Tag: BIRN HUB

Sessions on investigating human rights abuses kicked off the fifth day of BIRN’s Summer School of Investigative Reporting in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Alison Killing, founder of Killing Architects, spoke about how they used advanced visual investigation techniques to uncover the tragic events that led to the deaths of 23 people and the disappearance of 77 others at the border post in Melilla, Spain, in June last year.

Killing also presented their investigation into the network of camps built by the Chinese government in Xinjiang for the mass detention of Muslims. Journalists couldn’t work effectively in Xianjing, so they used satellite imagery.

“When we started, we thought we might find 500,000 blanked-out map tiles on the Chinese Baidu Maps. We found 5 million,” Killing said. The question was how this information could meet journalistic standards.

Participants were introduced to data journalism, a discipline based on data analysis that helps tell stories that happen systematically. Editor-in-Chief of Correctiv Olaya Argüeso Perez presented examples of data-based stories and then guided journalists through some exercises.

Friday concluded with a panel discussion on investigating the crisis over migration policy in Greece.

Apostolos Fotiadis and Stavros Maluchidis, from the Greek independent media outlet “We Are Solomon”, discussed the challenges of reporting on migration.

“The Greek public broadcaster calls migrants ‘illegal’. This should not be the case. We, journalists, need to work better and think about the language we use,” Maluchidis said.

The Head of the Migration Policy Europe Programme at the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Neda Noraie-Kia, agreed.

“Mainstream media play a crucial role in informing the public about migrants and assessing what is happening with them. Policies go hand in hand with the language used. With this kind of language, they are already suggesting that something illegal is happening,” Noraie-Kia said.

“Traditional reporting is dead. To make it work, we need to combine different techniques, such as OSINT when reporting on migration,” Maluchidis added.

Apostolos Fotiadis talked about the responsibility of journalists when covering the war in Ukraine.

“We need to go beyond the agenda of Brussels and governments. We should also talk about arms trade and export that fuels wars and displacement,” he said.

The one-week training programme ended on Saturday with the participants presenting their investigative story proposals to BIRN editors.

Journalists pitched more than 15 ideas, mostly cross-border. Proposed stories deal with migration, healthcare, human rights and corruption, to name a few.

BIRN editors will select the best pitches. Selected journalists will receive funding, editorial support and mentoring from BIRN.

 

 

ABOUT THE ONE-MONTH EXCHANGE PROGRAMME

The One-Month Regional Exchange Programme is a capacity-building opportunity for media, editors and journalists from the Western Balkans. The aim is to facilitate a quality news and investigative production environment, by enabling both parties to engage in knowledge exchange, comprehensive mentoring and cross-border approaches.

BIRN and the hosting media will develop exchange programmmes for 2023 and 2024, addressing the needs and expectations of both hosting media and editors/ journalists. The programme will serve as a guideline for the whole exchange and will result in the production of cross-border stories, enhancing both short-term and long-term regional collaboration between the host media and the participating editors/ journalists, enabling them to investigate stories with effects that surpass national borders.

WHO IS IT DESIGNED FOR?

The exchange programme is designed for both media and editors / journalists from the Western Balkans. This programme will create opportunities for the host media to share their knowledge with colleagues from other media and Western Balkan region. On the other side, it will enable the editors / journalists to spend one month immersed in a host media from another country while at the same time working together.

Both the host media and the editors / journalists will be selected through an open call, in accordance with the selection criteria. The editors / journalists will be given an opportunity to select host media in a different from their home country.

WHAT IS THE HOST MEDIA`S ROLE?

Within this call, BIRN is looking for hosting media from Western Balkan countries that will:

• Collaborate with BIRN to develop the exchange programmme for 2023 and 2024, addressing the needs and expectations of both hosting media and editors/ journalists. The programme will result in the production of cross-border stories, enhancing both short-term and long-term regional collaboration between the host media and participating editors/ journalists, enabling them to investigate stories with effects that surpass national borders.
• Host editors / journalist through the one-month exchange programmes during 2023 and 2024. One media can host up to two journalists.
• Provide the participating editors and journalists with an opportunity to exchange experiences with more senior colleagues from the host media and gain insider knowledge on different editorial policies and journalistic techniques, which can be replicated in the newsroom back home.
• Guide participating editors and journalists to work on the production of cross-border in-depth stories.
• Ensure production and publication of at least two (2) cross-border in-depth stories per participant.

