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
Struggle for investigative journalism in China is a regulated market
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Yichao Wang, the environment and science desk chief of China's Caijing Magazine was one of the speakers at the Global Conference of Investigative Journalism in Lillehammer, Norway
Caijing Magazine has long been on the forefront regarding investigative reporting in China, reporting on both the water pollution crisis and on why so many school buildings collapsed during the June 2008 earthquake. But how have they managed to do this?
Before the early 1980´s there were no market oriented media in China, which in practice meant that media mainly cared about the regulator and not about the audience. However, since then there has been both a change in the common educational background of Chinese reporters as well as a global impact on journalism in China. According to Wang, most reporters in China used to have a background within Chinese literature and media, but now the educational backgrounds reflect a much wider variety. The emerge of the internet and globalisation has also boosted the market oriented media in China.
However, Chinese reporters still face a number of obstacles. According to Wang some of these are the lack of adequate public information, the lack of laws protecting journalists, government interference and control as well as a lack of funding for investigative reporting. A problem related to the governmental regulations is the fact that there is no independent review mechanism in China, which makes it virtually impossible to know what sort of information that would be public and what should be classified.
But the good news is that there are ways to work as an investigative reporter, despite the obstacles. In China connections, known as "guanxi", are vital, especially within government. Another option is to collaborate with lawyers and local media to share information and articles. Wang also mentions that the state news agency Xinhua often publishes stories that then can be dig deeper into.
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