By Aleksandra Vrbica
For our 20th anniversary, we asked some of our leading supporters, international colleagues, journalistic collaborators, donor organisations and project partners to send a few words offering their view of BIRN’s significance in the Balkans. This is what they told us.
Slobodan Georgiev Director of NewsMax Adria in Serbia, former BIRN journalist
“BIRN was founded to preserve and develop professional journalism in this region, to train journalists to be real journalists – seekers of truth and uncompromising guardians of this important profession. In 20 years, BIRN has not only achieved this but has become a medium without which true journalism in the entire region cannot be imagined and which has become the main source of information about the region for the entire world.
“What was the initiative of a few brave women 20 years ago is now an institution that literally shows every day, especially in Serbia, that it is an indispensable institution for the best possible journalism. I am proud to have been a part of BIRN for 13 years, and for me, those are the most important years in my professional work so far.”
Milka Tadic Mijovic Director, Centre for Investigative journalism of Montenegro
“BIRN is special to me, professionally and emotionally. I was involved in the work of BIRN in various ways from the first days. I occasionally wrote for the network, but my friendship with Gordana Igric [one of BIRN’s founders], with whom I have collaborated since the nineties, tied me in a special way to the organisation, which I experienced as something of my own. I was impressed by Goca’s energy, which she invested in the project, and the professional ethics on which BIRN was based, which grew into a witness to the stormy history of the region in the last two decades.
“I think witnessing and writing about the most difficult topics, an authoritarian culture and a corrupt society, where political elites rule mainly by abusing power, is BIRN’s most significant value. BIRN is especially important because of the transitional justice project, because dealing with a complicated past does not go well for these societies, and the written pages, testimonies, and collected documentation in BIRN’s archive about wars and crimes are also valuable for those who will come after us.”
Stavros Malichudis Investigative reporter at Greek media outlet Solomon
“It’s been a pleasure working with BIRN; I’ve always admired their fearless reporters and talented editors who are dedicated to public-interest journalism. I trust their integrity and commitment to quality. I see BIRN as an investigative powerhouse for the entire Balkan region, producing work that is vital for all our countries.
“Moreover, BIRN gave me a pivotal opportunity. In 2019, during my fellowship with the Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence, I realised that a different kind of journalism is possible. It showed me that journalism can take the time and resources to delve deeply into a topic, creating content that truly resonates with readers and benefits society as a whole.”
Vesna Terselic Head of Documenta – Centre for Dealing with the Past, Zagreb
“BIRN is one of the rare media outlets interested in the fate of victims and survivors. It restores my faith in journalism, which is motivated by concern for people and facing the past to build sustainable peace. Investigative stories by journalists who reflect on the motives of the perpetrators of crimes, as well as those who still support them today, capture the attention of everyone who is concerned about today’s growing dehumanisation and militarisation.
“It is especially important that BIRN fearlessly recalls the judgments of the Hague Tribunal and domestic courts at a time when there are fewer and fewer reports from war crimes trials, and some of the highest officials of the post-Yugoslav countries question the facts established by the courts about the killed, missing and detained.”
Afrim Krasniqi Political expert, Albania Institute for Political Studies
“In my personal opinion, BIRN represents a different media model for countries like Albania: it was established, funded, and supported by Western institutions, in contrast to the local media landscape, which is largely created, financed, and controlled through connections between politics and domestic oligarchies. This form of ‘media import’ may not be a permanent solution, but it is necessary as a transitional mechanism until the Western Balkans complete their integration cycle.
“This approach has proven successful because the BIRN model in countries like Albania has not become subject to censorship, has emerged as a credible source of reference, and has sent a clear message: that a professional media outlet based on the principles of journalism can have a positive impact on the image of the media himself and the broader democratic culture. In essence, it represents a model of the kind of media we do not yet have within our own countries.”
“With the closure or downsizing of outlets such as Voice of America, the BBC and Radio Free Europe in the region, the value of BIRN – and the need for such models at the current time – has only increased. This experience also underlines the vital need for an EU-led media reform package in the Western Balkans to help establish more mechanisms and safeguards for free thought, professional reporting, public interest journalism, and news that is free from political or clientelist influence.”
