PRESS RELEASE:

BOOST TO SERIOUS UK JOURNALISM

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism officially launches this Monday 26th April 2010. The not-for-profit organisation is the first of its kind in the UK and aims to bolster original journalism by producing high-quality investigations for national and international press and broadcast media.

In the current economic climate it is increasingly difficult for editors to invest in expensive long-term investigations. The Bureau received a £2 million grant from the Potter Foundation last year to try and plug the gap. Its long-term aim is to explore new ways of conducting and funding investigative journalism.

It will initially function as a production house working in collaboration with other news groups to get its investigations published and distributed.

The governance structure of the Bureau is such that the editorial control of the Bureau is entirely separate from its funding source.

Iain Overton, the Bureau’s managing editor, a former ITN executive producer said: “This is an exciting venture. The Bureau is collaborating with a number of major national and international publishers and broadcasters. We are already uncovering some powerful stories that we aim to get out in the next few months.”

The Bureau will focus on issues of governance, probity, corruption and the abuse of power. Its work will be based on the highest standards of editorial integrity and competence.

It appointed BBC journalist Angus Stickler as its lead reporter last month. Stickler joined the bureau after 16 years at the BBC, where he worked for the Today programme for eight years, File on 4, and for Newsnight.

“I’ve had a fantastic career with the BBC, where I’ve done good, thorough investigations. Joining the Bureau provides an exciting opportunity and a new way of thinking about how to do serious investigative journalism.”

The Bureau’s offices are based at City University London. The Bureau also aims to support the education and training of investigative journalists but remains independent from the University.

Notes to Editors
The Managing Editor of the Bureau is Iain Overton.

The Chair of the Trust of the Bureau is James Lee. David Potter, Elaine Potter, Sir David Bell and George Brock make up the other Board members.

Ray Fitzwalter, Gavin MacFadyen, David Pallister and Isabel Hilton sit on the Bureau’s editorial advisory board.

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We set up the Investigations Fund initiative last summer in the wake of a crisis in the news business – and to attempt to launch an experiment in not-for-profit journalism in Britain and Ireland, funded in all sorts of innovative ways.

The initiative culminated in a series of meetings of all sorts of investigative journalists, different ideas kicked about, and a flood of offers of help from all quarters, including some very generous financial offers – all of which we have yet to take up (apologies for radio silence) – and support from key people and organisations in the media industry.

Finally, we decided to join forces with a parallel initiative – coming together at the City University in London and funded with a £2m pledge from the David and Elaine Potter Foundation to create something called the Bureau for Investigative Journalism (http://tbij.com/). This is now getting going and its first editor is Iain Overton who joined them from Channel 4.  You can email him at: iainoverton@tbij.com

We’ve been a little quiet since then. Although a few of us have been contemplating a slightly different approach, we wanted to give space to allow the BIJ to get its feet under the table and define itself. And we wanted to decide what else we can do to encourage good investigations to get going – and above all to encourage a new generation of reporters, many of whom will be far more familiar with all the tools of new media that may provide promising new techniques for journalism.

To that end, the Investigations Fund will remain, for now at least, a separate initiative – existing primarily as a forum both to highlight and encourage all sorts of investigative work (the kind that sometimes, but not always, struggles to surface in the mainstream media).

We have in mind a series of alternative projects to fund good investigative work – and hope to encourage donations for these.
First we’re going to consult – and seek ideas on the most promising avenue – from all those who’ve offered us support, and most of this discussion will be in the open.

So we intend this website to be an open access forum to discuss investigative reporting and its future. Please do join the debate.

As a few have pointed out, the layout here is somewhat antiquated. We’d welcome offers from anyone who wishes to help with web support!

Meanwhile, if anyone wishes to come and chat with us about next steps or to lend a hand … we’re planning an open meeting next Weds 17th Feb, at the bar at the Royal Festival Hall, South Bank, London, at 1pm.

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By Brigitte Alfter

Our aim is to support research for investigative stories with relevance for a European audience. When journalists cooperate across borders they can pool knowledge and time for research. Due to the different languages and media traditions they are not direct competitors. Actually they can overcome language and other difficulties when following a story in different countries by cooperating. And when they publish simultaneously in each their media, their story can get a stronger impact too.

Good journalism needs good ideas, competent and committed journalists, supportive editors – and time and money. The latter is something the European Fund for Investigative Journalism can help with.

In this round we can distribute € 20.000, the size of the single grants will depend on the size and quality of the applications. The application must be uploaded on the website by November 8^th 2009. The decision on who can receive a research grant will be mailed to you by November 30^th 2009.

The rules about who can apply and which stories can be considered are published here. The selection among applicants will be made according to the assessment criteria by a jury of experienced colleagues in the field. Read more about how to apply under Working Grant.

The money for this round of applications comes from a grant by the Open Society Institute. The members of the jury are anonymous, their names will only be revealed, once they leave the jury. There is full editorial independence.

