Category: News and Events

BIRN held a four-day online training course in audience-engaged for 30 journalists from Balkan and Visegrad countries from December 5-8.

Thirty journalists from ten media outlets were given training in engagement journalism at the workshop held by Ariana Tobin, engagement editor of ProPublica, and BIRN’s experienced trainers and mentors Aleksandra Bogdani, Ana Petruseva, Gyula Csak and Katarina Zrinjski.

Participants were media outlets chosen to receive BIRN’s Audience Engaged Journalism Grants to create individual or collaborative cross-border engagement stories.

The media outlets selected for funding were Kujto Foundation (Albania), Atlatszo (Hungary), Live V Lice (North Macedonia), Suboticke (Serbia), Romea (Czech Republic), Kosovo 2.0 (Kosovo), Roditelji.me (Montenegro), UPS media (Bosnia and Herzegovina); whilst Oko Info (Serbia) and Kanal Vis (North Macedonia) received a grant to do a collaborative story.

Within the programme, the selected media outlets had an opportunity to participate in training and mentoring in order to bring innovation to their newsrooms, engage communities and develop investigative stories by using the B-engaged tool – a digital tool designed and developed by BIRN for the purpose of audience engagement.

The training course, which combined technical skills and editorial knowledge was the first step in the programme to help media outlets develop their engagement stories.

Tobin suggested some basic questions for journalists embarking on engagement stories: “Who is the community most impacted? Who are the stakeholders? How do we reach them? Who might be able to help us? What is the content plan? How might we keep them engaged and report back their progress?” she said.

With the guidance of the trainers, the participants learned how to create callouts to their audiences and read results using the B-engaged tool.

Audiences represent a valuable source of information for journalists and the B-engaged tool enables them to include the public in their reporting and crowdsource data for story investigations, the trainers explained.

The trainers said that audience research, the design and promotion of callouts for involvement, the verification of data and the creation of engaging final products are other important steps to consider in engagement journalism.

Engagement journalism is about building trust and two-way communication between the journalist and the communities, they said.

“Be compassionate to people you are approaching and continue doing some quality journalism,” Tobin concluded.

Audience Engaged Journalism Grants are part of the Media Innovation Europe (MIE) project, funded by the European Commission. The programme is run by the International Press Institute, the Thomson Foundation, the Media Development Foundation and BIRN and is intended to empower media outlets as they navigate the digital transition, giving them journalistic tools and skills in diverse products and business structures in order to reach audiences and bring sustainability.

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commision. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

China in the Balkans, an interactive map and a corresponding database produced by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, was shown to an international audience at the China in the World conference in Berlin on Tuesday.

Organised by Doublethink Lab, an NGO from Taiwan, the conference brings together various stakeholders researching China’s global influence as well as its disinformation strategies. Apart from debates and panels, new additions to the China Index will be made.

The index researches and analyses Chinese influence in 46 countries across the globe and has added 10 new countries to its latest list, including Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro and Albania, done in cooperation with the BIRN.

BIRN’s Ivana Nikolic, Programme Manager of Investigative Reporting Initiative, told the conference about BIRN’s motivation to map Beijing’s activities in the region, arguing that there is a growing need to critically assess the scope of Chinese-linked economic actions and their consequences.

“What we have seen is that while the number of Chinese economic activities in the Balkans is growing, access to official contracts and related documents is in the vast majority of cases impossible,” she said.

“This map is our own way to shed more light on Beijing’s interest in the Balkans as well as an effort to start important, critical discussions, which are unfortunately lacking in our societies,” Nikolic added.

BIRN journalists identified 136 Chinese-linked projects in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Greece worth of at least 32 billion euros.

However, as BIRN’s research shows, Chinese growing presence comes at a cost: among other things, Beijing’s economic activities often lack transparency and raise important concerns related to the environment, corruption, political influence, growing debt and disinformation.