Alexia Kalaitzi Greek TV journalist
“BIRN supports and promotes the kind of journalism we want to see – and need – in the Balkans: journalism produced by Balkan journalists for both regional and international audiences. At the same time, it is committed to fostering a new generation of investigative reporters.
“As a BIRN [Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence] fellow, I was given the rare opportunity to cover in depth a story that affects Greece and many of its people. Working with the Network’s editors and staff not only made me a better journalist, but also allowed me to build a strong network of Balkan colleagues with whom I share common values and a shared vision for quality reporting across the region.”
Leila Bicakcic Director, Centre for Investigative Reporting, Bosnia and Herzegovina
“BIRN brought a new perspective on journalism in the region and showed that journalism can contribute to a better society, a better understanding of complex topics, and the building of a democratic foundation in the countries created by the break-up of Yugoslavia.
“Transitional justice, corruption, social transition and other areas would still remain abstract topics for citizens today if BIRN journalists did not contribute to their understanding by slowly introducing them as mainstream topics and clarifying unfamiliar concepts.
“In Bosnia and Herzegovina, BIRN is the only newsroom that continuously reports on war crimes, monitoring war crimes trials, and transitional justice. Children in schools will learn about these issues, among other things, based on materials collected by BIRN. It is an immeasurable contribution to reconciliation and dealing with the past, which would not have been possible without BIRN. On the other hand, without reconciliation and facing the events of the 1990s, democratic societies in the Balkans are not possible.”
Nora Ahmetaj Transitional justice expert, Kosovo
“I wanted to take a moment to express my admiration for the exceptional work that BIRN has been doing in the region for decades now. As someone who has closely followed your coverage of transitional justice issues and contributed, I believe that BIRN is truly unique in its approach. Your commitment to tackling these complex and sensitive topics in a professional and nuanced manner is unparalleled.
“What I appreciate most about BIRN is its ability to serve as a valuable resource for both locals and foreigners interested in transitional justice in the region. Your website is an indispensable guide for those seeking to navigate this complex field, and your work provides a vital foundation for further exploration and research.”
Christoph Plate Director of Media Programme South East Europe, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
“Throughout the years we at the KAS Media Programme Southeast Europe have seen BIRN’s dedication to empower journalists to work independently, even in challenging environments where media freedom is sometimes under pressure. For us as a regional programme, BIRN’s cross-border collaboration between journalists from different countries is highly valued. Furthermore, the English-language website Balkan Inside is a source for trustworthy news from the whole region.
Jakub Górnicki CEO of visual storytelling platform Outriders, Poland
“BIRN has become an essential voice for accountability, transparency, and truth in Southeast Europe. Over the past 20 years, its courageous journalism and commitment to public interest reporting have built a trusted platform that not only informs but empowers citizens and challenges those in power. BIRN’s work is a cornerstone of democratic resilience in the region – and more important than ever in today’s complex information landscape.”
Maribel Königer Director for journalism and media, ERSTE Foundation
“In regions where media freedom is often under threat, BIRN provides an important platform for independent journalism. For almost 20 years, BIRN has been a trusted partner of ERSTE Foundation, supporting countless journalists who conduct cross-border research and quality journalism. It is the network that all journalists are looking for, a rock in the storm and a victorious champion in pointless SLAPP lawsuits, a hub for knowledge and further training with the best editors. BIRN is not just important. It is a benchmark in the sector. It reveals the facts.”
Gurkan Ozturan Media freedom monitoring officer, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom
“While democratic backsliding, media capture, and disinformation remain a challenge in the Balkans, BIRN plays a crucial role in advancing the understanding of transparency and accountability. Both news readers and civil society organisations that follow BIRN’s committed cross-border investigative journalism and regional news coverage as well as inclusive storytelling, feel the encouragement to hold power to account and demand transparency, justice and respect for democratic principles.”
Ryan Powell Head of innovation and media business, International Press Institute
“BIRN is a critical voice, network, and publisher moving the dial on journalism in the Balkans. BIRN brings a critical source of solidarity for investigative journalists across the region doing the time intensive and challenging work of data collection, research and verification that goes into long form, accountability reporting. More than that, BIRN regularly rethinks and reviews their strategy – seeking to answer how to best nurture the space for quality and independent investigative reporting. They are also a great partner of the International Press Institute and a close connection as we monitor press freedom and support independent journalism in South East Europe.”
