GIJC21 Sessions

From the Pandora Papers to massive “laundromat” exposes, we are witnessing the era of massive leaks in financial corruption. But how do you go from a leaked thumb drive to a global exposé of shadowy money? Here are three of the best sleuths at tracking businesses and investment around the world: ICIJ’s Scilla Alecci, Finance Uncovered’s Purity Mukami, and OCCRP’s Miranda Petrucic. All three were part of the Pandora Papers team of 600 journalists in 117 countries that dug into 12 million records to expose the offshore secrets of politicians, billionaires, and celebrities.

Take the next step after spreadsheets. Using SQL makes it possible to handle large amounts of data, safely share data with others, and combine tables together by joining. In this session and Joining Tables with Structured Query Language, you will understand how relational databases work, how to use SQL to ask your database questions, and how to summarize and filter data. Before the session: Download DB Browser SQLite from https://sqlitebrowser.org (for both PCs and Macs).

Mapping and other geospatial analysis can drive powerful investigations, especially when the media’s mobility and access are restricted. Prepare to be dazzled by these extraordinary examples, ranging from a Pulitzer-winning exposé of internment camps in China’s Xinjiang to the mapping of industrial-scale deforestation in the Amazon. Panelists will share practical tips about data gathering, analysis and validation, and how to combine these techniques with traditional shoe-leather reporting.

Indigenous communities comprise 370 million people in 90 countries — 5% of the world’s population — and are custodians of 80% of the world’s biodiversity. At the same time, these communities are often under siege by dominant cultures, their resources stolen, their people subject to discrimination and abuse. In this panel, Indigenous journalists from Australia, Canada, and the United States will talk about their award-winning investigations, ranging from land theft by universities to health care for Indigenous children.

Open any video subscription service or podcast player and you’ll find fiction and drama with powerful narratives and brilliant production quality. Yet real life journalism can offer more drama and impact. What does news and investigative journalism need to do to rise to the pinnacle of compelling storytelling in the 21st century? This panel of journalists will share groundbreaking storytelling techniques — from Conova’s graphic novels on community poisoning and StoryWork’s plays on injustice to the Outlaw Ocean Project’s “making music from journalism.” They just may have you rethink how to tell an investigative story.