BENEFITS AND LOGISTICS FOR HOST MEDIA

• Gain fresh insights and inputs from participants working in diverse settings and potentially different countries.
• Collaborate with participants on in-depth stories that can be published by both the host media and the participants’ own media houses.
• Engage in knowledge-sharing and experience exchange with all participants, promoting cross-border collaboration on journalistic projects.
• Receive a monthly fee of 500 euros separately for each participant. One media can host up to two journalists within the two years. The participants will be provided with a fellowship that will cover accommodation, travel and a bursary.
• Coordinate the time for the exchange programme (during 2023 and 2024), subject to mutual agreement between BIRN, media and the participants.
• One host media can host an editor / journalists both in 2023 and 2024.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Media outlets registered in any of the six (6) Western Balkan countries are invited to apply to this call.

Hosting media will be selected based on the following criteria:

1. Interest, motivation, commitment and capacities to host journalists / editors as part of the regional exchange programme.
2. Mutual thematic alignment between hosting media and the preferences of editors/journalists for cross-border investigations. Editors/journalists will have the opportunity to choose from a curated list of hosting media outlets that align with their interests. 

HOW TO APPLY?

 Please share your interest to be a host media by filling in the application form latest by October 16.

If you have questions about the programme and the call, please contact Marija Vasilevska at [email protected].

This call is part of the project “Strengthening Quality Journalism in Western Balkans and Türkiye II”.

 

 

On Thursday, sessions on investigative podcasts started the fourth day of the BIRN’s Summer School of Investigative Reporting in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Michael Montgomery, a senior reporter and producer for Reveal, talked about the fundamentals of investigative podcasts. Podcasts are getting more popular every year, with more than half lasting over 30 minutes.

Podcasts are visually powerful forms of audio that tell big, sometimes emotionally complex stories and offer clarity in chaos. “For many podcasts, the central framing device is a question,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery talked about the old dramatic principle, the three-act story structure that divides a story into setup, confrontation and resolution.

“The work we do with podcasts is very emotional. It’s very important to master the three-act story structure if you want to do investigative podcasts,” he advised.

Taja Topolovec, Co-Founder and CEO of podcrto.si, said that a podcast is much more intimate than just reading an article. “It’s like someone talking directly into your ear. People are waiting for the next episode to come out,” Topolovec said.

“For us, podcasting was a way to connect more with an international audience, to get more international context. In the last few years, podcasting has become a very important product,” the Slovenian podcaster said.

Sandrine Rigaud, editor of Forbidden Stories, spoke about the four essential characteristics of cross-border journalism. Journalists from different countries decide on an idea of mutual interest, gather and share material, and then publish the story for their audience.

“The challenges include cultural differences, different practices and standards, the timing of publication, and allocation of time resources,” Rigaud told the participants.

“Sharing is one of the golden rules of collaboration. We share findings, interview notes, documents, and plans so we do not duplicate. We don’t have to share the identity of confidential sources, but we share quotes, off-the-record information,” the French journalist said.

The Summer School continues on Friday with investigating migration and human rights abuses and an introduction to data journalism.

 

On Wednesday, sessions on digital security kicked off the third day of the BIRN’s Summer School of Investigative Reporting in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Milica Stojanovic, BIRN journalist and digital security trainer, explained the importance of cyber security. “You are responsible for yourself, your colleagues and your sources,” she told the participants.

“Digital security is a habit, like locking the door when you leave home,” Stojanovic said. She walked participants through the most secure applications and offered tips on setting the best passwords.

“Passwords must be at least 16 characters long and must be changed every six months. Have a different password for each account,” Stojanovic advised.

Co-founder of The Self-Investigation Mar Cabra spoke about mental health and the problem of burnout. “I believe the journalism industry is broken. We need to make it healthier,” Cabra said.

Last year, 60 per cent of journalists worldwide reported high levels of anxiety, and one in five showed signs of depression, according to reports.

