09:30 – 10:00
Welcome address and practical information
Hans Månson, Programme Director
and Sabine Sile, Director of the Centre for Media studies at SSE Riga
10:00 – 11:00
Keynote speaker: Nina Jankowicz
How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News and the Future of Conflict
A look at how Central and Eastern European governments have responded to Russian information warfare tactics, and the homegrown disinformation that feeds them. After an unprecedented year of disinformation, from COVID-19 to the Capitol Riots, what can we learn, and what is at stake? The future of civil discourse and democracy, and the value of truth itself.
11:00 – 11:30
Coffee break
11:30 – 13:00
Excel for beginners
Part 1
Digging into data for stories
Basics of Excel: navigating, sorting, filtering, using formulas and aggregating data with PivotTables; most common problems and how to avoid them.
(Bring your own computer with Excel installed. Computers with Excel will also be provided for training.)
Linda Larsson Kakuli
Make people talk
Scared, traumatized, suspicious or people who just hate journalists. Does making them talk seem impossible? It’s not.
Everyone wants to talk to you, if only you can break the code.
Find the interviewee’s fears, get the interview.
Learn through authentic cases and get practical tips to achieve what seems impossible.
Åsa Erlandsson
Internet research
Part 1
Finding people
Googling
How logic and language can help focus your search on the best sites. Searching on specified sources, government and region-specific sites. Time travel. Find information from the past. Analyse historic satellite photographs and street views. Retrieve deleted tweets and bring long lost websites back from the dead.
Paul Myers
Reporting on Organized Crime and Corruption
Part 1
Follow the Money Investigating dictators, high-level officials, crooks and organized crime figures internationally and at home.
Miranda Patrucic and Stevan Dojčinović
13:00 – 14:00
Lunch break
14:00 – 15:30
Cleaning dirty data in Excel. Part 2
In this hands-on workshop you will learn to identify and clean dirty data in Excel, organize badly formatted data into rows and columns, convert formats and join/split up fields by using formulas. (Bring your own computer with Excel installed. Computers with Excel will also be provided for training.)
Linda Larsson Kakuli
Writing about Influence Operations and Disinformation: Best Practices and Pitfalls
The media has a role in educating the public about foreign influence operations and disinformation but can also unwittingly amplify malign information campaigns and mislead readers. Dissecting and discussing coverage of Russian influence operations and homegrown extremist groups, the session will ask: what are the best practices in writing about these campaigns? How can journalists raise public awareness about the threat?
Nina Jankowicz
Internet research
Part 2
People Research
Identify someone’s email address and phone number and use them in a search.
Social networks
Go beyond the search box and investigate individuals, groups and their relationships.
Searching Instagram
Use image-based social networks to trace people, find witnesses and evidence.
Searching LinkedIn
Make effective use of the most popular social network of the business community
Paul Myers
Reporting on Organized Crime and Corruption
Part 2
Think like a criminal The ten crimes you need to know and how they really work. Understand money laundering, embezzlement, drug smuggling, weapon trafficking and other sophisticated crimes.
Stevan Dojčinović and Miranda Patrucic
15:30 – 16:00
Coffee break
16:00 – 17:30
Data coaching one-on-one
Part 3
Problem with a specific job? An idea to develop? Or do you have an annoying Excel-problem? Come, meet Linda and figure out a solution.
Linda Larsson Kakuli
Your dream, an investigative book
The news coverage is done, but you know there is more to it. You want to go deeper, to write a book, but that is totally different from regular reporting. How do you prepare, what is the working process? And how do you succeed without losing your sanity?
Åsa Erlandsson
Internet research
Part 3
Searching Twitter
Use hidden tools.
Searching Facebook
Search for people, pages, groups and stories.
Analyse friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter, and find the people and evidence you are looking for.
Paul Myers
Reporting on Organized Crime and Corruption
Part 3
Learn to dissect a company’s financial statements and get leads for stories. Background a business, track offshore companies, find hidden assets. Tools, databases. Tips and tricks.
