‘Not one lie should go unchallenged’: Press freedom & investigative journalism
“Investigative journalism is more important than ever today,” said Angela Greiling Keane, managing editor, states and Canada for POLITICO. “And also today more than ever, powerful forces around the world are seeking to prevent journalists’ access to information.”
Greiling Keane moderated a Journalism Institute and Investigative Reporters & Editors program that was shown at IRE’s conference on Sept. 22 with press freedom advocates Amanda Bennett, former Director of Voice of America; Agnes Callamard, United Nations Special Rapporteur; and Nabiha Syed, president of The Markup.
Here are highlights from their conversation.
Bennett: I think the greatest threat to investigative journalism right now is speed and the lack of tenacity, because so much of investigative journalism, even before this period, requires so much pushing, so much legal help. So much patience, so much time.
Syed: I refer to this moment as having the four horsemen of the press freedom apocalypse. So there’s lawfare, violence, trust and something I’ll call the snuffer. It’s really about the moment that we’re in and the interplay between them.
Callamard: One thing that we cannot do is let the lies go unchallenged. Whether it’s about one of us, or whether it’s about the state. … Whether it’s about the killing of a Black man by the police. Not one lie should go unchallenged, and that should apply to all journalists who are being attacked.