In the coming months BIRN will continue the work on the interactive map, and also plans to research Russian and EU economic activities in the region, as part of its new “Spheres of Influence Uncovered” project.

 

 

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Regional Network, BIRN Hub, has appointed award-winning journalist and media professional Milka Domanovic as its next Regional Network Director.

Domanovic will replace Marija Ristic, who has resigned to pursue other professional challenges.

She will lead the BIRN Hub, which coordinates the BIRN Network, dealing with editorial, training, operations and development, as well as developing, fundraising and coordinating core regional projects.

“Throughout her career, Milka has been dedicated to the promotion of media freedom and brings extensive experience that the Network needs in the often very hostile environment that journalists and media workers operate in. I am confident that, with her skills and knowledge, she will lead BIRN to new heights,” Ristic said.

Domanovic brings over a decade’s experience in journalism, media development and press freedom to her position.

Until recently, she was Head of Business and Partnerships at BIRN Hub, working on the identification of new opportunities for BIRN’s growth, including different partnerships, development of cross-border projects and expansion of its commercial services. Working for BIRN, with some breaks from 2013, she was also a journalist and researcher for the Network.

She worked earlier for the fact-checking portal Istinomer [Truth-o-meter], the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia, CINS, Serbia’s public broadcaster, RTS, as well as as a fixer for international media.

Domanovic was awarded a fellowship programme by the International Factchecking Network in 2017, which she spent with Pulitzer Prize-winning PolitiFact. She also won a Chevening scholarship awarded by the UK government to complete her Master’s studies at the University of London in 2018/2019.

“It has always been a true privilege to work in BIRN, an organization that nurtures highest professional standards in investigative journalism, supporting cross-border collaboration and processes of reconciliation in the region. Being in a position to lead BIRN and its team of accomplished, innovative and devoted individuals will therefore be even greater honour, as well as responsibility for me, and hopefully an opportunity to move additional boundaries together,” Domanovic said.

Marija Ristic has been leading the Network for the last five years.

Under her leadership, BIRN has expanded its activities, both geographically and thematically, to address the growing challenges and threats to independent journalism. BIRN Network expanded its coverage beyond the Balkans to Central and South Europe, while the organizational budget has tripled.

As director, Ristic in particular focused on the development of digital rights and tech programmes, empowerment of local media through capacity building and citizens’ engagement and expansion of human rights-focused programmes. During this period, BIRN supported the capacity building of more than 60 organisations in the region through mentoring and financial support.

Ristic has been the recipient of many awards, including the prestigious Reporters without Borders Annual Press Freedom Award, while under her leadership, the organization and its journalists received more than 70 awards, including the European Press Prize.

“It was an immense privilege and honour to lead such an exceptional and unique network and to work daily with some of the best journalists, dedicated and knowledgeable people across the region, who are the biggest strength of the network. From our staff to fellows, partners and donors, I am grateful for all the collaborations, ground-breaking journalism stories, as well as for difficult moments, that we managed to learn from,” Ristic said.

BIRN is a network of non-governmental organisations promoting freedom of speech, human rights and democratic values in Southern and Eastern Europe. It now has local organisations in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Romania and Serbia. The Network is editorially also present in Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, Montenegro, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia.

Fjori Sinoruka, 29, has been working for BIRN’s flagship Balkan Insight for the last two years as our correspondent from Albania.

Based in Tirana, she studied journalism and always wanted to be in the media. For her, journalism is connected with two important words: democracy and responsibility.

Her favourite topics to report on are public security, human rights, corruption, cybersecurity and cyber-defence. In the last few months, she has been closely following the big cyber-attack on the Albanian government and the data leaks that have followed.

Let’s meet her:

 

1. Why did you decide to become a journalist? 

I’ve wanted to be a journalist since I was a kid, without really knowing exactly what it was. Growing up, I never gave up on this idea. My first years after graduation were very hard because I wasn’t really finding myself and wasn’t ready to compromise to fit in. Back then, everyone was working on the digital media and all that was required was copy and paste. So, I and a colleague created a small media NGO and started reporting about human rights and environment.

