: NIRIJ Runs its First Training Workshop for Investigative Journalism Skills

NIRIJ Runs its First Training Workshop for Investigative Journalism Skills

The Network of the Iraqi Reporters for Investigative Journalism (NIRIJ) closed in early January 2012 its first training workshop which was held for introducing the art of investigating and the steps of performing a detailed and planned investigative report, depending on dealing with the report’s assumption and later indicating the available and closed sources to prepare for the report structure and finally perform the report.
The workshop, which was held in Arbil and in which the NIRIJ General Supervisor Muhammad Rubai’i lectured, included a detailed explanation for the two winning investigative reports of NIRIJ as the best investigative reports of the Arab world for the year 2011, (Homeless People in Iraq … A Weak Law and Government Failure Lead the Iraqi Homeless People to Violence, deviation and crimes) by Mayada Dawood (Milad Al-Juburi) and (After the Authorities Failure, the Kurdistan Women Incinerator Eats a Female up Every 20 Hours) by Saman Noah and Mwuafaq Muhammad in cooperation with NIRIJ.
The workshop also included details about the two other investigative reports of NIRIJ, which were made in cooperation with Arab Reporters Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) and won the first and the second prizes as the best investigative report of the Arab World in 2010; (Female Circumcision … Painful Stories Look for Ends) by Dilovan Barwari and (Al-Qaida Children Spread Horror in their Families and Perform Missions as Professionally as Adults) by Mayada Dawood (Milad Al-Juburi).
The humanitarian stories of the four reports were discussed in detail in the workshop, to explain the structure of the winning reports, rearranging priorities in making an investigative report, grading in using stories and information to perform a successful and complete investigative report.
The workshop participants presented the suppositions they are working on, for the use of Network of Iraqi Reporters for Investigative Journalism (NIRIJ) which also funds and editorially supervises the reports, in cooperation with the International Media Support IMS. The plan of making each report was discussed in detail, beginning with analyzing parts of the supposition, indicating the required sources and the most important questions which are asked to the sources.
At the end of the workshop, the participated NIRIJ members discussed granting cash to the Iraqi journalists who intend performing investigative reports depending on crucial ideas, supported by documented facts; shed light on a negative phenomenon whose discovering might lead to a positive change in the Iraqi society.
NIRIJ is the first network for investigative journalism in Iraq, founded on the 9th of May, 2011 by several professional investigative journalists, which has been working since then on providing financial, editorial and advisory support for the investigative Iraqi journalists to perform detailed investigative reports based on searching for documented facts and supported by variety of sources who are strongly related to the investigating topic.
The main mission of NIRIJ, in addition to performing detailed investigative reports, is improving the skills of the Iraqi investigative journalists and working on spreading the culture of investigating in the Iraqi journalism, to be a regulatory device which diagnose the faults and follow financial and administrative corruption cases, indicate deviations and mistakes in the official and the civil behavior and the violations committed against the different society segments in Iraq.
In this context, NIRIJ works on helping the investigative Iraqi journalists to choose detailed investigative reports that deal with financial and administrative corruption, the community violations against women, children and the weak segments in a society like Iraq which witnesses a crucial transformation, in addition to working on completing the suppositions related to the investigative journalists’ reports and funding the reports such as costs of translating documents, transportation, accommodation, laboratory tests, advices, printing, communications and all other requirements of a detailed investigative report.
The Network of the Iraqi Reporters for Investigative Journalism (NIRIJ) is funded by the International Media Support IMS.