Investigative Journalism Network

Since its launch in 2017, the EBU’s Investigative Journalism Network has grown to include dozens of reporters from newsrooms across the EBU’s membership. The group's investigations have been republished by dozens of news organizations and received nominations for international media awards. 

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 2023 in Bari, in the sidelines of the Prix Italia. It was attended by 26 investigative journalists (from 17 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.  

In early 2023, the Network published “The Missing Children of Ukraine”, an in-depth investigation into the forced transfer of hundreds of children from occupied Ukraine to Russia. 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. The story was relayed more than 1000 times by 87 channels from 40 EBU Members. In August 2024, it was shortlisted for the Investigate Journalism for Europe (IJ4EU) Impact Award, which honors outstanding cross-border investigative journalism.  

This was followed by an investigation into the harsh living conditions and Russia's aggressive assimilation policies in the illegally annexed territories of Ukraine, "Russification in Occupied Ukraine". Based on eyewitness accounts, expert interviews and evidence from social media, this investigation reveals incidences of torture, coercion, deportation, cultural erasure, and military indoctrination, and contravening international law. The story has been shared over 800 times, on 36 channels of 16 Members. The investigation was shortlisted for the Press Gazette’s Future of Media Awards, in the digital storytelling category.  

The Investigative Journalism Network also assisted in the distribution of an in-depth investigation into the explosion at the Nord Stream pipeline in May 2023. Collaboratively conducted by Denmark's DR, Norway's NRK, Sweden's SVT, and Finland's Yle, the investigation was broadcast on more than 50 channels affiliated with 30 member organizations. 

In June 2024, the Network published its third sweeping investigation, "Who owns European football? The sale of the Beautiful Game", shedding light on the new football ownership systems across the continent and the consequences on the sport, the players, and the fans. For months, members of the reporting group composed of journalists from RTBF, RTVE, RSI, ZDF and the EBU newsroom, looked at financial data, interviewed dozens of experts and fans, tracked activity by public and private financial groups, and mapped player transfers across multi-club ownership groups. Their conclusion: investment funds have transformed European football, and the increased arrival of foreign capital has caused a concentration of club and player ownership with huge effects on the game. Smaller teams can be deliberately held back as business decisions trump sporting success, their rising stars shipped off to bigger clubs in the same ownership group. The very integrity of the game can be compromised with regulators struggling to keep up.  

Activities are managed by a Steering Committee, which is an expert group reporting to the EBU News Committee.