More than 60 journalists and civil society activists working in four European countries attended the SINFO project’s first major public event, held on April 10.
The event was a three-hour online workshop called “Private Sources, Public Information: Strengthening the hand of journalists and civil society activists”.
Several experts provided valuable insights to the participants around these themes.
Therese Comodini Cachia, a Maltese former MEP and lawyer specialising in human rights and media freedom, gave an overview of how newly passed EU regulation, the Media Freedom Act, provides new safeguards to journalists and media activists when it comes to the protection of sources.
Matthew Caruana Galizia, a Maltese investigative journalist and founder of the Daphne Caruana Foundation, delved into the dynamics of the relationship between journalists and their sources within the context of their duty to reveal truth to their audience.
Attila Biro, co-founder of the Romanian investigative journalism start-up Context.ro, shared two case studies from the work of Context which entailed data gathering through collaboration with specialist NGOs, enabling the production of big-picture reports and analyses that went beyond traditional journalism.
The next session took the form of a recorded video of Matteo Pasquinelli, an Italian academic and expert in the evolution of media activism and the social dimension of artificial intelligence. He gave an overview of the transformation of media activism as a form of independent communication over the last three decades, and dwelt on whether technology can be “re-appropriated by the multitude”.
In the final session, Audrey Adam, a Belgian former freelance journalist and lawyer specialising in press law and freedom of expression, explained the ethical principles underpinning investigative journalism according to the common European basis provided by the Munich charter of ethics, with particular reference to techniques of underground journalism.
Look out for the next SINFO event to be held soon: a series of online discussions around the theme of “False Narratives: Together Against Haters, Deniers and Deceivers.” It will bring together journalists, academics, activists and experts to discuss a phenomenon that shapes so much of the communication landscape today. The first discussion will be held on May 15.
Have a look at the event playlist containing the different speeches: