ISSUE

Spring 2011

Shattering Barriers to Reveal Corruption

Barriers to reporting on corruption are numerous. Pushing past them can be risky, especially in countries where powerful interests are entrenched in business, media organizations, and government. Arrest. Legal action. Forced exile. Threats. Murder. Journalists face such dangers where the fear of what reporters might discover creates a climate of censorship and caution in newsrooms. Journalists describe the toll taken to tell stories about the corruption in their own backyards. Those who support their efforts speak to emerging strategies of training and assistance.

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Articles

Journalist’s Trade

The Mexican Press: At the Crossroads of Violence

Last year ‘we declared ourselves war correspondents in our own land.’
Daniela Pastrana
April 20, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

Intimidation, Exile and the Exhilaration of an Investigative Story Being Published

‘Panama’s La Prensa and [Enrique] Zileri’s Caretas [in Peru] were exceptional places where investigative journalism was encouraged and defended, though both had to pay a price for doing it.’
Gustavo Gorriti
April 20, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

Exposing Corruption When Illegal Activity Is Business as Usual

‘Unveiling corruption throughout Latin America awakens dreadful instincts in powerful politicians while judicial systems … have repeatedly turned their backs on journalists or, in some cases, even helped to suppress…
Fernando Berguido
April 20, 2011
International Journalism

The Stark Contrast of Words and Deeds

‘In Armenia, the shutdown of A1+ was a valuable lesson to all nonstate-run TV companies in showing what happens to a company that acts in ways considered to be unloyal…
Seda Muradyan
April 20, 2011
International Journalism

The Challenge: Investigating ‘Russian’ Mafias in a Time of Twitter

Can Western and Eastern European journalists join together to overcome the difficulties the press have in covering these powerful criminal forces?
Alain Lallemand
April 20, 2011
International Journalism

Russian Journalists Need Help in Exposing Corruption

‘While journalists and bloggers in Russia risk their lives to reveal corrupt practices, there are ways that those living in free and lawful societies can aid their efforts.’
Alexei Navalny
April 20, 2011
International Journalism

Libel Laws Pose Obstacles to Ukraine’s Investigative Journalists

‘If we decide to pursue the story, they [lawyers] guarantee a lawsuit will be filed in London, the libel capital of the world, where the burden of proof is on…
Vlad Lavrov
April 20, 2011
International Journalism

Independence Buys Freedom But Also Fewer Viewers

‘Since we left Rustavi 2, Studio Monitor has had a hard time building a wide audience. Getting our stories seen by people remains a major challenge.’
Nino Zuriashvili
April 20, 2011
International Journalism

Kickbacks: The Margin Is Growing

RELATED ARTICLE“Russian Journalists Need Help in Exposing Corruption”– Alexei Navalny and Maxim TrudolyubovThe primary mechanism of big-time corruption is known as raspil, which translated literally means “sawing”—or siphoning away funds…
Alexei Navalny
April 20, 2011
International Journalism

In Poland, Pressures Plague Investigative Reporting

‘Most censorship is of an “inner” nature. Journalists self-censor because they are aware of their employer’s political position and thus do not submit stories in opposition to it.’
Beata Biel
April 20, 2011
International Journalism

Hungarian Politics: Present in the Journalistic Mix

‘… it is not the journalists but politicians and the media owners with the circles of power behind them who decide the topics that can be covered and which stories…
Tamás Bodoky
April 20, 2011
International Journalism

Abandoning a Broken Model of Journalism

In post-Communist countries from Romania to Russia, Armenia to Georgia, Poland to Hungary, investigative reporters face formidable barriers when corruption is the topic. When evidence of illegal activity points to…
Stefan Candea
April 20, 2011
International Journalism

Enduring Pressures: It Goes With the Job in Armenia

‘… we have an unwritten understanding in our office not to speak about these pressures if they aren’t life threatening; our problems remain within our office walls.’
Edik Baghdasaryan
April 20, 2011
International Journalism

