In the midst of a supposed crisis in investigative journalism and the advertising-based business model that still prevails in the press around the world, successful initiatives that combine financing alternatives for quality journalism promise a future for investigative journalism. In Brazil, one example is A Pública (The Public), an independent, non-profit investigative journalism agency that allows its content to be freely reproduced online. The agency was founded in March 2011 by the journalists Marina Amaral and Natália Viana, who were unsatisfied with the paths chosen by the Brazilian media.
Two young Mexican engineers developed an application for iPhone and iPad that turns users into citizen journalists when they report public security concerns, from broken traffic lights to police corruption and armed assault via Twitter, reported the website Texas Observer.
Brazilian reporter Patrícia Cornils got a surprising response after sharing on Facebook a Google Docs worksheet listing fires in the favelas of São Paulo. Several people joined the collaborative reporting project that became Fogo no Barraco (Fire in the Shanty), an interactive map that cross references data on fires with real estate appreciation near the affected areas. The map demonstrates the journalistic possibilities of online collaboration and crowdsourcing information.
The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) has partnered with Univision News to create investigative video stories aimed at Spanish speakers in the United States and Latin America, according to LA Observed.
The Constitution and Justice Committee of the Brazilian Senate on Wednesday, March 14, approved a bill that would regulate the right of reply in the news media, reported the newspaper O Globo.
The United States and Brazil on Tuesday, Sept. 20, in New York launched a transparency initiative for open government, reported the Epoch Times.
After gathering Sept. 8-10 for the 9th Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas, more than 50 journalists and experts from 20 countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean have decided to look at ways to collaborate across countries.
When it comes to immigration coverage, the importance of in-depth reporting, going beyond stereotypes, and avoiding the use of dehumanizing terms like "illegal" are just some of the themes that emerged during the panel discussion.
About 50 journalists and experts from 20 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean are gathering Sept. 8-10, 2011, in Austin, Texas, for the 9th Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas.
The Commission on Planning, Economic Policy and Finance of the House of Deputies in Bolivia announced that it would include the public's recommendations in a proposed telecommunications that has been criticized by press freedom organizations for certain aspects that limit freedom of information, reported Los Tiempos.
Inspired by the recent protests in Spain that, since March, have demanded economic and electoral system changes, filmmaker Raquel Diniz, 31, created a collaborative map to pinpoint cases of corruption in Brazil, according to Folha de S. Paulo.
”Crowdfunding”, a term used to describe networking, usually via the Internet, to pool money and resources, is starting to take off in Brazil. An explosion of crowdfunding websites, like Catarse, Multidão, Movere and Benfeitoria, are just some to come on the scene.