Author: Slawek Blich Case study was originally published in Media Finance Monitor. Visuals in the case study were created by Ewa Stańczak. Peter’s Note: We worked with Slawek and his team on digital product development this year as part of a program by the Thomson Media. It was quite the ride, so after a successful launch, I asked him if he was interested in
An award-winning investigation from Bosnia and Herzegovina exposes institutional failures, emotional struggles, and a journalists’ relentless pursuit of answers When the story of a missing newborn first reached the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIN) in BiH, journalists Jelena Jevtić and Mubarek Asani did not realise the emotional and institutional challenges that lay ahead. Their award-winning documentary Where is Sara exposes the disappearance of baby
Mentoring opportunity for media professionals committed to building resilient local journalism The SMS Facility – Small Media Support in the Western Balkans, financed by the European Union, has launched a regional call for mentors to support local and small-scale media outlets across the Western Balkans. The initiative is implemented by CPCD (BiH) in partnership with Thomson Media (Germany), CDT (Montenegro), Kosovo 2.0 (Kosovo), Metamorphosis
Facing donor withdrawal and rapid AI disruption, independent outlets explore fresh strategies for sustainability at Thomson Foundation’s regional masterclasses Since the beginning of 2025, independent media in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Western Balkans (WB) have been facing financial challenges that demand a fresh approach to sustainability. The withdraw of the USAID earlier this year has triggered a shift in the landscape
How an award-winning investigation exposed the hidden realities of Albania’s women-led garment workforce The story uncovering the exploitation of women in Albania’s garment factories secured the Citizens’s team third prize at the EU Investigative Journalism Awards 2025. Their investigation brought long-overdue attention to the urgent and often-overlooked social and economic challenges faced by thousands of women across the country. For years, journalist Erisa Kryeziu
How unexpected results, failed assumptions, and market signals shape better products and smarter decisions Chances are that all of you reading this have a stack of post-it notes close by. We all use them, we love them in different colors, they are almost part of our office decor. But that little piece of paper with adhesive on it is known in literature as a
How a simple fact-check uncovered a national scandal and exposed systemic weaknesses in public appointments When a country votes for change, trust becomes the most valuable political currency. In North Macedonia, that trust was tested just months after the 2024 elections, when allegations surfaced that the newly appointed head of the National Security Agency, Bojan Hristovski, had submitted a fake English-language certificate to meet
Meet the people behind the choice for the best investigative stories in the Western Balkans and Türkiye As the national ceremonies for the EU Investigative Journalism Awards 2025 take place, we are proud to present the members of the jury responsible for evaluating the entries in the regional category. Regional awards were first introduced in 2023 with the goal of recognising investigative stories that
From fact-checkers to editors, reporters across the region are discovering AI’s benefits, and drawing firm ethical lines to protect journalistic quality. As part of preparing this article, we recorded a 30-minute interview in Slovak, transcribed it with Google’s Pinpoint, and used Gemini to translate the transcript into English. This made the work with the text much easier and saved us considerable time. Journalists are
A free network helping local reporters turn data into stories Imagine filing a cross-border investigation in 24 hours – with verified data, ready-made visuals, expert quotes, and no membership fee. That’s the daily promise of CORRECTIV.Europe. CORRECTIV.Europe launched in January 2024 and today brings together roughly 420 members from about 35 European countries. The network scales up the German model of CORRECTIV.Lokal to a
Journalist Iva Paradjanin Lilic created a feminist platform where empathy, honesty, and even anger become tools for resistance, representation, and change Tampon zona is not just a podcast. It’s a place for empathy, information, solidarity, and sometimes even rage. “Women’s experiences are political, personal, and powerful — and they must be heard,” says Iva Paradjanin Lilic, a journalist who has turned these words into
Thomson Media invites journalists and media professionals from the Western Balkans to apply for a free online training on Multimedia and Data Visualisation, organised within the EU-funded project Strengthening Quality News and Investigative Journalism in the Western Balkans and Türkiye II. This capacity-building training is the final in the project’s series and will help participants develop practical skills for producing engaging, data-informed multimedia stories.
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