Chinese Journalists Circumvent Government’s Tight Restrictions

‘Given how information from Yihuang was spread in China, this story signaled a landmark moment in contemporary Chinese media with the emergence of microblogs … as a valuable distribution tool…
Ying Chan
April 20, 2011
International Journalism

Arriving at a Sadly Familiar Crossroads

‘South Africa’s crackdown on press freedom comes at a treacherous time, as numerous countries have regressed, rather than progressed, on this front.’
Rob Rose
April 20, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

Where Western Perceptions Clash With Eastern European Realities

‘In the Balkan context, what Westerners call corruption is seen as the customary tool of political organization.’
Drew Sullivan
April 20, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

The Challenge of Cross-Border Reporting in Europe

‘Through networking, journalists contribute their part in shaping this European public sphere by investigating and illuminating its common issues.’
Brigitte Alfter
April 20, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

Out of Tragedy in Turkey Emerges a Journalistic Mission

‘… after my father was murdered, our family founded the Ugur Mumcu Investigative Journalism Foundation … to encourage young people who are concerned about social problems and have ideals of…
Özge Mumcu
April 20, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

Media Assistance on the Global Stage

The intertwined, global array of media assistance funders and implementers has become almost too complex to describe. RELATED ARTICLE“Questioning the Western Approach to Training”Money comes from international organizations (e.g., the…
James Miller
April 20, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

Investigating Farm Subsidies on a Global Stage

Farm subsidies in Europe is a natural topic for journalists. Investigative reporters know what comes from following the money. Since close to half of the European Union’s total budget goes…
Nils Mulvad
April 20, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

An Idea Born Out of Necessity—And It Works!

‘Journalists who have promising ideas for investigations but work for news organizations with few resources apply for support.’
Henrik Kaufholz
April 20, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

A Bulgarian Reporter’s Journey Traces a Nation’s Progress

Once beaten and tried in court for his investigative reporting, Stanimir Vaglenov now teaches young journalists and manages uncensored Internet projects for the nation’s leading news group.
Stanimir Vaglenov
April 20, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

Questioning the Western Approach to Training

‘International journalism training can have the feel of a quite rigid, institutionalized sense of what must be done even while operating in an environment of increasing contingency and dynamic change…
James Miller
April 20, 2011
Nieman Notes

Spring 2011: Class Notes

Max Hall, 1910-2011; Longtime Editor at Harvard and AuthorRELATED LINKRead his obituary in The Boston Globe.Max Hall, NF ’50, died January 12th in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was 100 years old.A…
Jan Gardner
April 6, 2011
La Abundancia de Imágenes: ¿Esta Llevando a una Trivialización de la Fotografía?
Nieman Notes

La Abundancia de Imágenes: ¿Esta Llevando a una Trivialización de la Fotografía?

El Juncal, Ecuador (1996) Quito, Ecuador (1996) Mérida, Venezuela (1999) El Brazo, Colombia (1995) Atacama, Chile (1995) Ayacucho, Perú (2001) Cayambe, Ecuador (1998) Sigsig, Ecuador (1985) Toledo, Bolivia Achacachi, Bolivia…
Pablo Corral Vega
March 31, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

La Prensa Mexicana: En la Encrucijada de la Violencia

El 7 de agosto de 2010 los manifestantes  dejaron imágenes de los periodistas muertos y desaparecidos en el Ministerio del Interior, en la Ciudad de México, como protesta por el…
Daniela Pastrana
March 18, 2011
The Value of the Nieman Fellows’ Experience
From the Curator

The Value of the Nieman Fellows’ Experience

The 50th year celebration of South African Niemans offers a vivid reminder that their work served as ‘a powerful force in the struggle to end apartheid,’ and their ‘authoritative voices…
Bob Giles
March 17, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

La Prensa Mexicana: En la Encrucijada de la Violencia

El 7 de agosto de 2010, manifestantes dejaron imágenes de los periodistas muertos y desaparecidos en el Ministerio del Interior en la ciudad de México como una muestra de su…
Daniela Pastrana
March 15, 2011
An Abundance of Images: Is It Leading to a ‘Trivialization of Photography’?
Nieman Notes

An Abundance of Images: Is It Leading to a ‘Trivialization of Photography’?

