When the sky turned black and the rain started to fall last Friday afternoon, I took refuge in a shelter enclosed by glass on two sides. I watched as the first tree that fell bounced off the roof of the shelter, and then crashed onto the parking spot next to my car. Seconds later another tree fell, and the wind continued to sing like a tortured soul as branches hurled around me.

All I could think about was the camps. The camps. At least I had a secure roof over my head, one that had survived the quake.

The challenges of setting up an investigative reporting team in Haiti reflect the challenges of the country as it tries to lift itself up from the weight of the January 12 earthquake. Management of resources, strategic planning, access to verifiable information, planning, insufficient infrastructure and materials, as well as security concerns influence, and in many cases hamper, Haiti’s reconstruction effort. These same elements enter into the reporting equation as well, only more so for investigative reporting.

Diez editores y reporteros comenzaron el taller de periodismo de Mi Panamá Transparente. La primera sesión trató el tema de la ética periodística y el debate fue intenso y productivo.Panamá -- ¿En qué casos está justificado el uso del engaño para conseguir información sobre un caso relevante de impunidad o corrupción? Todo periodista debe respetar la ley, pero ¿cuáles son los dilemas éticos en aquellos casos en los que el reportero se ve obligado a violar alguna ley para conseguir y publicar información de alto valor público?

I have developed an online Moodle educational platform in Panama to help hyper-busy journalists to receive training in their free time.

As a Mexican journalist living at the U.S.-Mexico border, I recognize the footprints of organized crime: drug-related executions, drug seizures, and drive-by shootings. I have seen these same signs in Panama. That’s why I think my project as a Knight International Journalism Fellow will be crucial for my Panamanian colleagues.

Citizens can tweet or submit an online form with their crime report. Soon they will be able to text as well. The reports are geo-tagged on a digital map using Ushahidi, an online platform that originated in Kenya to track violence during the elections.

Freelance journalists working in the Panama provinces are usually the last ones to receive training and support.

A big coalition of journalists, citizens and civil society organizations is being formed in Panama to track and reduce crime and corruption and prompt better governmental policies. 

It's been just a few weeks since our Website Mi Panama Transparente was launched to help journalists track crime and corruption using advanced online tools.