“Never fail to ask yourself how you are doing,” Cabra advised. She explained that ignoring our body’s signals, doing work not aligned with our values, and lacking hobbies can all lead to burnout.

The Summer School continues on Thursday with an introduction to investigative podcasts and cross-border journalism.

The second day of BIRN’s Summer School of Investigative Reporting in Thessaloniki, Greece on Tuesday started with a session on open-source investigations entitled How to Expose Police Violence.

Marija Ristic, manager at Amnesty International’s Evidence Lab, explained how open-source elements and information can be used to analyse policing weapons and equipment.

Ristic also talked about journalists in demonstrations. “Journalists should be considered bystanders at protests. Any attack on them is generally not allowed,“ Ristic said.

Sam Joiner, visual stories editor at the Financial Times, talked about how to take a complex story and make it digestible.

“Visuals have to carry you through the story. Visual journalism allows you to understand stories differently. It requires lots of people to think outside the box,” Joiner told participants.

“There are two types of projects. Stories that use visuals to explain topics and themes that transcend the daily news agenda. And there are visual investigations, public interest journalism using visual evidence to break stories of global significance,” Joiner said before presenting the FT’s visual investigation into North Korean oil-smuggling.

The general secretary of the European Federation of Journalists, Ricardo Gutierrez, spoke about helping journalists in exile.

After Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine, “our first reaction was to try to evacuate colleagues from Ukraine. But they wanted to stay. So we changed our plans and provided them with safety equipment so they could continue their work,” Gutierrez said.

“We have a programme in Kosovo. We convinced the government to offer shelter to 20 Ukrainian journalists in exile. We launched the programme in March 2022, and the first journalists arrived the following month,” he continued.

The European Federation of Journalists doesn’t have comprehensive European data on journalists in exile, partly because many don’t want to be put on a list, Gutierrez explained. Most of the Russian journalists who fled to the EU now live in Germany or the Netherlands, he added.

Journalist and researcher Hanna Liubakova left Belarus after the presidential elections in 2020, when the government intensified its crackdown on independent journalism.

Liubakova said she fled after she was put under surveillance. “For security reasons, I had to change my location every few days. Then I received a signal that it was better for me to leave the country,” she said.

She told participants that Belarusians are still interested in independent news and use social media such as TikTok as well as websites to follow what is happening in the country.

The Summer School continues on Wednesday with digital security training and a workshop about mental health and burnout.

 

 

This year’s Summer School of Investigative Reporting started on Monday in Thessaloniki, Greece.

During the week-long programme, journalists from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey, Georgia and Uzbekistan will master their investigative skills and techniques and learn from Pulitzer and European Press Prize winners.

Regional Director of BIRN HUB Milka Domanovic welcomed the participants to one of BIRN’s flagship programmes. “We hope that you will be able to implement the knowledge you gain here and connect even after the course is finished,” Domanovic said.

Ivana Nikolic, Programme Manager at BIRN’s Investigative Reporting Initiative Programme, presented the agenda to participants selected from a record-breaking number of applications – more than 220 this year.

“We are very proud to have had this amazing number of applications, and to be honest, it was very hard to select the best ones,” Nikolic said.

During the week, participants will learn about basics of investigative reporting; OSINT; visual investigations; how to stay digitally secure while working on a story; essentials of cross-border reporting; how to avoid burnout in journalism; how to master data journalism, etc.

In addition, there will be two panel discussions: one dedicated to “journalism in exile”, that is, reporting about one’s country from afar, and one dedicated to investigating the migrant crisis in Greece. The full programme can be found here.

The first day started with Michael Montgomery, a senior reporter and producer for Reveal. He talked about the fundamentals of investigative reporting. “It’s less often than not that you will come up with a completely new story. A new angle on a story that’s been covered can be even more impactful,” Montgomery said, advising participants to follow their passion and check their sense of outrage when choosing a story.

“It’s always easier to get someone to confirm something you already know or think you know than to get them to volunteer information you do not possess. That’s super important, to get people to talk. Most people don’t like to think they are spilling secrets,” Montgomery told participants.

Marija Ristic, Manager at Amnesty International’s Evidence Lab, introduced Open Source Investigations.

