SCOOP - investigative reporting in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus
Investigative reporters are the watchdogs of society. In Eastern and south-eastern Europe investigative reporters get support from SCOOP, a network and support structure established by IMS in cooperation with local journalists and FUJ in 2003. Direct support in the form of coaching and financial support enable the journalists to carry out in-depth investigations and bring the results forward to the public. SCOOP extends to numerous countries in the region thereby connecting investigative journalists in the region as well as globally.Archive
- "We are laying the foundation for a new kind of investigative journalism"
- Macedonian media at an all time low
- Ukraine: Widespread corruption in professional sports
- The business of religion in Macedonia
- Scoop journalist takes prize for report on toxic pesticides in Croatia
- Investigators uncover illegal matchmaking network in Albania
- A "Scoop" for investigative journalism in Russia
- Lack of funds suffocates investigative journalism in Kosovo
- The risky business of investigative journalism
- The fall of a president
- When dead people vote
- The lost children of Sarajevo
- Investigative journalism at its best in East and West
- Investigative journalism in Caucasus – making the stories happen
- Investigative journalism summer school boosts ties between East and West
- SCOOP to host global conference on investigative journalism
- 12 journalists - 12 countries investigated
- Struggle for investigative journalism in China is a regulated market
- Challenges facing investigative reporting
- Lost - and found by investigative journalist
- Investigative journalism in Eastern Europe
- Scoop Regional conference in Budapest
The fall of a president
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The Moldovan journalists behind the investigation of Moldova's former President Voronin and his family empire have received the Global Shining Light Award at the 6th Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Geneva
Journalists Stefan Candea, Vitalie Calugareanu, Dumitru Lazur, Vlad Lavrov and Irina Codrean received the award for their thorough research and insistence on holding the Government of Moldova to account. The investigation led to the downfall of the President.
The investigation was funded by SCOOP, a network of investigative journalists in Eastern and Southeastern Europe run by IMS and the Danish Association of Investigative Journalists (FUJ). The award is one in a long line of acknowledgements presented to Scoop-supported journalists who have carried out groundbreaking investigations bringing about change.
Read SCOOP’s account of the latest award-winning investigation below.
The fall of a President
It is seen before in history that investigative journalism can force presidents to resign. Last year Moldova’s president realised this as an inevitable fact.
An investigation carried out by a group of journalists, exposed how the former President of Moldova Vladimir Voronin abused his power to enrich himself and his family, which in the end led to his fall in 2009. The investigation tracked down examples of how Voronin’s family’s wealth had increased after he became president. The journalists managed to get information about how Voronin’s private properties from 1996-2009 grew extensively and how he and his family abused their position to create monopolies for their own businesses. Read the full investigation here.
Cross-border journalism
The investigation is a good example of cross boarder journalism, because some of the stories had links outside of Moldova. The investigation was published in March 2009 just before the election in Moldova and played a leading role in public protests against the president.
- We could not have done this without Scoop, said Dumitru Lazur, a journalist on the investigative team, when he presented the investigation at the biannual Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Geneva in April 2010.
The journalists Irina Codrean, Vitalie Calugareanu, Vlad Lavrov, Dumitru Lazur and Stefan Candea from the team received the Global Shining Light Award 2010 for their work at the investigative journalism conference in Geneva from 22 - 25 April 2010, and the jury accentuated their strong research and also their insistence on holding the government accountable.
Read more examples of SCOOP-funded investigations here.
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