction that best suits the participant’s need for guidance and availability, ranging from short-term rapid response mentoring to longer-term guidance over several months.

Who is eligible?

Media houses in the following countries: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine.

How to apply?

 The mentorship will operate as a rolling scheme for the next two years. Prospective mentees can apply anytime here. If you’d like to participate as a mentor, reach out to us at [email protected].

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Nermina Kuloglija and Hamdi Fırat Buyuk received threats via phone calls, text messages and on social media from the Turkish far-right Grey Wolves organization’s Bosnian branch.

The threats were sent from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and from Turkey, on June 28, and since then, after BIRN published an investigation into the Grey Wolves organisation’s branch and its activities in Bosnia.

Kuloglija and Buyuk continued to receive messages on their phones with intimidating content after the publication of the article.

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom on its Mapping Media Platform reported on the incidents of harassment, psychological abuse, intimidation and threats against the two BIRN journalists.

“Threats against journalists are unacceptable. In this case it has an international element to it which must be handled not only in the country where the journalists are based,” said Gürkan Özturan, Coordinator of Media Freedom Rapid Response at the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, a nonprofit that promotes and defends media freedom.

The Grey Wolves is an international Turkish ultra-nationalist and pan-Turkic organization that rose to prominence in the late-1970s. In 2021, the European Parliament called on the EU to add the Grey Wolves to its list of terrorist organisations. The Grey Wolves in Turkey have been involved in multiple acts of harassment for decades, Özturan told BIRN.

“These threats [ against BIRN journalists] cannot be overlooked and authorities in both Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as other regional and international organizations must be involved in investigations,” he concluded.

Threats to journalists are growing, the UN rights chief, Michelle Bachele, warned in an event marking World Press Freedom Day 2022. Journalism remains a dangerous and even deadly profession.

Worldwide, threats against journalists, online and off-line, imprisonments continue are rising, while online violence and harassment spurs self-censorship and, in some cases, physical attacks, said UNESCO’s 2021/2022 online report, “World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development”.