“Open-source researchers expose themselves and the subjects of the information they collect to various digital threats. Understanding how to protect yourself and the data generated during your research from threats is essential knowledge for digital investigators,” she said.

The first day ended with a workshop on story pitching, with journalists sharing ideas.

 

 

If you are a journalist from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, or Kosovo interested in reporting on digital rights, BIRN’s digital rights reporting training in Sarajevo is an opportunity to deepen your knowledge.

This specialised training course offers a rare chance for regional journalists to delve into some of the most exciting and relevant areas in modern journalism: you will understand digital rights comprehensively, focusing on reporting breaches, content blocking, manipulation and propaganda in the digital realm.

Our training programme will help you understand the complexities of digital rights and their impact on journalism and give you insights into open-source investigations, data journalism, fact-checking, and more. Successful applicants will engage in hands-on workshops about identifying and documenting digital rights violations and will learn to enhance their storytelling by using contemporary multimedia tools.

After completing the training course, the trainees will receive a small grant to write an article, applying their newly acquired skills in digital rights reporting.

Who can apply?

BIRN is inviting journalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Kosovo to apply for the three-day training course on digital rights reporting.

How to apply?

To apply, fill out this application form no later than September 5, 2023, at 5pm CET.

Where will it be held?

The training course will take place in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from September 26 to September 28, 2023. BIRN will fully cover travel and accommodation costs for all successful applicants.

The working language of the training is English.

 

 

BIRN assembled key national stakeholders from the SEE Digital Rights Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina to discuss digital rights challenges and opportunities in the Balkans.

Highlights of the national SEE Digital Rights Network meeting in Sarajevo on July 28 included the review of the Network’s successes, presentation of the attending organisations’ upcoming initiatives and plans for BiH Network members’ work in the short term.

With the organisations that participated in the meeting, BIRN BiH representatives shared methods on how the organisation monitors digital rights violations within Bosnia and described their work on developing cybersecurity policy papers and creating educational content to raise awareness about digital rights.

The Citizens’ Association “Zašto ne (Why not)”, well known for its accountability websites, Istinomjer and Raskrinkavanje, continues to enhance transparency and promote responsible digital citizenship in their work. They also expressed interest in developing digital literacy and security initiatives, especially for the elderly.

The Center for Investigative Reporting, CIN, is actively involved in a regional project against hate speech, demonstrating the importance of civil society’s role in digital spaces. With an eye on the future, CIN showed interest in projects related to artificial intelligence and its potential influence on digital rights.

Finally, the Sarajevo Open Centre, SOC, shared news about its work on monitoring EU laws and amendments to the law on freedom of information and personal data protection efforts. SOC is also assessing the impact of artificial intelligence on the LGBT community and women’s rights.

The meeting showcased a shared enthusiasm for collaboration among Network members, especially in education and advocacy for digital rights.

Participants agreed on the need for a concise survey to coordinate and streamline digital rights activities within the Network. They highlighted the benefits of experience sharing, including both successful and challenging practices from EU Network members, for their cooperative and institutional activities. Emphasizing the value of academia, IT, and digital rights experts, the members agreed to engage with these sectors for stronger digital rights advocacy.

In the following months, BIRN will organise regional meetings to facilitate experience sharing among Network members, to affirm the Network’s commitment to strengthening digital rights advocacy in the Balkans.

 

 

A representative of Turkish businessman Yasam Ayavefe – a convicted fraudster who was revealed in an investigation by BIRN and Greek media partner Solomon to have acquired honorary Greek citizenship via his political ties – has asked BIRN to delete its report.

He also urged BIRN to delete articles about cyberattacks that targeted the Balkan Insight website after the publication of the investigation.

“These kinds of posts affect the business life of my client [Ayavefe]. He has invested in so many countries and posts like this cause my client material and moral damage,” Bener Ljutviovski, who introduced himself as Ayavefe’s representative, told BIRN in an email.

His request for the removal of BIRN’s reports came after Turkish courts, in two separate judgments in Istanbul and Ankara, ruled that Turkish online media articles about based Ayavefe’s activities in gambling, crime and business in Cyprus, Greece and Turkey should be removed.

The Turkish court rulings said that Ayavefe’s rights had been violated by the articles, citing “the presumption of innocence”.

