Themen, Referenten, Materialien - Netzwerk Recherche

von Befehlen aus der Google-Syntax, die Verwendung von Search-Makros, “eigene” Suchmaschinen bauen und
vieles mehr.
Mit: Marcus Lindemann
R3
Samstag, 2. Juli, 16:00
Datenjournalismus – Zwischen Hype & Hoffnung
Datenjournalismus ist in aller Munde, Redaktionen bilden Teams aus Journalisten, Programmierern und Grafikern,
um ihren Lesern/Zuschauern/Nutzern Datenjournalismus-Geschichten zu bieten. Doch Journalisten haben schon
immer mit Daten gearbeitet – was genau ist neu am Datenjournalismus? Woher bekommen Journalisten die Daten
– sind deutsche Behörden, die öffentliche Hand bereit, Daten sinnvoll zur Verfügung zu stellen? Wie sollten sich
Journalisten und Redaktionen auf das Thema einstellen – müssen Journalisten jetzt programmieren können?
Mit: Brigitte Alfter, Daniel Dietrich, Gerd Kamp, Lorenz Matzat, Matthias Spielkamp
Raum R4
R4
Samstag, 2. Juli, 10:15
Über Grenzen hinaus–Transnationale Recherchen
Was haben EU-Fördergelder, Waffenschmuggel und Fußball gemeinsam? Sie alle spielen sich nicht nur im nationalen
Rahmen ab. Aber was bedeutet das für investigative Recherchen? Bieten sich einige Themen eher an als
andere? Sind transnationale Teams entscheidend oder schlichtweg elitär? Wie wichtig sind hierbei Webtools?
Und verändern sich durch transnationale Recherchen auch Erzählstrukturen?
Mit: Annamarie Cumiskey, Blaz Zgaga, Eric Mwamba Jibikilay , Nina Schulz
Questions to Mark Shapiro, Senior Correspondent, Center for Investigative Reporting
Mark Shapiro kann, anders als geplant, aus persönlichen leider nicht an unserer Konferenz teilnehmen.
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 transnational
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
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