2. Do you have a favourite journalism quote?

I do not have a concrete quote on my mind, but when I think about journalism, I connect it with responsibility and democracy. When I say “responsibility” I mean that each journalist should feel that when they are doing their job, especially in times when so much fake news and disinformation is spread. And democracy, because there is no democracy without free media.

3. What do you like most in your job, and what is the most challenging thing?

What I most like about my job is that it doesn’t feel like a job. It doesn’t feel like I have to do it. I also like talking with people, hearing their stories. While working on certain articles for Balkan Transitional Justice, with victims of communism, it was important to educate myself not to re-traumatize people while asking questions or asking them to tell their stories and experiences under communism. It’s very rewarding when you see that you have succeeded in building a trusting relationship with people.

There is always something new to learn.

A thing that I would consider challenging is the media environment in the country. It’s frustrating when you cannot get answers or access certain data that you might need it for a story. Still, it is important not to give up.

4. What kind of stories do you prefer to work on and why? Which is your favourite story you have written for Balkan Insight so far?

It is very hard to single out one of them because there are several topics I like to work on: public security, human rights, corruption and lately cyber-security and cyber-defence. I also like stories I do about communism, It is very important to keep talking about its consequences, especially in the Albanian context, where there is no closure and the past remains very present. As a correspondent I usually report about every important topic, meaning you have to be at the same time everywhere – and I love it.

5. You have been following the big cyber-attack on the Albanian government and the data leaks that have followed. BIRN disclosed that the authorities banned the media from reporting on this. Can you tell us more about this story and its importance? 

I think that how this issue is being dealt with in the country tells a lot about it. You have a Prosecution order that bans the media from reporting about the leaks while on the other hand there are other institutions and Prime Minister himself saying that no important data has been compromised or damaged. Why, then, did the Prosecution ban the media from reporting, if no important or sensitive or confidential data is out there?!

On the other hand, we have tried to get answers from institutions for months and haven’t managed to even get a confirmation or a denial about the leaked data.

Nevertheless, we have continued reporting because I believe that it is an issue of public interest. It is a case where the public interest is more important than any banning order.

6. What is your advice to aspiring journalists who want to work as correspondents in our region? 

Be committed to professional improvement, read a lot and continue reporting, no matter what.

 

Dizdarevic received special recognition for her analysis, “Experts Warn that New History Textbook in Tuzla Deepens Divisions”. In it, she explained that, as of April, elementary school pupils in the Tuzla Canton have learned about the 1992-5 war in more detail for the first time through a new appendix to the history textbook for grade nine, which experts call one-sided.

They say it contains a publication by a convicted war criminal as a reference, and fails to respect the guidelines for writing textbooks and mention the suffering of all peoples, thus additionally deepening divisions.

Dizdarevic, who has been a journalist with BIRN for nearly ten years, says the recognition of her contribution to child’s rights in 2022 is very meaningful; the UNICEF award speaks about the educational system in her country and points to the problems of unadjusted school curricula.

“I’m glad if I have contributed, at least at the micro level, to changing the situation in the Bosnian educational system. I believe children should learn and study history and the 1992-95 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina precisely from judicially determined facts,” she said. Dizdarevic previously also won the Srdjan Aleksic and other awards.

Begic joined BIRN’s team in July 2021. He received UNICEF’s special recognition for an analysis, “Central Bosnia Canton Does not Respect Verdict on Abolishing Segregation in Schools”, about the failure to respect court verdicts due to which pupils throughout Bosnia spent yet another school year in a segregated system.

“I’m grateful for the recognition which is, at the same time, an incentive and obligation for even more devoted and professional work in the future,” he said.

UNICEF’s contest for best media contribution to the promotion and protection of child’s rights in Bosnia was open for all journalists who published articles on this topic in Bosnian media this year.