El Juncal, Ecuador (1996) Quito, Ecuador (1996) Mérida, Venezuela (1999) El Brazo, Colombia (1995) Atacama, Chile (1995) Ayacucho, Perú (2001) Cayambe, Ecuador (1998) Sigsig, Ecuador (1985) Toledo, Bolivia Achacachi, Bolivia…
Pablo Corral Vega
March 15, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

Spring 2011: Introduction

Barriers to reporting on corruption are numerous. Pushing past them can be risky, especially in countries where powerful interests are entrenched in business, media organizations, and government. Arrest. Legal action.…
Melissa Ludtke
March 14, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

Freedom of Information Laws in Latin America

Source: Right2info.orgAristotle insisted that "by doing just acts we come to be just; by doing self-controlled acts, we come to be self-controlled; and by doing brave acts, we come to…
Fernando Berguido
March 11, 2011
International Journalism

The Shady Dash for World Cup Cash

Questions arose in South Africa about improprieties in a major World Cup soccer contract after it was learned that a black security guard who, on paper, was a 26 percent…
Rob Rose
March 11, 2011
International Journalism

Costs That Investors Seem Willing to Ignore

In 2001 free speech advocates demonstrated in Germany against Gazprom, a major Russian energy concern, when it took over a Russian TV company. Gazprom is partly owned by a German…
Alexei Navalny
March 11, 2011
International Journalism

Sorin Ovidiu Vintu: Buying Propaganda as News

Romanian businessman Sorin Ovidiu Vintu has a simple strategy for dealing with journalists: “I don’t want to do any business with them,” he said. “I just want to buy them…
Stefan Candea
March 11, 2011
International Journalism

Establishing the Romanian Center for Investigative Journalism

Let’s begin by looking at a typical Romanian media experience: A multinational gold mining company, Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, initially established by a controversial Romanian who has had drug convictions,…
Stefan Candea
March 11, 2011
Nieman Notes

A Journalist’s Letter From Academia

Making the switch from full-time journalist to tenured professor is more challenging—and rewarding—than one might think.
Jon Palfreman
March 11, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

Asking Questions in Small-Town America Can Be Dangerous

‘I knew we’d get a backlash for our reporting, which was far more aggressive than most small-town papers are willing to stomach. But the news media’s role as watchdog is…
Samantha Swindler
March 11, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

Statistics on Impunity

2010 has been a violent year for journalists in Mexico in terms of murders and attacks.RELATED ARTICLE“The Mexican Press: At the Crossroads of Violence”– Elia Baltazar andDaniela PastranaA report by…
Daniela Pastrana
March 11, 2011
International Journalism

Investigative Reporting in China: Progress, Setbacks and Surprises

In her introduction to a book about investigative journalism in China, Ying Chan traces the progress and setbacks of news reporting under Communist rule, a history that has actually seen…
Jan Gardner
March 11, 2011
International Journalism

China’s Propaganda Department: New Restrictions on the Press

On January 5, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua reported on the annual meeting of the media propaganda ministers. A few weeks later, China Media Project editor David Bandurski wrote on…
March 11, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

Global Investigative Journalism Conference Kiev, Ukraine, October 2011

RELATED ARTICLE“An Idea Born Out of Necessity—And It Works!”– Henrik KaufholzThe Global Investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC), which now attracts more than 500 journalists from more than 50 countries, has been…
Henrik Kaufholz
March 10, 2011
International Journalism

British Libel Law: Its Ripple Effect on Journalists Worldwide

Germany’s Duke of Brunswick was an overweight, autocratic paranoiac who was kicked out of his fiefdom by a peasant uprising.RELATED ARTICLE“Libel Laws Pose Obstacles to Ukraine’s Investigative Journalists”– Vlad LavrovA…
Jonathan Seitz
March 10, 2011
Journalist’s Trade

Resources for Investigative Reporters

An index of organizations featured in this issue of Nieman Reports.
March 9, 2011