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ex Roy Greenslade (Guardian blog)

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has appointed Iain Overton, an ITN executive producer, as its first managing editor.

Overton, 36, has extensive experience in investigative reporting, working in over 50 countries on stories for both the BBC and Channel 4.

His award-winning work has included exposés of the Chinese government supplying arms in Darfur, the killing of civilians by British mercenaries in Iraq, and the global trade in counterfeit pharmaceuticals.

Overton, who will take up his new position in November ahead of the BIJ’s operational launch next year, said: “The state of investigative journalism is derelict and there is a vital need for honest information to combat distortion and spin.

“I hope to attract the best and the boldest and the most dogged in our profession to work on stories that pursue the truth and hold the powerful to account.”

Elaine Potter, one of the BIJ’s co-founders, said that Overton’s “mission is to reinvigorate journalism in the public interest at a time when newsrooms around the world are collapsing and truth in journalism is fast disappearing.”

The BIJ’s foundation was announced in July when it was revealed that £2m had been granted to it by the David and Elaine Potter Foundation.

The BIJ is a not-for-profit body set up specifically to act in the public interest. Its supporters include Harry Evans, the former Sunday Times editor and Charles Lewis, one of the pioneers of nonprofit journalism in the US throughb the Centre for Public Integrity.

It also draws upon another recent initiative, the Investigations Fund, and on the support of many of Britain’s best known investigative reporters and producers.

One of its inspirations was ProPublica, which is up and running in the States.

Source: BIJ press release Publicise this item:

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Updating you all on what’s happening as the soon-to-be formed Bureau of Investigative Journalism inches towards operation.

As announced in the press release, we’re supporting the creation of the first not-for-profit organisation with a mission to finance and carry out investigative journalism in the UK. The Bureau is the working title.

The next steps are as follows:

- An advert has been placed for the post of Managing Editor (the person who will actually run the thing). A link to the text of the advert is on this site. Deadline for application is August 17th.

- Trustees are being appointed to the charitable trust that will own and control the organisation; they will not be involved influencing editorial content, for which the Managing Editor will be responsible.

- It is expected and hoped that an editor will be appointed some time in September. After that, the bureau can get going.

Meantime, all ideas for projects, methods, and direction are most welcome. Although no funds will be committed in any direction until all key parts of the organisation are fully in place.

And thanks to Oliver Laughland and Becky Pritchard for creating the video just posted on the frontpage, which features comments from some of those backing this project,

with best wishes

Stephen

(acting Ed.)

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On Monday, July 6, 2009, at a meeting upstairs in the Coach and Horses public house in Soho, London, a group of journalists including some of the UK’s most active and distinguished investigative reporters, agreed to support Britain’s first major not-for-profit initiative to fund public interest investigative journalism.

The meeting agreed that a new entity should be created with the working title: The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ), and to advertise for the position of Managing Editor to lead the project forward.

As it launches, the Bureau announced a £2million grant from The David and Elaine Potter Foundation (http://www.potterfoundation.com) as its founding donation. Elaine Potter, a former Sunday Times journalist, co-founder of The David and Elaine Potter Foundation, and Chair of the board of CIJ, said “The Bureau of Investigative Journalism will seek the truth to serve the public interest by establishing fact and
public responsibility. Our goal in helping establish this project is to support investigative journalism of the highest ethical standards and to search for sustainable models for its long-term future.”

A new initiative known as the InvestigationsFund.org was launched last month and has already drawn widespread support from across the media industry. The decision to launch the Bureau takes forward a strategic plan, which was developed by directors of the Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) and now incorporates and benefits from the work of the InvestigationsFund. The Bureau will be committed to upholding the highest principles of independence, transparency and objectivity.

“We’ve had an incredible response and some great suggestions on how to move forward, and this extra-ordinary generosity is a sensational start. I think the plan we’ve backed is the best way of taking on board all the best suggestions we’ve received. I believe it can have a transforming and positive effect on reporting in this
country, and go a long way to encouraging and supporting new talent,” said Stephen Grey, one of those who last month announced the Investigations Fund initiative, and who is to act as editor of the Bureau, until a Managing Editor has been appointed.
The Bureau will be the first organization in the UK (to our knowledge) dedicated to investigative journalism in the public interest. The BIJ will begin operations in London in the coming months and will aim to be a counterweight to the decline of traditional media investigations. The Bureau will seek to exploit the full range of conventional and new media channels for its work. It will have its own Editorial Board, Managing Editor and editorial staff.

Google have agreed to support the Bureau with technical expertise software tools and training.

Supporters of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism include leading international journalists Sir Harold Evans, former editor of The Sunday Times; Charles Lewis, one of the key pioneers of not-for-profit journalism in the United States; Seymour Hersh, who has been at the forefront of investigative journalism for decades; and Nick Davies, award-winning investigative reporter and author of Flat Earth News.

Patron Sir Harold Evans said “This is an important venture in the critical task of reestablishing investigative reporting at the heart of journalism at a time when public trust in both corporations and politicians is at an all time low, particularly in the
United Kingdom. I am supporting the Bureau of Investigative Journalism because without someone championing investigative journalism, the meltdown of conventional media means that further abuse of power will go unmonitored and unchecked.”

