Journalists from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and Serbia are invited to apply for a five-month education program specializing in investigative reporting on organized crime issues. The program is designed to be attended along with regular work in newsrooms. The organizers will cover participants’ expenses. The closing date for applications is 20 January 2007. NetNovinar – Center for Investigative Reporting and Media Education (founders: Mediacentar Sarajevo & Investigative Journalism Center, Zagreb) invites applications for enrolment of the fifth generation of participants in the program ‘Investigative Reporting: Stories on Organized Crime Issues’.

The program is designed primarily for print journalists, but broadcast journalists, freelance journalists and journalism students may also apply.The advantage of the program is parallel acquiring of theoretic know-how and practical work on investigative stories on organized crime issues.A group of 10 to 15 participants will attend a 5-month education cycle. The program commences in February and ends in June 2007. It is designed to be attended while doing regular work in newsrooms. Five-month education consists of two workshops held at Mediacentar Sarajevo, lasting a total of 9 weekdays, while the rest of the program will take place via the internet.Program participants will advance the process of investigation and writing investigative stories to top professional standards, with constant supervision and mentorship of experts from the region, in the following areas:- investigative process- organizing and implementing a news investigation- ethics in investigative reporting- media laws- internet and database search techniques- writing investigative storiesThe lead trainers/mentors in the program will be longtime investigative journalists and editors Saša Leković and Branko Čečen. Four specialist trainers will cover the following areas: commercial database search (Paul Cristian Radu – Romanian Center for Investigative Journalism); media legislation (Mehmed Halilović – Office of Ombudsmen of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina); ethics (Gordana Vilović, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor University of Dubrovnik and International Center for Education of Journalists, Zagreb); advanced internet search techniques and computer assisted reporting (Nevena Ršumović – Editor-in-Chief of web portal NetNovinar.org).
Throughout the program, participants will work on their own investigative stories, with continuous supervision and mentorship of the trainers. The stories will be published by print media whose editors confirm in writing that they will publish them and also on the web portal for journalists in South East Europe NetNovinar.org.
For more information on how to apply for the program ‘Investigative Reporting: Stories on Organized Crime issues,’ click here.
The closing date for applications is 20 January 2007.The program is financially supported by Open Society Fund BiH and Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights.For more information, please contact:
Maša Hilčišin Dervišević masa@media.baLejla Kapetanović lejla@media.baMediacentar Sarajevo+387 33 715 840