Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
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The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) is a close group of editors and trainers that enables journalists in the region to produce in-depth analytical and investigative journalism on complex political, economic and social themes. BIRN emerged from the Balkans programme of the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, IWPR. The hard work of the current BIRN team was instrumental in making that programme’s publishing, media training and public debate activities synonymous with quality, reliability and impartiality.
In light of changing realities in the region, and the goal of building local capacity, the original project team was mandated to localise and make sustainable that IWPR intervention. BIRN was fully launched in the summer of 2005 and now, as a fully independent and local network, it is dedicated to establishing an efficient and self-sustainable regional institution to enhance the capacity for journalism that pushes for public debate on European-oriented political and economic reform.
Supported by a regional hub based in Sarajevo, BIRN has members in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia-Montenegro, Romania and Bulgaria. Together, these organisations pool their resources, connecting their growing teams of specialist journalists – local reporters and analysts – who are trained and supported to produce top quality, timely and relevant coverage. The regular output of analysis and reporting – Balkan Insight -is regularly backed up with public debate events.
Individually, the independent, non-governmental BIRN member organisations engage in relevant local media development projects. In Bosnia, this means training on war crimes reporting; in Serbia, on minority journalism and in Kosovo, televised debates on current affairs. In Macedonia, Bulgaria and Romania the emphasis is on the process of European Unio
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[edit] Reporting
BIRN’s Balkan Insight features cross-regional reporting of the key issues related to the region's development and progress in achieving European political, social and economic standards. With more than 16,000 subscribers, the online Balkan Insight publication provides weekly coverage in a variety of genres.
In-depth analyses take a closer look at areas for reform, comparing and contrasting the situation in different countries in the Balkans, and taking a critical look at international intervention. The European Union integration process informs in large part the commissioning of these articles.
BIRN’s investigative reports tackle issues ranging from the rule of law and good governance to European integration and have shed new light on war crimes, organised crime, abuse of power, human rights, ethnic minorities and other issues vital to reconciliation and civil society.
Special packages coincide with key occasions and developments in the region, and have to date covered Kosovo, Srebrenica, the Dayton Peace Accords, Bulgaria's ethnic minorities and elections in each country covered by the Network.
Comments of BIRN editors and other respected figures on important issues are regularly featured.
A culture section is being introduced to Balkan Insight, as is a much stronger economy focus.
Reports are published online at www.birn.eu.com and disseminated free of charge via email. Each report is also republished in local and international press many times over, enhancing the exchange of information between otherwise estranged communities.
These reports routinely spark debate locally, regionally and internationally, holding attention to the persistent problems which plague Southeast Europe.
Launched in September 2005, Balkan Insight has taken up the baton from IWPR’s Balkan Crisis Report without interruption in the quality, insight and reliability of reporting. Since 1999, BCR published weekly high quality analytical reports in all languages of the region and English at www.iwpr.net.
[edit] Training
Training is a vital component of BIRN’s work and, like its reporting, builds on IWPR’s long experience in the Balkans. It is however now geared firmly towards building and supporting BIRN’s own investigative teams throughout the Balkans.
Local journalists and analysts are thus engaged to produce Balkan Insight reports, each of which goes through a rigorous editorial process. By demanding the highest standards of clarity, accuracy and objectivity, editors provide ‘on the job’ training to these journalists.
This is reinforced with occasional workshop based training, whereby particular needs identified through the reporting editorial process are given greater attention.
Investigative journalism training events for more experienced members of BIRN’s teams, go deeper into essential elements of this discipline, with courses covering organised crime and corruption, following a paper trail and libel.
Additionally, a scheme begun in 2004 – the Primary Level Journalism course - formalises the ‘on-the-job’ methodology to bring new blood to BIRN’s journalist pool. Untainted by bad habits and political partiality, this new generation of keen reporters will form the future generation of BIRN’s investigative teams.
In fact, these recruits are already advancing fast and showing remarkable commitment in all areas of BIRN’s work. Schemes have been implemented for journalists from throughout BiH, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia, and are planned for Bulgaria and Montenegro.
In 2004, Marcus Tanner, BIRN trainer/editor and former correspondent in the Balkans for the British Independent newspaper, ran five courses in the region covering basic journalistic principles.
"“My aim was practical rather than theoretical training. I wanted the trainees to start producing news and feature items immediately, which we could publish and syndicate, bringing them a financial reward as well as some media exposure.” – Marcus Tanner
[edit] Debates and Round Tables
In order to place issues raised in reports more firmly on the public agenda, and to seek their resolution or address, BIRN moderates regular follow-on debates and discussions.
Engaging key actors from the media, the governmental and non-governmental sectors, such events draw additional attention and promote the ‘watchdog’ role played by media in more developed countries, but still lacking throughout Southeast European society.
BIRN is also called upon to participate in and moderate other organisations’ debates. The entire BIRN team regularly gives briefings, comments and analyses on the situation in the region to local and international media.
"We helped open up a public discussion on the major problem facing this country going into Europe - which is that the State Union isn't working." - Dragana Nikolic Solomon, BIRN country director Serbia and Montenegro BIRN country director for Kosovo, Jeta Xharra, has pushed BIRN to the forefront of the political debate in the territory by moderating a series of widely watched televised discussions.
I wanted to give Kosovo viewers a more exciting show than they're used to, by providing a different kind of format in which politicians are asked challenging questions and are interrupted when they try to evade issues - Jeta Xharra
[edit] Multi-Media Projects
While written journalism has the appeal of continuity and in-depth examination, television work allows BIRN to reach a far wider audience in the Balkans.
BIRN embarked in August 2005 on a documentary project which should prove to make a serious impact on the public information sphere in the entire region, not to mention internationally.
With the generous support of the Swiss government, BIRN is drawing upon the regional Network to compile a film analysing the geopolitical and practical, local implications of options for Kosovo's final status.
The cooperation of BIRN's Kosovo, Macedonia, SaM and BiH teams in this project demonstrates the advantage of the Network and the role of the Hub, which developed the project, sourced funds, assists in implementation of the project, and will monitor and evaluate its progress.
The film is due for broadcast at the end of the year in Albanian, Serbian and Macedonian on all the major television stations of the region. It will also be produced in English for broadcast internationally.
