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CIJ Summer Conference

26–27 June 2025

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Thu 26 Jun
Fri 27 Jun
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Keynote Talk Class Course Demo Gavin MacFadyen Memorial Lecture Workshop Case study Tools Discussion Networking
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Abuse Exploitation Law Legal Data OSINT Financial Justice Journalism Methodology Narrative AI Climate Military Open Source Freedom of Information Investigation Crime Environment Privacy Local Journalism Paul Foot Award Freedom of the press Infosec Undercover
 
Thursday 26 June
  • 26 June 2025 09.20–10.00
Summer Conference Event
 — Keynote Talk

Rianna Croxford: Fast Fashion and Sex Trafficking

In her BBC Podcast The Abercrombie Guys, Rianna Croxford unearthed a powerful story; that the men in charge of teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch had been at the centre of a global operation scouting young men for sex; her investigation led to the arrest of its former CEO Mike Jeffries and charge with running international sex trafficking and prostitution.
People
  • 26 June 2025 10.20–15.40
Summer Conference Event
 — Course

Data Journalism: Spreadsheets 1-3. Hands-on. [B+I]

Hands-on. Beginner-Intermediate. This three-part hands-on express data journalism course will introduce you to the basics of data analysis in Google Sheets. Suitable for beginners (part I) and intermediates (parts II and III).
People
  • 26 June 2025 10.20–11.20
Summer Conference Event
 — Course Demo

OSINT: Building Investigations with Open Source Intelligence

This session explores how advanced research tools and methods can transform everyday information into compelling investigative leads and evidence. By focusing on publicly available sources of information (search engines, social media, satellite imagery and more), attendees will learn how to uncover powerful evidence, hidden in plain sight.
People
  • 26 June 2025 10.20–11.20
Summer Conference Event
 — Class

How to Avoid Getting Sued: Right to Reply/Invitations to Comment

Pre-publication Right to Reply (R2R) and Invitation to Comment (ITC) are a key part of the investigative journalist's armoury. It is important that journalists are aware of this and how best to deploy them.
People
  • 26 June 2025 10.20–11.20
Summer Conference Event
 — Class

Companies House as a Tool for Investigative Journalism

This session will focus on how to find information on Companies House, how to use its search tools to find meaningful data and how to interpret the information you come across. Companies House isn't a tool designed to be used by journalists, therefore, when used that way, it's important to look out for the relevant bits while being aware of potentially misleading or even false information.
People
  • 26 June 2025 11.30–16.50
Summer Conference Event
 — Course

Data Journalism: Putting Python into practice — hands-on coding for journalists, by journalists 1-3. Hands-On. [B-I]

Hands-on. Beginner [B]-Intermediate [I]. See each session for the details. This three-part series introduces participants to the power of Python, by journalists, for journalists. We'll help you take your first steps on the road to code, from the very basics, to working with giant spreadsheets, to extracting structured data from the web.
People
  • 26 June 2025 11.30–12.30
Summer Conference Event
 — Class Course Demo

OSINT: Uncovering Digital Footprints

Learn from a corporate intelligence analyst how to investigate a person's digital footprint through interactive demonstrations and case studies. Journalists can reveal valuable insights into a person's identity by examining digital footprints.
People
  • 26 June 2025 11.30–12.30
Summer Conference Event
 — Talk

Are the UK’s Contempt of Court Laws Fit for Purpose in the Digital Age?

In this session, we will look at the UK law on “contempt by publication” as set out in the 1981 Contempt of Court Act and discuss whether that law - post the Lucy Letby trial (where an article in The New Yorker was geo-blocked) - and the Southport killings (where the police appeared to believe the law restricted what they could say about the perpetrator of the stabbings, so allowing misinformation to spread), is no longer fit for purpose in the digital age.
People
  • 26 June 2025 13.50–14.30
Summer Conference Event
 — Gavin MacFadyen Memorial Lecture Keynote

Cathy Newman: Follow the Abuser. John Smyth and the Church of England

Cathy Newman talks about the exhaustive Channel 4 News investigation into John Smyth, the most prolific serial abuser in the Church of England. Her investigation, with her colleagues on the investigation team, started with a letter from a source, and took Channel 4 News journalists to three different countries.
People
14.40–16.50
Summer Conference Event
 — Course

Story-Based Inquiry Method 1-4

This course sets out the Story-Based Inquiry (SBI) method, which has been successfully used by thousands of journalists, academics and NGO researchers since its publication by UNESCO in 2009. The method can be used for feature writing or documentary filmmaking as well as reportage.
People
  • 26 June 2025 14.40–15.40
Summer Conference Event
 — Class Workshop

No, It’s Still Not a Robot. How to Use Generative AI for Investigations. Hands On. [B]

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are transforming the news industry — but should you be using them as an investigative journalist? And what are the pitfalls to watch out for? In this practical workshop Paul Bradshaw will explore what large language models can do — and what they can’t — and which particular editorial and technical challenges they can help with.
People
  • 26 June 2025 15.50–16.50
Summer Conference Event
 — Case study Talk

