Seven investigative journalists from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, working on concrete stories with the support of the SEE Media Observatory, will be mentored on September 28-29, 2015 in London by experienced journalists of the Guardian in order to better realize next steps in investigations and presentation of the stories. 

 

The mentoring will be part of the seminar at the Guardian. It aims at increasing capacities of journalists but also ten representatives of media/journalism organisations and institutes from the Western Balkans and Turkey, partners in the SEE Media Observatory project, for providing and supporting independent journalism.

 

The participants at the seminar will learn from the case of the Guardian about key challenges and approaches in protecting ethical/independent journalism and its future in digital age.

The Guardian Foundation is organising a seminar as an affiliate partner in the SEE Media Observatory. It has included in the program of the seminar remarkable speakers from the Guardian but also from universities. The speakers include Paul Johnson, Guardian deputy editor and head of editorial  strategy, Wolfgang Blau, the Guardian’s director of digital strategy, Maggie O’Kane, the Guardian head of investigations on the video platform, Chris Elliott, the Guardian Ombudsman, David Leigh, former investigations chief at the Guardian, now a professor of journalism at the City University, David Hencke, former prize-winning Guardian investigating journalist, now working with Exaro,  and Juliet Ferguson of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, City University. 

 

On top of that, seven investigative reporters from the Balkans will take part in the mentoring session conducted by David Leigh and Rob Evans, the Guardian investigative reporter, in order to strengthen their stories.

 

In the months after the seminar the journalists will finish their investigative stories with further assistance of Sasa Lekovic, the SEE Media Observatory’s regional investigative journalism mentor and Ilona Moricz, sub-granting coordinator.

 

 

Agenda of the seminar at the Guardian for the SEE Media Observatory is available here.