An award for overall contribution to promotion and protection of children’s rights during 2022 through journalistic pieces, articles on portals, blogs, TV or radio footage, vlogs or documentary, was given to Istinomjer journalist Minel Abaz again this year.

Jury member Boro Kontic said that 23 pieces on various topics, including emotional difficulties, influencers, religious teaching, child migrants, talented children, violence in schools, segregation in schools and curricula content, were submitted for the competition; all of them were of good quality.

UNICEF’s representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rownak Khan, gave credit to those media that cover children’s rights through their channels, adding that the award was a recognition of journalists who cover these important topics in a courageous manner.

She said the public can be informed about children’s rights through the media more than in any other way, adding that on International Children’s Day, every November 20, it is important to recall the promise states made by adopting the Convention on the Rights of the Child more than 30 years ago, Fokus reported.

In 2020, BIRN BiH journalist Azra Husaric-Omerovic received UNICEF’s recognition for contribution to promotion and protection of child’s rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the “internet piece” category for her story on the challenges children with learning disabilities and their parents faced while attending online classes during the pandemic.

 

After forming cross-border teams at the workshop in Ohrid in September, participating journalists reunited to continue their investigations related to topics such as river pollution, waste management and consequences of climate change in the region.

During the first day, they learned about data visualization and data storytelling from Uros Krcadinac, digital artist, technologist, writer, and educator.

Uros explained how to present visual data and information clearly and in an emotionally engaging way, with a special focus on ecological and climate data. He also introduced them to tools they can use while working on their own datasets, such as Raw Graphs, Pictochart, Canva, Google Spreadsheets, Tableau Public, etc.

“It’s important to have openness towards new tools. Allow yourself to play with them, with any data that you have, because it will make your stories more compelling,” Krcadinac said.

Participants also had the chance to discuss the local environmental issues related to the devastation of Tara River with highway construction with Lazar Grdinic, from the NGO MANS.

“We asked the environmental inspection many times to carry out regular on-site visits to separate locations. I was there on-site with inspectors, but even during those visits they didn’t show any willingness to stop the devastation of this river,” Grdinic said.

On the second day, participants refreshed their knowledge on story structure and storytelling, while continuing group work on their cross-border stories with the assistance of their mentors, Besar Likmeta and Dragan Gmizic. By the end of the workshop, they had drafted the structure of their stories, which will be finalized and published in the following months.

This was the second workshop organized as part of the project “Going Environmental”, which is financed by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.

 

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network organised three online training sessions entitled ‘Fact-checking for the resilience of the independent media’ from November 7 to 22 as part of the Media for All project.

Journalists from 46 media outlets from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia learned about the differences between misinformation, disinformation and malicious information.

They also learned about specific tools that can be used for the checking and verification of sources and facts when producing media articles.

They had the opportunity to look into case studies and fact-checking examples used in producing content for BIRN’s news website Balkan Insight.

Ivana Jeremic, an experienced fact-checker and Balkan Insight editor, taught journalists the most important contemporary tools used for fact-checking and verification.

Jeremic guided participants in creating fact-checked investigations, news, and reports. The participants had a chance to discuss specific ideas for creating accurate content and got familiar with precise sources to use in their production.

“Fact-checking is the process of checking the accuracy of the information before publishing the story followed by checking the statements of certain actor,” said Jeremic.

“Fact-checking is part of journalists’ work. You as a journalist can be a fact-checker and a fact-checker can be a journalist. But the process of fact-checking is constantly trying to question the information that you have received or that you have heard and trying to find relevant sources either to confirm or debunk that information,” she added.

The skills learnt during the training session are intended to be used in the journalists’ daily work and shared with their colleagues in their newsrooms as part of the fight against fake news and disinformation.

The Media for All project is being implemented in six countries in the region: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. BIRN is working in partnership with the British Council, Thompson Foundation and Intrac on the project, which is funded by the UK government, with special attention to engaging the public in reporting and fighting fake news.