The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism has published a new open access book on collaboration in investigative journalism. The book is edited by Richard Sambrook, of Oxford University, and features chapters from five other writers.
Collaborative journalism is not entirely new: newsrooms teamed up already in late 1800’s in order to pool resources and cover foreign issues. Cross-national collaborations, however, have become especially pertinent during the late 20th and early 21st century. Today, politics, business and crime are increasingly global – and journalists need to be ready and able to follow their stories abroad, the book argues.
The book presents views gathered from discussion arranged at the Reuters Institute and the Perugia International Journalism Festival. Some informants were also interviewed specifically for the volume. The chapters feature plenty of telling case studies, from resounding successes like the Panama Papers to forgotten failures like Turkish Puppets.
The book closes with a concise checklist for a successful collaboration. Among them, trust between collaborators and strict confidentiality are emphasized. The book also offers a sober reminder: not all topics and projects can be turned into collaborations. If the means and goals of the investigation are not clear from the beginning, the collaboration is in danger of falling apart, it is noted.
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Introduction
by Richard Sambrook
Tear Down These Walls: Innovations in Collaborative Accountability Research and Reporting
by Charles Lewis
The Elements of Collaboration
by Richard Sambrook
New Method, New Skill, New Position? Editorial Coordinators in Cross-Border Collaborative Teams
by Brigitte Alfter
Collaboration – One Tool among Many
by Nicolas Kayser-Bril
Investigative Journalism and Advocacy: Natural Allies?
by Anne Koch
Collaborative Journalism and the Law in the UK
by Jan Clements
Conclusions
by Richard Sambrook
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The book Global Teamwork: The rise of collaboration in investigative journalism is freely available on the Reuters Institute website (open access).
Picture: Untitled by StartupStockPhotos, licence CC0 1.0.