Renate Schroeder Director, European Federation of Journalists
“In the Balkan region and in South Eastern Europe, the people’s right to accurate and reliable information is even more under pressure with media capture, weakened business models and autocratic leaders using smear campaigns against journalists and a shrinking public sphere. BIRN is a precious pearl of independent investigative local journalism providing accurate information and thereby serving as a great antidote to disinformation and propaganda.”
Kurt Bassuener Political expert, Democratisation Policy Council, Berlin
“Over the past two decades, BIRN correspondents have delivered readers both broad and deep, informed coverage of what now is called ‘the Western Balkans.’ Its investigative reporting has often broken new ground – and presented ‘the international community’ with realities about ‘partners’ in the political realm which they would prefer to ignore.
“In addition, BIRN has remained a pillar in a media landscape which has changed and fragmented radically since its foundation, with ever greater traction of disinformation in the social media space (including emanating from ‘the West’). Therefore, fact-based reporting and analysis is more important than ever. Furthermore, the region has diminished in the Western public policy consciousness over the past 20 years, making BIRN’s role all the more vital.”
Michael Montgomery Investigative journalist, Centre for Investigative Reporting, San Francisco
“In a region still dealing with the legacy of war, corruption and constant attacks on civil society, the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network provides in-depth, fact-based journalism that holds the powerful accountable, whether governments, corporations or other actors and institutions.
“Its reporting on war crimes, misuse of public funds, political abuses, the environment and other issues helps empower citizens with the information they need to demand justice and good governance. By filling the severe gaps left by state-controlled media, BIRN serves as a key watchdog and a voice for the public interest. To accomplish all this over two decades, BIRN’s journalists have displayed unflinching courage and resilience.”
Kenneth Morrison Professor of history and the director of the Institute of Humanities and Political Studies at De Montfort University, UK
“For two decades, BIRN has been an important pillar of quality journalism. With a focus not just on daily news, but on human rights, geopolitics, and transitional, social, gender and environmental justice, it has become the most reliable source of information and analysis in the region. This makes it more than merely a news website – it is a vital source of information for those that want to look beyond the headlines and to access high quality, objective investigative journalism, and sharp, well-informed analysis. It is impossible to imagine the regional media landscape without BIRN, and 20 years on from its creation – and in a time of widespread misinformation, denial of war crimes, and unrelenting pressures on media freedom – its work and ethos is more important than ever.”
Fred Abrahams Author and human rights researcher
“BIRN’s most enduring contribution has been its commitment to independence. In a region where media outlets are often influenced by political or financial interests, if not controlled by them, the pursuit of fact-based journalism remains essential – especially on sensitive issues like corruption and war crimes trials, where public perception and political sensitivities complicate efforts to report with balance.”
Eric Gordy Professor of political and cultural sociology, University College London
“BIRN is the most comprehensive and regularly updated site for news and analysis on Southeast Europe, and the quality is consistently high: it is reliable, rigorously independent, and frequently, in its research-based feature articles, deep. For students studying the region I maintain a list of media sites in the region, and the BIRN site Balkan Insight is, especially for the students using English-language sources, the one they depend on the most. BIRN is providing a real service, and it has continued providing it regularly regardless of whether the region is getting a lot of international attention or not.”
Blake Morrison Investigative journalist at Reuters, BIRN Summer School lead trainer
“For 20 years, BIRN has played a critical role in seeking the truth, delivering the facts and bringing hope for better tomorrows to its ever-growing audience. Its journalists have gone to extraordinary lengths to hold power to account, regardless of risk or challenge. ”
Maria Georgieva Swedish investigative journalist and documentary maker
“In my view, BIRN is vitally important because it stands as a beacon of independent, high-quality investigative journalism in a region where media often face political and economic pressures. By empowering journalists through training, mentorship, and resources, BIRN strengthens the capacity of the media to hold power to account, promote transparency, and foster public debate on critical issues such as democracy, human rights, and European integration. Its regional network approach uniquely combines local expertise with cross-border cooperation, helping to build a more informed and engaged citizenry while supporting media freedom and integrity.”
