Second BIRN Summer School of Investigative Reporting

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This year’s second annual BIRN Summer School took place in the Croatian resort of Opatija from 21st to 27th August 2011. As was the case last year, BIRN again gathered leading investigative journalists and trainers at the Summer School, as well as experienced journalists and trainees from the Balkans and elsewhere.

Trainers and leading journalists, like Sheila Coronel, Nick Davies, Helena Bengtsson, Paul Radu, Helen Darbishire, Drew Sullivan, Paul Bradshaw, Randall Joyce and more, held sessions during the week-long training course. The main daily topics addressed the fundamentals of investigative reporting, paper trails, investigative interviews and how to investigate organized crime and corruption.

“We are more than pleased to have well-known journalists for trainers and high quality attendees. All of them worked perfectly as a team,” said Jelena Cosic, BIRN Summer School project coordinator.

Under a new format introduced as of this year, participants were divided into groups and on the last day the groups presented the story ideas they had been working on since the beginning of the school. Five of the seven teams gained funding from SCOOP, a Danish organisation for investigative journalists.

The final day saw BIRN regional director Gordana Igric award certificates during a night cruise through the beautiful Kvarner Bay, thereby officially drawing a close to the 2011 Summer School.