Miranda Patrucic and Stevan Dojčinović
09:30 – 11:00
Investigative journalism: Television
Part 1
Project management How to spot ideas and transform them into stories. Based on our experience of more than 20 years we have developed a method of avoiding unsustainable projects.
Joachim Dyfvermark
Infographics and data visualisation
Sometimes stories can be too complex to be put in words. That’s where infographics come in. This workshop will introduce you to methods of visual storytelling by showing several real-life cases from OCCRP’s work, as well as a basic framework for starting your own infographic projects.
Edin Pašović
Internet research
Part 4
Use business research databases to track companies and who’s behind them; find clues to trace owners of shell companies. Use social media to investigate businesses.
Images and investigation
Learn essential skills of image-based research including using image databases, performing reverse image searches, image analysis and scanning servers for images.
Paul Myers
Reporting on Organized Crime and Corruption
Part 4
Starting your own investigation: developing sources and Interviewing crime figures.
Practical advice on picking investigative projects, planning newsgatherings, organizing yourself, sourcing and interviewing.
Stevan Dojčinović and Miranda Patrucic
11:00 – 11:30
Coffee break
11:30 – 13:00
Investigative journalism: Television
Part 2
Storytelling
How to compete with the streaming entertainment by learning to write better scripts. The basics.
Joachim Dyfvermark
Can your grandmother understand your investigation?
Part 1
Once the investigation is completed and the writing begins, you and your editor must find a way of reaching an average reader. This is particularly challenging with longer investigative stories.
Ilya Lozovsky
Internet research
Part 5
Geo-search, metadata, maps, satellites, post location.
Learn how to use various resources to find evidence specific to a region. Use mapping, satellite sites and metadata to trace social media posts and see where photos were taken.
Paul Myers
Reporting on Organized Crime and Corruption
Part 5
Role Play: Journalist vs. Crime Group
Experience real life situations encountered by journalists investigating organized crime. Tips for safety and dealing with threats.
Stevan Dojčinović and Miranda Patrucic
13:00 – 14:00
Lunch break
14:00 – 15:30
Investigative journalism: Television
Part 3
Storytelling
Writing a good story is like cooking: you need to have a plan before you start creating. This session is about transforming your research into a story.
Joachim Dyfvermark
Can your grandmother understand your investigation?
Part 2
How to use storytelling, signposting, selectivity, colour, chronology, and other techniques to ensure that your hard work is communicated clearly and has the impact it deserves.
Ilya Lozovsky
Internet research
Part 6
Verification
Learn to spot factors that can compromise the integrity and reliability of your research. See how evidence can be tampered with in Photoshop. Learn the techniques that can save your story.
Paul Myers
Reporting on Organized Crime and Corruption
Part 6
Mafia Wars. How to investigate in times when bodies pile up on the streets. Understand who is on whose side, find the best focus for your story and get the information.
Stevan Dojčinović and Miranda Patrucic
15:00 – 16:00
Coffee break
16:00 – 17:30
Investigative journalism: Television
Part 4
Interview
DOs and DON`Ts when conducting an interview.
Joachim Dyfvermark
Protect sources and yourself
Security of whistle-blowers, sources and reporters is paramount. Private security firms, intelligence services and organized crime use advanced dirty tricks to hamper investigative journalism. How do we protect ourselves and our most valuable assets?
Axel Gordh Humlesjö and Hans Månson
Internet research
Part 7
Technical tools
Specialist technology to help you to find website owners, analyse web servers and trace people through their Internet connection and mobile phone.
Digital security
Threat of such technology as IP address tracing and malware. Learn to protect yourself, your sources and your investigation.
Paul Myers
Reporting on Organized Crime and Corruption
Part 7
Storytelling and Visualization
How to take the results of a very complex investigation and present them in a way that will excite your readers instead of putting them off.
Ilya Lozovsky
and Edin Pašović
18:00 – 23:00
Garden party att SSE Riga courtyard (conference badges required for entry)
10:00 – 13:00
Society under surveillance
Moderator: Axel Gordh Humlesjö
Speakers/panel: Linus Larsson and more
13:00
Lunch and networking