Seymour Hersh said “The world of serious journalism is in crisis, with the collapse of economies, loss of jobs, and sharp reduction of advertising budgets. The impact on expensive and sometimes unpredictable investigative reporting has been immediate,
and devastating. I applaud and support the new Bureau of Investigative Journalism – and similar projects in America and throughout the world — for these new and independent investigative units may become the role model for a new kind of
journalism.”

Gavin Macfadyen, the Director of the Centre for Investigative Journalism, and one of the Founders of the Bureau said “We will experiment with all the techniques available to us from ‘crowdfunding’ to ‘crowdsourcing’ and provide content across the media spectrum. But there is no substitute for first rate reporters being given time and resources to deliver great stories, which hold the powerful to account. The Bureau will offer investigative journalists both proper funding and the support of senior and experienced editors and researchers to carry out important investigations that are in the public interest.”

Nick Davies said, “The world is full of extraordinary stories which never get written, because the mainstream media no longer have the resources or the will to do the kind of work which they used to. The idea is for reporters to be given the support to go and research good important stories. This matters because we all need to know what is happening around us, particularly when powerful people may be trying to conceal it.”

Notes to editors:
1. For further information, please contact:
(a) For information regarding the Potter Foundation
David Potter
(b) For information regarding the newly formed Bureau of Investigative Journalism Trust
James Lee
(c) For information regarding the Centre for Investigative Journalism
Gavin Macfadyen
(d) For information regarding the InvestigationsFund.org
Stephen Grey
2. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism is a not-for-profit organization. It aims to deliver high quality and important investigations into issues of public interest.
3. InvestigationsFund.org is a new organization founded by leading journalists to campaign to secure the future of public interest reporting in the UK and to raise funds for this purpose.
3. CIJ has established itself as a highly effective educational programme with a worldwide reputation and an enviable network of participants and supporters. Its mission has been to advance education for public understanding of investigative journalism; critical enquiry; in-depth reporting and research. The Centre runs international summer schools, produces publications to help present landmark investigations, offers training in appropriate techniques, organizes debates, lectures and screenings on critical issues; all designed to nourish the culture and professional standards of investigative journalism.
3. The David and Elaine Potter Foundation was established in 1999. The Foundation has general charitable objectives, but its principal goal is to promote a strong civil society through its grants to education, investigative journalism, science, human rights, and the arts. The Foundation pursues these objectives by supporting education, through scholarships and other related activities that will improve understanding, governance and accountability; research through the creation of institutions and other means; human rights activism; initiatives that support democratic governance; and agencies and charities carrying out development, research and educational projects.

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Please keep those idea flowing in and do sign up for either email updates or as a supporter of the project.

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OUR MISSION:

The newly-formed Foundation for Investigative Reporting is launching a campaign to help secure the future of public interest reporting in the UK. We are setting up a fund that will support the kind of risky, challenging reporting for which there is a crying demand – and as an experiment to seek out new ways to support this vital work.

As recent global events like the financial collapse reveal, the demand is greater than ever for the reporters basic mission of “finding stuff out”.

We urgently need to hear from you with your thoughts, pledges of any form of support, or the sort of big idea or information about something you believe should be investigated – and isn’t.

The fund does not intend to compete directly with established media, but will instead provide the seeds from which the big story can grow. It will help provide the initial cash & support required to back journalists who want to dig into risky and difficult areas: exactly the sort of things for which it is hard to get funding.

We want to aim locally and globally – to support the sort of investigation of grassroot stories and services that is dying by the minute as local newspapers are hit hard; and to support those many stories of vital public interest in Britain that have an important international connection, particularly in the developing world, but where the costs of chasing down the truth may seem prohibitively high.

Many of us involved in this project are veterans with a long track record but our primary aim is to support a new generation of up-and-coming investigators — to raise morale among talented people who may be searching in vain for the support needed to pursue their great ideas.

We’re consulting widely on the detail of exactly how the fund will operate – but some key principles are already clear. The fund will champion editorial independence and the choice of subjects for investigation will be made without any involvement by those sponsoring the project;  the fund will champion journalism of the highest quality, ethical standards, and also ambition; the fund will not (in the first instance) be a publisher, but a production house seeking to get material published in both traditional and new media to secure the widest possible audiences.

Initially, we are going to raise money by inviting straightforward donations** — big and small — from anyone who believes it’s worth supporting independent reporting. But our key aim — when long-established business models are struggling — is also to be an incubator for new ideas and methods not only to pursue investigations but also how to fund them. We hope to launch an experiment with all sorts of innovative fundraising methods — all of them with the common aim of guaranteeing the independence and objectivity of public interest reporting.

Over to you. The need is pressing. We’d like your support.

** At this stage, we are only asking for pledges of support, ideas and offers to help of any sort, but not cash right now!

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