The International Journalism Festival weekly round-up. Stay up to date by subscribing to our newsletter, by following our Telegram channel, or by joining us on X and Facebook.
The villa, the businessman, and the stolen millions. The latest investigation of the project The Baku Connection: pursuing the work of Azerbaijan’s silenced voices. Coordinated by Forbidden Stories, 40 journalists from 15 media outlets continue the work of their colleagues who were arrested in Azerbaijan. Behind prison walls today, Abzas Media journalists were among the last in the country to investigate the abuses of the powerful Aliyev regime, delving into issues of corruption, pollution, and human rights. COP29 – the world’s premier climate change conference – is taking place in Azerbaijan from 11 to 22 November 2024
John-Allan Namu: uncensoring Africa. In East Africa, Kenya has stood out for its relative peace and prosperity. For over three decades, it has enjoyed multi-party democracy, and largely avoided conflict and war. This doesn’t mean 2024 ICFJ Knight International Journalism Award winner John-Allan Namu rests easy, however — far from it. The acclaimed Kenyan investigative journalist and co-founder and CEO of Africa Uncensored has dedicated his nearly 20-year career to exposing corruption among the most powerful, human rights abuses, and more in his native country
Reporting stories of war in the face of loss: interview with Sevgil Musaieva, editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda. For years, the journalists of Ukrainska Pravda focused their work on politics and corruption, investigating the yachts and planes of the country’s oligarchs. But as Russian troops surged over the border in 2022, news from the frontline and about the war soon came to make up 90% of their work
Aos Fatos using GenAI to surface verified information audiences need. Brazilian fact-checking powerhouse is making finding facts a breeze through FátimaGPT, an AI chatbot that cuts through clutter and delivers clear, concise answers to your questions – all for free
NATO launches societal resilience grants for 2025. Do you have a project echoing NATO’s mission and directly contributing to societal resilience? The NATO Public Diplomacy Division is looking for impactful proposals from civil society organisations, NGOs, universities, think tanks, youth organisations, media organisations and research bodies from NATO member and partner countries. Deadline: 8 January 2025
Why the Guardian is no longer posting on X. We will stop posting from our official editorial accounts on the platform, but X users can still share our articles
The global fashion industry faces economic uncertainty, a dynamic market, and consumer behavior shifts. Finding pockets of growth means navigating a complex maze, write McKinsey’s Anita Balchandani, Gemma D’Auria, and coauthors in the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2025 Executive Survey.
Bad news. Legacy media must compete against a choose-your-own-adventure reality
How Trump won the first “influencer election”. While both campaigns worked overtime to court influencers, Donald Trump invested early and heavily in relationships with podcasters and livestreamers in a strategy that ultimately proved more successful
What the media missed. From the moment Donald Trump’s victory was apparent, much of the right-wing media began labeling the traditional mainstream media the biggest loser of the election. The funny thing is, a lot of mainstream media agrees
Welcome to the Muskification of media. Musk’s worldview is winning — call it the Muskification of media, where everyone has a voice, but no one knows the truth. Where everyone has access to limitless information, but much of it is junk. Where preposterous rumors and bombastic assertions are rewarded, but measured reportage is devalued. It’s Musk’s world, and the media are living in it
Another letter to a young journalist. We’ve entered a dark age. We need your generation not to despair, but instead to recommit to the fight for democracy
Why does no one understand the real reason Trump won? It wasn’t the economy. It wasn’t inflation, or anything else. It was how people perceive those things, which points to one overpowering answer
Image credit: screenshot of Forbidden Stories article entitled The Baku Connection: Pursuing the Work of Azerbaijan’s Silenced Voices