✍️ Press Freedom and the Best of Investigative Journalism ✍️ — May 2

Celebrating the best investigative journalism; New journalism jobs at Audible, BBC, Economist, ESPN, Guardian, FT, Hearst, ITV, New York Times, Sky Sports, The Times, Univision and the WashPost

Hello folks, happy Tuesday! We’re a day later than normal this week due to yesterday’s public holiday here in the UK, and we’ll be on the same schedule next week due to another holiday for King Charles’ coronation. Thank you as ever for bearing with me.

In today’s edition we’ll focus on tomorrow’s World Press Freedom Day. Freedom of the press around the world is complicated and always changing, but overall it’s not exactly a rosy picture. From Vladimir Putin’s campaign to block any media outlet that dares to challenge Russia’s war on Ukraine — including the detainment of The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich — to Myanmar whose military have cracked down violently on the media, to Mexico where one journalist is attacked every 13 hours, the press is under unthinkable risk and threat.

As bad as it is, I believe it’s also important to remember the successes. So down below I’ve featured three of the best investigative series so far this year, by The Guardian, ProPublica and Bellingcat. I could have included dozens more, but thanks to the invaluable folks at the Global Investigative Journalism Network, they’ve already rounded up these other great investigative feats.

In our Journalism Awards, Events and Fellowships Calendar, I’ve listed a fair few events focusing on tomorrow’s WPFD, so I’ll let the experts take care of how to navigate deteriorating press freedom. Some quick housekeeping and then we’ll get to the positive stuff.

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📚 Archive Corner 📚

Some of the best of Inside The Newsroom…

• I Never Lose. I Either Win, Or I Learn

• How I Got My Jobs and Internships

• Selling Your Portfolio w/ Paul Albergo (Bloomberg Industry)

• Launching Our Candidate Board

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✍️ Job Corner ✍️

Preview of New Broadcast Jobs 📺

The below listings are just a sample of the many categories of journalism jobs we list. Others include Audience, Audio, Data/Viz, Design, Editing, Photo, Product, Reporting, Social Media, Strategy and Video.

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Cost of The Crown

As we approach this weekend’s coronation of King Charles III, it seems fitting to lead off with The Guardian’s Cost of The Crown series, which is looking into the wealth and finances of the British Royal Family. In the UK, the mainstream press generally covers the family in a positive, if not shining, light. But amid declining support for the monarchy, The Guardian has committed to a ruthless interrogation that no other outlet has previously entertained.

The revelations disclosed so far include King Charles III’s estimated net worth to be £1.8bn; the extraction of more than £1.2bn by the late Elizabeth II and Charles III from inherited estates that pay zero tax; the 400 pieces of art privately owned by the Windsors, many of which appear to have been official gifts; the stamp collections also given as state gifts that are now valued at least £100m; and the displayed items containing ivory in Prince William’s official residence, despite him speaking vehemently against the use of ivory.

Aside from the insanity that a stamp collection could be worth so much, The Guardian has raised serious questions on the secrecy, hypocrisy and corruption surrounding the Royal Family.

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Friends Of The Court

Up next is ProPublica’s Friends Of The Court investigation into U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ close friendship with GOP mega donor and Texas real estate billionaire Harlan Crow. Last month it was revealed that Thomas, who has served the SCOTUS since 1991 and is the longest active serving Justice, has for more than two decades been treated to luxury vacations by Crow. Based on ProPublica’s reporting, the total value of the trips almost certainly stretches into the millions, if not tens of millions. Not bad for a public servant who’s paid an annual salary of $285,000.

In his public statement, Thomas defended himself by saying that he “was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable.” In context, Thomas is saying that, despite being one of the most experienced legal professionals in the country, whose job it is to apply the law as objectively as possible, he failed to understand ethics guidelines that require all gifts worth more than $415 to be reported. 

What I find especially fascinating about such exposés is how the subject will immediately defend themselves and claim they did nothing wrong, perhaps thinking they’ll nip the issue in the bud and carry on as usual. Anything you’re forgetting, Justice Thomas?

After the Thomas’ statement, ProPublica then dropped another bombshell: Crow also bought property from Thomas, his mother and late brother worth $133,363, and then paid for tens of thousands of dollars worth of renovations including a carport, repaired roof and new gates, for the house that Thomas’ mother still lived in. Once again, Thomas failed to disclose the real estate sale of more than $1,000, as is required by this federal disclosure law. I wonder what’s next?

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Ukraine Fact and Fiction

Last up is the war in Ukraine, which is perhaps the most significant and consequential event in the past couple of years, and one that’s likely to continue for many more to come. There’s been some incredible reporting and coverage from so many outlets and I wish I could include them all. But I’m going to feature the work of Bellingcat, who have, in my opinion, pushed the boundaries of investigating reporting in a way no other outlet has.

Bellingcat has been all over Russia’s invasion, using open source research methods to verify authenticity, whose value is impossible to measure. Some of my favorite investigations over the past year include this interactive map of all attacks on Ukrainian civilians since the war started; the Donbas Doubles: how flight booking data revealed potential cover identities of two top Russian army leaders; and proving video of Ukrainian soldiers harassing a woman was staged.

That’s all for today. I’ll see you again on Friday!