“BIRN’s commitment to rigorous, fact-checked reporting and its role in nurturing a new generation of journalists make it an indispensable actor for democratic development and social justice in Eastern and Southeast Europe. It is not just a media organisation but a catalyst for positive change and accountability in societies that continue to face complex post-conflict and transitional challenges.”
Alenka Lena Klopcic Energy and climate consultant
“BIRN is important as a corruption watchdog, as a guardian of the truth, which is the highest power, and hence as a great defender of social balance.”
Aljosa Ajanovic Andelic Policy adviser, European Digital Rights
“At European Digital Rights (EDRi), we deeply admire the incommensurable work BIRN does in shedding light on digital rights abuses, corruption, surveillance, and broader human rights violations across the Balkans, at its borders, and beyond. As an investigative journalism network, BIRN plays a crucial role in holding power – whether corporate or governmental – to account and in giving voice to those too often silenced.
“We share important spaces, such as the Civic Journalism Coalition, and your reporting has proven essential for advocacy-focused organisations like EDRi. In some cases, your investigations are the only available evidence of otherwise hidden human rights violations.”
Ali Fegan Investigative reporter at SVT
“When crime and corruption flourishes BIRN is not only the most important watchdog, it also guarantees the growth of new talented investigative reporters in the Balkans.”
Nicolas Grossman Global Center on AI Governance
“BIRN is an important reference for research and analysis in the region, providing highly valuable insights into the governance and implementation of new technologies to ensure they protect and promote human rights. We have had the privilege of working with them through the Global Index on Responsible AI and have seen first-hand the excellence of their team and their extensive network, which reaches across the entire Balkans.”
Ahmet Erdi Ozturk Expert on Turkey, the Balkans and religion at London Metropolitan University
“Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network is not merely about marking the longevity of a media outlet – it is about acknowledging the essential role BIRN plays as a semi-academic platform and a unique network of experts working across one of the most complex and historically rich regions in the world: the Balkans.
“A region that continues to shape both peace and conflict in Europe, the Balkans demand nuanced, deeply informed analysis. BIRN offers just that – bringing together local insight and regional expertise to uncover what often escapes the headlines and presenting it with clarity, integrity and depth.”
Davor Gjenero Croatian political analyst
“At the beginning of the democratic transition, in ‘A Letter to a Polish Friend’, [political scientist] Ralf Dahrendorf taught us that a democratic constitutional model and a system of economic freedoms based on a free market will be relatively easy to build in the new democracies but that the most problems will be with the construction of civil society and that it will take the most time.
“When BIRN and the Balkan Insight platform were founded, the democratic deficit of the Balkan states and economic problems were discussed. Nevertheless, the key issue that Dahrendorf warned us about – about the construction of civil society institutions – was on the back-burner for many. That is why the fact that BIRN created a network of non-governmental organisations in the Balkans aimed at the development of media freedom, with a focus not only on democratic institutions and economic processes but also on building civil society, was extremely important.”
Shqipe Gjocaj Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence alumnus, gender specialist, Kosovo
“One of BIRN’s core roles is empowering journalists through development programs. With the support of experienced editors and practical, hands-on editorial sessions, these programmes make the journalistic process more effective, safer, and higher in quality, for both emerging and experienced journalists. Beyond enabling the production of independent and impactful stories, the skills gained through BIRN’s programmes are long-lasting and essential for a strong and resilient career in journalism.”
Milorad Pupovac Head of the Serbian National Council in Croatia
“On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of your hard work, above all, on the reporting of war crimes trials, I want to emphasise how important and valuable that mission is in the current global difficulties.
“As I have emphasised on numerous occasions commemorating the victims of war crimes, one should be ashamed of the crime committed by someone in the name of the people to which I belong and never incite hatred towards others just because someone committed a crime against your people. Building peace and trust has no alternative. I think your role is invaluable in that regard; persevere on that path; it is important for all people who have experienced the weight and tragedy of war in this area of ours.”
Fatos Lubonja Author and former political prisoner under the communist regime in Albania
“BIRN has become important, a point of reference in Albania as it stands outside our media system, which is almost entirely part of the triangle of political power, financial power and media power that rules Albania. In a kingdom of lies, BIRN still keeps the voice of truth and the courage of reason somewhat alive.”