BIRN has confirmed that at least 114 news pieces about Ayavefe have been removed from Turkish websites as a result.

Ljutviovski also said that a case had been launched in Greece to ask websites to remove articles about Ayavefe, but after checking with judicial authorities in Greece, BIRN could not verify this.

Ljutviovski further claimed that Ayavefe won a case in Greece to have arrests removed from his criminal record.

He said that all this proved that Ayavefe “has nothing to do with these accusations” and that he was being accused “without any proof” of being connected to the DDoS attacks on BIRN’s Balkan Insight website and Solomon’s site after the publication of the investigation.

He called on BIRN to take down the articles in line with the Turkish court rulings although one of the judgments clearly stated that domestic courts cannot remove content of “foreign origin”.

“Please help us in this situation and let’s fix this without prolonging… We are open to suggestions from your side,” Ljutviovski wrote.

He appeared to offer BIRN financial incentives in return for compliance: “My client Dr. Yasam Ayavefe has advertising company, if you help us in this case we can provide advertising service to your organisation, so you can grow to bigger organisation. We would love to cooperate with you,” he wrote.

BIRN declined Ljutviovski’s offer and rejected his repeated demands to remove the articles about Ayavefe.

Ljutviovski sent a series of requests to BIRN, initially from an email address under his own name but then from an email address under the name Igor Stefanov.

BIRN and its Greek partner media outlet Solomon’s websites came under DDoS attack by hackers in 2022 following the publication of the investigation into Ayavefe and how he acquired honorary Greek citizenship.

Solomon said on Twitter at the time that honorary citizenship is “a state honour long reserved for those who have significantly promoted Greek culture”, but has been “turned into a golden visa scheme for those with deep pockets”.

The investigative outlet Inside Story first broke the honorary citizenship story in July 2022, triggering a fierce debate over Ayavefe’s suitability for such an honour. Inside Story also came under DDoS attack after publishing its report on Ayavefe.

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) is pleased to announce the extension of the call for applications for the Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants. This program is designed to support journalists from Visegrad and Balkan newsrooms who aspire to create next-level investigative reports by actively engaging with their audiences through an innovative digital tool.

The Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants provide funding, training, and mentoring opportunities for ten (10) media outlets across the following European countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Serbia, and Slovakia.

These grants are part of the Media Innovation Europe project, led by the Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) in collaboration with Thomson Media (TM) in Berlin, the Media Development Foundation (MDF) in Kyiv, and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) in Sarajevo.

Through this program, BIRN aims to empower media outlets to produce impactful and audience-engaged stories that tackle pressing issues within their communities. Successful applicants will receive the necessary resources to create individual or cross-border audience-engaged stories.

Grant Opportunities:

BIRN will award €4,000 to two (2) successful applicants who are interested in producing individual audience-engaged investigative stories.

BIRN will grant €5,000 to eight (8) successful applicants who are interested in producing a cross-border audience-engaged story. In cases where a media outlet already has a media partner for a cross-border story, they may apply together and be eligible for a grant of €10,000 to cover expenses for both parties.

BIRN encourages participants to collaborate and share knowledge to create compelling stories that are relevant and impactful for their audiences. The Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants foster a collaborative environment in which media outlets can come together to share their proficiency and expertise. By working together, media outlets not only enhance their reporting capabilities but also increase their reach and impact.

Who will be supported?

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 Audience-Engaged Tool developed by BIRN.

The Audience-Engaged Tool is an innovative platform that harnesses the power of crowdsourcing to uncover crucial information and untold stories. The online tool enables the direct engagement of many citizens interested in sharing information and evidence related to issues they are facing.

In a four-day online training course, the participating media outlets will learn: how to use the tool to produce engaging and investigative reports; how to select engaging topics; how to develop a callout; how to analyse crowdsourced data; how to incorporate data into stories; and how to shape their story proposal according to audience-engaged journalism.

All participants will gain access to the tool and have a mentor assigned to lead them through the project.

How to apply?

Send us a story proposal in application form before July 10, 2023, following this link.

Before submitting an application, don’t forget to read important information in the call for applications.

More questions?

Read the FAQ.

Write to the project coordinator at [email protected].

Follow BIRN on Facebook and Twitter.

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.