Über Grenzen hinaus

Questions to Mark Shapiro (Senior Correspondent, Center for Investigative Reporting)

Why do you regard it as necessary to conduct transnational investigations?

• It is necessary because money—and the power linked to it—travels routinely across international borders. In an era when corporations operate on a global scale—from the production process to tucking away profits in far-off locations—and political developments have ripple effects across the map, it is essential that journalists have the ability to follow the trail. A decision made in Frankfurt may influence the life of someone in Turkey or Bangladesh, just as decisions or corporate actions in Washington will likely ripple very rapidly back to Germany, China, or Libya. Without an understanding of the international ebb and flow of private power, and the nature of private influence on political figures on a global scale, such a dynamic would happen in the dark—never a good idea.

Are there specific issues which lend themselves more to transnational research endeavours than others?

• The trans-national dimension is most evident in such areas as the environment, which are inherently trans-national in scope; the operations of multinational corporations; and immigration. In all of these instances, there is a clear trans-national dimension. To grasp the global potential of a story, assess the interests of the key player you’re looking at and determine whether there’s a reasonable expectation that he/she has an interest outside of your country that is implicated in whatever it is you’re investigating.

To what extent do transnational investigations open up new possibilities of cooperation? And when do they run the risk of becoming elitist?

• Transnational investigations can often benefit enormously from cooperation. With journalists working in different countries on the same or similar stories, one will understand far better than the other the conditions in his/her country—the players, the context, how to obtain documents, etc. and will certainly be able to contribute a greater understanding of the significance of the findings in a national context. Second, given that each is operating in their own national markets, they generally can work together without competing—and can share information to be put to use in each country, for each different nationally-based media (of course with appropriate credit). The challenge in such situations is to provide a coherent narrative voice that is in some ways a mixed cocktail of the two or three or more journalists working on the story—or, alternatively, running different versions of the same story in different national markets.

• As to the risks of elitism. The very nature of international journalism is arguably an elite enterprise—those of us fortunate to do it occupy a unique space in the journalistic landscape. To the extent, however, that we can give voice to those impacted by decisions and policies in distant lands, that is part of the point of our work: Investigative journalists tell the third or fourth draft of history, peeling away the many interests involved to either challenge the common wisdom or offer new revelations never before considered. Often that involves giving voice to people who are the victims of decisions and policies taken far away and would otherwise never be heard.

• In the big picture, there is no question that the magazines, newspapers, television, radio and websites we work for are part of a rapidly bifurcating media universe: plenty of information for those who have the funds to pay for it, and likely far less for those who do not. We need to keep this in mind moving forward.

How important are webtools and internet platforms for the cooperation during the research and during the presentation of the results? What kind of chances do those tools offer?

• Yes, the web makes it possible to research stories in distant lands without leaving your office. I use many such sources depending on the story, from UN databases to EU studies to maritime reports on the registration of ships (equasis.org) to scientific studies published in foreign journals to financial reports from foreign banks to foreign newspapers. There are also a number of new web resources, like the Investigative Dashboard, which offer insights into foreign financial databases around the world. And wobbing.eu is a great source for learning how to utilize the public information laws throughout Europe.

Do transnational stories change the art of story telling?

• Transnational stories generally require a sense of simultaneity in distinctly different locales—told either explicitly or implicitly. One of the challenges is how to judge the credibility of sources in a foreign country where you may not be as familiar with the subtleties of people’s motives as you are at home. You may need to explain a foreign source’s position or the context in which they’re operating in greater depth than may be necessary in a national story in which such things can be implied.

• Developing scenes that are quite foreign to your audience can also be used to heighten dramatic effect. Bringing a foreign place to life can add richness and depth to a story, and be an interesting and creative challenge.

Questions to Eric Mwamba Jibikilay (Chairman of the Forum for African Investigative Reporters FAIR and General Director of Africa Media 21, Ivory Coast).

Why do you regard it as necessary to conduct transnational investigations?

