Investigative Journalism Network

Since its launch in 2017, the EBU’s Investigative Journalism Network has grown to include dozens of reporters from media organizations across the EBU’s membership.

Its primary mission is to identify and support investigative journalism initiatives by connecting network members with each other throughout the membership, with the ultimate goal of enriching their reporting, sharing sources and intelligence and increasing the impact of important stories with public service value across Europe. It also serves as a platform to exchange ideas through workshops (both in-person and online) and provides networking opportunities between reporters from different newsrooms. 

Sharing best practices and solutions to common challenges is an important component of the network, which is always on the lookout for stories of cross-border impact and collaboration opportunities, as well as appropriate training and workshop ideas.

The most recent workshop, which was open to all EBU Members, was held in October 2022 in Bari, in the sidelines of the Prix Italia. It was attended by 26 investigative journalists (from 15 organizations) who pitched stories which in their view would benefit from collaboration among EBU Members. Following that, story groups were formed for reporters to share research and news content on several of these stories. 

Four months later, “The Missing Children of Ukraine”, an in-depth investigation into the forced transfer of hundreds of children from occupied Ukraine to Russia, was published. The story was first released by the core members of the Investigative Journalism Network. After an initial embargo, a version was made available to all Eurovision News Exchange members. As of March 2023, the story has since been relayed more than 800 times by 80 channels from 36 EBU Members.

Activities are managed by a Steering Committee, which is an expert group reporting to the EBU News Committee. The Steering Committee has the following EBU Members:

BBC, DR, FT, NRK, RAI, RTBF, RTE, RTVE, VRT, YLE, and ZDF.

It is chaired by Pilar Requena, Head of Investigative Unit, RTVE. The EBU Project Manager is Belén López Garrido, News Editor at Eurovision News. 

How to join

The Investigative Journalism Network is open to all EBU Members, subject to Steering Committee approval. Eligible members must meet the criteria laid down by the Steering Committee, which include adhering to the EBU’s Core Values of Public Service Media and demonstrating expertise in investigative journalism.

Find more information about our Public Service Journalism Initiative.