News

Revamped Version of Reporting Tool Citizen Desk Focuses on Real-Time Verification

Last year, Mozambique’s Verdade newspaper put out a call for citizen reports to supplement its in-house reporting on the country's general election.

Through a new, open source toolkit called Citizen Desk, Verdade received on-the-ground reports, astute observations and...a lot of junk (especially misplaced orders for more mobile minutes).

Mobile News Service Created by Knight Fellow Featured on National Geographic

Mobile news service CGnet Swara was recently featured on National Geographic as part of its "Innovators Project" series, which profiles “people who are transforming their fields by creating, educating, provoking, and delighting.”

Developed by Knight Fellow Shubhranshu Choudhary with help from Microsoft Research India, CGnet Swara (Voice of Chhattisgarh) gives people in remote areas of India the abil

Burmese Journalists Get a Close-Up View of U.S. During Midterm Elections

A group of Burmese journalists got a first-hand look at American politics, journalism and life when they observed and reported on the U.S. midterm elections in Louisiana and North Carolina.

The two-week tour was part of an ICFJ program designed to expose the 15 visiting journalists to U.S. coverage of elections ahead of Burma’s 2015 general elections.

InfoAmazonia Project is Creating Tools to Test and Report on Water Quality

In Brazil, rapid urbanization appears to be contaminating the water supply. It's an important story, but often there isn't much hard evidence available for journalists to report.

That's why they're starting to collect their own evidence, says data journalist Gustavo Faleiros.

Secretary Kerry Salutes ICFJ Award Winners for Investigative Reports that Serve Justice

Secretary of State John Kerry praised three award-winning journalists for “truth-telling at its best,” saying he had witnessed firsthand how dangerous truth-telling can be in many places around the world.

“From the journalists in Vietnam who long ago rode on our patrol boat down the Mekong to the reporters who now sit on the State Department’s plane as we tackle crises around the world, I’ve borne witness to the sacrifices you make and the risks you take to get the full story and to get it right.

Nicaraguan newspaper engages youth with multimedia coverage of endangered forest

In Nicaragua, an innovative report on the degradation of an environmental treasure has sparked the public, especially the youth, to take notice.

The story, El ocaso de Bosawás (The Decline of Bosawás), published by Confidencial newspaper in April, is a milestone report on the devastation of Central America’s largest tropical forest, the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, in northern Nicaragua. The paper told the story through a diversity of multimedia elements, using new technologies and narrative tools.

HacksLabs announces Transparency & Accountability Challenge 2014 for Latin America

_Media entrepreneur Mariano Blejman founded HacksLabs, Latin America's first data journalism accelerator, earlier this year as part of his ICFJ Knight Fellowship. The idea for HacksLabs "came from years of frustration and wasted energy," Blejman wrote in April.

Tabeir Iraq aims to help journalists and bloggers stay safe

When I visited Iraq for the first time in October 2003, the country was one of the most dangerous places for journalists to work. Unfortunately, that reality has not changed. Since 2003, 102 journalists have been murdered in the country, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and many more have been harmed or threatened.

As a reporter for the Mexican newspaper El Independiente, I spent two weeks in Iraq, covering the period when an international military coalition occupied the country.

ICFJ’s Ben Colmery participates in panel on data journalism for the developing world

Data journalism is having a powerful impact on the lives of citizens, especially in the developing world, according to a panel of media-development experts brought together on October 15 by the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA).

The discussion titled “How Data Journalism Drives Results in Developing Countries” touched on data initiatives around the world, with a focus on projects in Africa and Latin America.

News App "Yo Intervengo" Wants Colombians to Shine a Light on Corruption

On one of Bogotá, Colombia’s busiest thoroughfares, Calle 26, eight-and-a-half miles of dedicated bus lanes were set to be constructed between 2007 and 2009.