• In a globalized world, there are hardly any important issues that do not transcend national borders. Poverty, bribery, pollution, availability of medicines all have international ramifications. In Africa we see that corruption expose's of one politician are not wide enough in scope. Corruption is systemic, not just in countries but in the world, and it is aided and abetted by international structures such as organized crime and development aid. So even to investigate corruption in Africa nowadays we can't be satisfied with a local approach.

• We can only get to the full truth if we employ the necessary scope. Otherwise we will only ever lift a very small tip of any veil. Secondly, even for local rulers in Africa to feel the impact of investigative expose's, it is important that they are published more widely than only in the rulers' own region or country. He can suppress media where he is, but he is really hurt when he is exposed on a larger level.

Are there specific issues which lend themselves more to transnational research endeavours than others?

• Obviously if you investigate a perpetrator, of abuses, or pollution, who only operates locally, then there is no point in involving more countries. You should expose them locally. But as said, many injustices nowadays are perpetrated within a global framework. For instance, the fact that the Nigerian state can not monitor and combat pollution caused by Shell, is not just a Nigerian issue, though the Nigerian state is clearly failing. African elites and state machineries are generally useless. It is not a question of not having money. Nigeria is very rich. Something else is going on with failing states and useless elites in Africa. In the end, what I am saying, is that most issues of national importance, at least in Africa, need a global perspective. If we investigate a reverend who exploits children, I'd say we need to investigate that on both local and global levels. The local investigation would focus on how bad this reverend is and that he should got to jail. It should focus on getting the police to arrest this guy. But there is again an international aspect to it. The ineffective police is part of an ineffective state machinery, and here again we see the general problem of ineffective state machineries in Africa. Quite possibly that ineffective government is receiving western aid. We have to question that, too, and I think the west wants to question that, too. Data mining on money flows on both sides of the world will deliver interesting results with regard to such issues.

To what extent do transnational investigations open up new possibilities of cooperation? And when do they run the risk of becoming elitist?

• Interesting question. There is indeed a risk that investigative centres of excellence will become a 'monopoly' of global cooperation in investigative journalism. In FAIR, we try to counteract that risk by involving our members in the subject choices and in the team choices for Transnational Investigations. And everybody who produces a good standard of IJ can become a FAIR member. So the only 'elitism' that is a factor in FAIR is the 'elitism' of good professional work. Underperformers can not participate. But who wants to work with underperformers? Our criteria for performance are internationally accepted best practice criteria: ask questions, observe, multisource, factcheck. Anybody with a good head and work ethic can achieve these criteria, so in that sense it is still very democratic. We are not talking about brain surgery.

How important are webtools and internet platforms for the cooperation during the research and during the presentation of the results? What kind of chances do those tools offer?

• I am using the web tools as a new experience. In the African context, the information is not generally available to the public regarding topics of great interest. Internet allows access to some reports and materials from international institutions about african subjects. Even on the national plan, Internet can assist to find some material what you can’t find physically because the administration think to keep it secret. During the international search, it also helps to identify some actors or other journalists who are working on the same subject. Bloggers and casual Internet users can be associated to make contributions to the subject. This register gives the interesting results. It also helps to quickly consult an experienced colleague and ask him if you are experiencing blockage on a very specific point of work. In my own case I am using too much facebook and skype to build networks and improve my search.

Do transnational stories change the art of story telling?

• The most successful stories have always been those of universal meaning. Poor parents abandoning their children in the woods because they can't feed them -Hansel & Gretl- are stories that could have happened in Africa. So I don't think the art of story telling changes. The more transnational, the better the story!

Questions to Annamarie Cumiskey (London based freelance journalist, also Bureau of Investigative Journalism)

Why do you regard it as necessary to conduct transnational investigations?

