Flight MH17Searching for the Truth

Power Reporting 2015Wits University, Johannesburg

David CrawfordCORRECT!V

MH17

Where is the public interest?

When should we investigate?

When we have something important to say

When the story requires intensive research

Our investigative goalsKnow everythingGet all the files

Know everything

Get all the files

Things to find

Dutch investigation report

Satellite images

Things to find

Photos

Art

Animation



Things to find

A story



Where to look

Be confident

We have the right to interview people and view documents

We don’t beg for access

We force it

German foreign ministry

Projected questions

First find the easy information

Web-based information

Russian social media

Press conferences

First the easy information

Ask your colleagues to suggest sources

Analyse news stories

Bellingcat

Other sources

Commercial registries

How to find secret files?

Collect whole sets of documents

Russian soldiers in social mediaDownload it fast

Russian soldiers in social mediaDownload it fast

Look for absurd sources

CORRECT!V goes to court

sues for documents

Files rarely tell the whole story

Find other sources

Human sources

“Yes people” and “No people“

Lots of people can say „no“

press officers

“Yes people” and “No people“

Only a few people can say „yes“

Rupert Smid

Avoid „no“ people

German Ministry of Defence

Help the „yes“ people

Rupert Smid

Don’t offer protectionJust protect the source if necessary

I meet with an informant. He knows everything about Russian warfare.

How to identify potential sources?

Read your competition

Voluntary sources

NGOs

Unwilling partners

Government officials

Companies

Beware of volunteers

Especially other journalists

How do you gain trust?

Never ask a question

If the answer is easy to find elsewhere

A „No“ is hard to change into a „Yes“

Avoid asking questions that will lead to a „No“

Plan interviews

Plan three meetings with key sources

Plan interviews

How to get there

When to go



East Ukraine is a war zone



Plan interviews

Fill your notebook first

Ask hard questions last



Plan interviews

Ask interview partners to suggest new sources



I demand from sources

Reliable answers to every question

Complete access to documents

Communicate your goals

We have a project

What separates good stories from outstanding stories?

Unwilling sources

We can force sources to talk

So no concessions

We can force sources to talk

Don’t give your source a veto

We can force sources to talk

Lawsuit demanding documentsAmbassador, Christof Weil, in Kiev

Have patience

Interview partners might hide

Wait them out

How reliable is my source?

Check the reliability?

Compare details with documents and info from other sources

Check the reliability?

Is the source willing to answer questions completely

Check the reliability?

Look for new sources

Finally

Factcheck everything

Including your own pet theories

Take the next step

David Crawforddavid.crawford@corrective.org

Thanks