“We are laying the foundation for a new kind of investigative journalism”

From Russia to Croatia to Iraq, journalists tell of their experiences from the world’s biggest investigative journalism conference held last month in Kyiv

A bi-annual event, the conference took place this year in the Ukrainian capital between 13-16 October, attended by more than 500 journalists and media professionals from around the world.

Changes in Iraq and cross-national collaborations

Dlovan Barwari, an investigative reporter from Iraq, got a range of new ideas for investigations on corruption, women’s rights and prostitution.

For Barwari, the conference was also a chance to meet with colleagues from abroad and set up joint investigations.

– I met a colleague from China and agreed with him on a joint investigation between Iraq and China. I also agreed with a journalist from Egypt to make an economic investigation covering Iraq and Egypt.

Investigative journalism is an under-developed genre of reporting in Iraq, largely due to the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein. But things are changing, says Mr. Barwari.

– During the former regime, journalism in Iraq was a mouthpiece of the system. Now as the country’s security situation is starting to stabilise, and coinciding with the increasing phenomena of corruption and human rights violations, Iraqi journalists are beginning to carry out investigative journalism.

Emphasising the need for professional training and networking, Mr. Barwari says:

“Iraqi journalists are in great need of training, and participating in conferences like the one in Kyiv helps us to gain experience to report on the vast amount of stories suited for investigations in Iraq.”

The importance of being persistent

From the northwestern Russian republic of Karelia, Anastasia Ermashova, who is taking part in the IMS-supported programme for investigative journalism in Russia, SCOOP Russia, reflects on the conference’s surrounding political context.

– It was held at the very time, when political meetings for Julia Timoshenko took place in Kyiv’s central square, when nationalists marched along the main streets of Kyiv, and when a trial in the murder-case of Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Gongadze was due. The conference was also a first time chance for 14 journalists from the northwest of Russia to present their investigations.

– The journalists had investigated ecological and political problems, illegal building, financial and social crime, but a majority of the reports were ignored by the authorities.

Of the conference’s many stories, one particular scandal resonated with Ms. Ermashova.

– The German journalist Sebastian Mondial revealed how he had uncovered plagiarism and the fall of a German top official. The scandal might have been forgotten if journalists were not insistent enough. In the end, their work made him resign.

“More empathy, less egotism please”

From Croatia, freelance journalist Barbara Matejcic, reflects on the dignity and morality of investigative journalism.

– I think in today’s journalism, dignity is too often the first casualty. We no longer have the time to build relationships on trust.

The work of US photojournalist Mimi Chakarova made a deep impression on Ms. Matejcic. Ms. Charakova’s seven-year coverage of the plight of sex trafficking victims from Eastern Europe is an example of high moral standards, according to Matejcic, because Ms. Charakova decided to not register the scars of the victims in her award-winning documentary “The Price of Sex”, despite the sensationalist value it might have brought to the film.

– That kind of a decision implies a large dose of basic human empathy and a lack of journalistic egotism, which is precisely what I believe is missing from today’s journalism, says Barbara Matejcic.

Taking a deep dive

Talking about the immense importance of investigative journalism in societies like his native Iraq, Mohammed Al-Rubayi highlights how dangerous it is for Iraqi journalists to conduct their investigations.

– Iraq has gone through a major transition in the past few years, and as journalists we have tried to find ways of using investigative journalism to change society for the better, but investigative journalism is not something the Iraqi media cares about, as it is often thought too time consuming and expensive.

Mr. Al-Rubayi highlights the bravery of hundreds of journalists who create in-depth reports to change societies for the better.

– This bravery is what we seek. We are laying the foundation of a new kind of investigative journalism in Iraq, diving deep into the issues and not just what appears on the surface.”