• The EU makes it neccessary. The EU decides policy that is implemented in 27 countries. The media coverage of the EU is front-loaded meaning that coverage focuses on the policy decisions made in Brussels at the various stages of negotiation. However, once a decision has been made and the onus is on the member states to implement the policy the media coverage disappears. There is a major imbalance here. The coverage focuses on the start of the policy’s lifespan; it’s front-loaded. What’s more important to know is the policy effective? Is it doing what it should do?

• Experience has shown through farmsubsidy.org, fishsubsidy.org and the FT/Bureau investigation that EU’s policies have a habit of producing results that have the opposite effect of what was intended. This is why it’s important to carry out transnational investigations.

Are there specific issues which lend themselves more to transnational research endeavours than others?

• Issues such as money, human rights and the environment are some examples which lend themselves to transnational research. What is also important is the thesis. It needs to be a very simple thesis. This way there is no misunderstandings between the collaborators in different countries about what they should be doing.

To what extent do transnational investigations open up new possibilities of cooperation? And when do they run the risk of becoming elitist?

• There are new opportunitoes for co-operation between journalists on the ground in different countries. The trouble is finding them. There is no network for investigative journalists within the EU. We really need one.

How important are webtools and internet platforms for the cooperation during the research and during the presentation of the results? What kind of chances do those tools offer?

• Google Docs is excellent. All of the participants can access the documents and make changes simultaenously. All of the research is in one place. Google translate on CHROME makes research in a foreign language easy. However, one must be mindful of translation mistakes. Languages are no longer as much a barrier as they were to transnational research. Without these tools it wouod be much harder and more expensive to carry out these investigations.

Do transnational stories change the art of story telling?

• No. Not at all. They do not change the art of story–telling; the same core elements of story telling have to be there. However, transnational stories can make story-telling a lot more interesting because it’s an opportunity to introduce the audience to another way of life, mindset and way of doing things.

Questions to Blaz Zgaga (Slovenian based freelance journalist and Co-founder of the Center for Investigative Journalism, Slovenia)

Why do you regard it as necessary to conduct transnational investigations?

• It is difficult to successfully investigate someone who is, for example, laundering money in a tax heaven from their home country or arms dealers who are trying to conceal their businesses with middlemen from other countries. Every investigative journalist knows how many years and how much effort he or she invested into building a network of confidential sources in their own society. No foreign journalist can ever build the same network in a few days, weeks or months. Therefore, the cooperation of investigative journalists with developed networks from different countries is offering far bigger possibilities for in-depth and successful investigations.

Are there specific issues which lend themselves more to transnational research endeavours than others?

• Exclusive cooperation is a must when cross-border investigations are initiated. Trust between journalists from different countries must be undoubted. Without trust it is hardly possible to realise any serious cross-border cooperation. Also empathy is an important part of cooperation. Journalists from one country should try to understand more what a colleague from the other country is looking for and understand him or her well.

To what extent do transnational investigations open up new possibilities of cooperation? And when do they run the risk of becoming elitist?

• There are as many different ways of cross-border investigations as there are different people or journalists. Any new cross-border investigation is a new project, where it is difficult to predict new sorts or ways of cooperation. This is also an argument against the possibility that they could become elitist. In an internet age it is difficult to defend any “monopoly” over information in media. If a group of journalists will form any closed or “elitist” cross-border organization, which will behave in an “elitist“ manner and will not be open for new ideas, information, people and cooperation, it will become obsolete soon.

How important are webtools and internet platforms for the cooperation during the research and during the presentation of the results? What kind of chances do those tools offer?

• I would stress the importance of secure or encrypted emails. Tools like PGP/GPG or web based encryption tools are easy and also free to use. Usually state agencies can read and decrypt anything, but with a few clicks, a journalist can get an important saving in time and make any possible surveillance by private investigators or private security agencies much more difficult. When it comes to the protection of sources, using encrypted emails during communication processes across borders is much safer.

Do transnational stories change the art of story telling?

• Cross-border investigations are changing viewpoints. It is an added value when the journalist is also aware of how some issues are viewed in a foreign country. And knowing it, this could consciously or un-consciously influence the story telling.