CIMA-Investigative Journalism - Dave Kaplan

Sustainable Models
The trend to create investigative journalism nonprofits does not appear to be abating. New
reporting centers or funds are being planned or seriously considered in Belgium, India, the
Netherlands, Norway, and Zambia. Despite their growing popularity, though, the nonprofits are
not always an appropriate model. Several organizations are dormant or no longer in operation,
including centers in Bulgaria, Mexico, and Timor. The reasons for their failure are varied–lack
of funding, lack of fundraising, managerial problems, small and uncompetitive markets, poor
editorial standards. An innovative program in Tbilisi, Georgia, run by ICFJ and the Eurasia
Foundation, created the Caucasus Investigative Reporting Center and trained more than 20
reporters in investigative techniques during 2005-06. Initial funding came from the State
Department and the British government’s Global Conflict Prevention Pool, as well as from ICFJ’s
Knight program. Despite the program’s success, a lack of support left the Center “in suspended
animation,” according to former program director Jody McPhillips. 59 Similar programs come and
go, abandoned when funding runs out.
Columbia University’s Sheila Coronel is wary of programs that are top-down attempts to instill
an investigative culture into a nation’s news media. “Local journalists should be willing to
make this happen,” she said. “You need local buy-in. There’s no assurance your stories will be
published or that you’ll steer clear of the law. It requires genuine commitment–and you can’t
program that from Washington.” A more effective strategy in some countries, such as Pakistan
or Bangladesh, may be to work directly with receptive news outlets through targeted grants or a
mentorship program. “In some places it would not work,” Coronel added, “but it might as a unit
within a newspaper, where you have an enlightened editor or publisher who’s interested.”
William Orme of the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report
Office likewise warns of inapplicable models, particularly where basic journalism skills are
lacking and the legal environment is onerous. Orme calls for more support to investigative
reporting, but says the conditions must be right. “There’s a totally different dynamic” in parts
of Africa, he cautioned. “You can’t do investigative reporting in a country that has enforced
criminal libel statutes on the books.”
A reporting center will not be practical in many places. The Philippine center, considered by
many to be a model, has lasted nearly a quarter century due to various factors, including a
reformed legal environment, a lively and competitive press, public support, high standards, strong
leadership, and a small but critical endowment. (See A Model for Muckraking, page 16.)
As an alternative, donors and local journalists should consider the investigative journalism fund
model. This requires less overhead than a fully staffed reporting center, and it can leverage
local media resources by providing grants or matching funds to let editors and reporters develop
project-length stories. Eighteen of the centers surveyed by CIMA make grants to outside
reporters to do investigative projects. This could be expanded, and non-partisan NGOs such
as open government groups could be used as a base. The challenge is ensuring high editorial
standards. It is not enough to simply dole out grants to promising projects and reporters, say
veteran investigative journalists. Funding should be allocated so that a professional editor with
Center for International Media Assistance 37
CIMA Research Report: Global Investigative Journalism