Workshop held under the auspices of the project “What is Serbia silent about?”

Local media journalists selected through the application process of the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, Ljubica Jocić, Violeta Glišić, Ana Aćimov, Natalija Jakovljević-Ivanić and Denis Kolundžija, were introduced to investigative journalism techniques

A workshop held from 18^th to 20^th November in Belgrade saw five journalists, hailing from local media outlets in Subotica, Bečej, Novi Sad, Kragujevac and Niš, started work on stories picked through the selection process for the project “What is Serbia silent about?“.

During the course of the workshop, journalists acquired basic knowledge about investigative journalism methods and techniques. They worked with mentors on the development of their synopses and working plans for the research and analytical stories they will work on during the next four months.

The competition was intended for local media journalists who proposed good news stories of major importance to their local community, which they are willing to share and which relates to a topic that is insufficiently exposed or has not been addressed at all.

The selected journalists include: Ljubica Jocić (portal Južne vesti [Southern News], Niš), Violeta Glišić (Kragujevačke novine [Kragujevac Newspaper], Kragujevac), Ana Aćimov (portal Moj Bečej [My Bečej], Bečej), Natalija Jakovljević-Ivanić (portal Magločistač [Fogclearer], Subotica) and Denis Kolundžija (independent journalist, article to be published by Portal 021, Novi Sad). At this workshop they met with their mentors Antonella Rihom (freelance journalist), Branko Čečen (director of the Centre for Investigative Reporting in Serbia – CINS), Dino Jahić (chief editor of CINS), Perica Gunjić (editor-in-chief of portal Cenzolovka) and Zoran B. Nikolić (executive editor at Cenzolovka).

The workshop was formally opened by Jelena Ćuruvija, honorary president of the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, and Ilir Gaši, executive director of the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation.

Among other things, participants learned about the standards and procedures of investigative journalism, how to plan their research and compose a story synopsis, how the world’s most serious media outlets check facts, everything about advanced searches of the internet and social networks, how to search the largest databases in Serbia, but also how to use a special online platform for cooperating with mentors.

The objective of the “What is Serbia silent about?” project is to improve the knowledge and skills of local web and print media journalists in terms of analytical and investigative journalism, as well as enhancing cooperation between local media outlets, including the mutual exchange of content.

The project is implemented with the support of the Balkan Trust for Democracy of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.