Digital Investigations: OSINT, trade data and AI

Three panellists talk through the innovative methods they used in recent investigations. The new digital methodologies allowed each to chase down important stories from major gaps in flood support funding from the Nigerian government, through sanctions evasion in arms trafficking to Russia, to the exploitation and abuse rife within platforms such as OnlyFans.
People
  • 26 June 2025 15.50–16.50
Summer Conference Event
 — Class Tools

You Gotta Fight for Your Right… To Information

Freedom of Information laws in the UK are 25 years old—but using them has never been tougher. In this panel discussion, Peter Geoghegan, Lucas Amin and Jenna Corderoy from Democracy for Sale share hard-won lessons from their award-winning investigations into government secrecy.
People
  • 26 June 2025 17.10–18.10
Summer Conference Event
 — Case study Talk

How to Use LinkedIn to Find Spies: the Bulgarian cell

In an explosive investigation published in March, journalists from BBC News used open source investigative research as well as their sources to track down and name two Bulgarian women who spied for Russia.
People
  • 26 June 2025 17.10–18.10
Summer Conference Event
 — Case study Talk

Chasing Deforestation in Cambodia

It was on the third day of the trip into the jungles of northern Cambodia when three Mongabay journalists found themselves surrounded by government rangers pointing rifles at them. Narrowly avoiding arrest, Mongabay combined satellite imagery, geospatial data, paper trails and a lot of hours in the jungle to expose how a network of politically connected timber traffickers are plundering Cambodia’s protected forests.
People
  • 26 June 2025 17.10–18.10
Summer Conference Event
 — Discussion Talk

More Than Just a Number: How do the UK’s data desks operate?

Data journalism has been around for a very long time...but the existence of dedicated data desks in UK newsrooms is a relatively new concept. In fact when the CIJ started teaching data journalism - then called Computer Assisted Reporting - in the early 2000s, very few people were interested.
People
Friday 27 June
  • 27 June 2025 10.00–17.10
Summer Conference Event
 — Course

Understanding Company Accounts 1-4

This mini course taught by a journalist-friendly forensic accountant will show you how to understand company accounts and get beyond the corporate PR spin. The emphasis will be on teaching practical skills rather than a series of lectures.
People
10.00–12.20
Summer Conference Event
 — Course

Story-Based Inquiry Method 1-4

This course sets out the Story-Based Inquiry (SBI) method, which has been successfully used by thousands of journalists, academics and NGO researchers since its publication by UNESCO in 2009. The method can be used for feature writing or documentary filmmaking as well as reportage.
People
  • 27 June 2025 10.00–15.50
Summer Conference Event
 — Course

Data Journalism: Investigating Data with R 1-3. Hands-on. [B+I]

Hands-on. Beginner [B]-Intermediate [I]. Sooner or later you know you’ll come up against a dataset so big it’s going to crash Excel if you even try to open it. Maybe your questions are becoming too complex for Excel’s built-in analytics tools to handle.
People
  • 27 June 2025 10.00–11.00
Summer Conference Event
 — Class

OSINT: 101 Places to Investigate Your Country

Would you like to find information about your country in foreign databases, public records and institutions? Are you looking for hidden story gems? This Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) session will equip you with useful knowledge and links how to track reliable information in international online reading rooms, databases and platforms beyond traditional national sources.
People
  • 27 June 2025 12.30–13.30
Summer Conference Event
 — Talk

Meta and Me: Holding tech companies to account with SARs

Tech companies are harvesting a terrifying amount of personal data from users all the time – and the practice is opaque by design. This talk will look at routes to discovering what data they hold. In particular, we’ll explore how to use subject access requests (SARs) combined with data analysis and other journalistic techniques to paint a picture of how tech and social media companies see and categorise us all.
People
  • 27 June 2025 12.30–13.30
Summer Conference Event
 — Case study

Financial Shenanigans Hiding in Plain Sight

Financial shenanigans are often hiding in plain sight. But where and how should you look? In this session we will review a series of case studies - such as Greensill Capital, NMC Health and others - showing practical examples of how public records and open source investigation tools have proved to be the keys to uncovering corporate wrongdoing.
People
  • 27 June 2025 12.30–13.30
Summer Conference Event
 — Talk

How to Make Your Investigative Journalism Connect with Readers

Since being founded in 2020, Mill Media has built a reputation for publishing hard-hitting investigative journalism that truly connects with readers. Its stories are known for their immersive feel and narrative structure, engaging audiences in a way that traditional investigations sometimes struggle to.
People
  • 27 June 2025 14.50–17.10
Summer Conference Event
 — Course

Using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 1-2

This two-part practical course will guide you through the basics of freedom of information legislation and equip you with the skills necessary to make successful information requests and appeals.
People
  • 27 June 2025 14.50–15.50
Summer Conference Event
 — Course

COP30: How to better cover the climate negotiations?

In times of growing denialism and misinformation against the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, it has become essential to cover events like the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP).
People
  • 27 June 2025 16.10–17.10
Summer Conference Event
 — Class

Accessing the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

This course will take a detailed look at the reporting requirements for large corporations on the impacts of their actions and those within their supply chains. It will guide participants through accessing, understanding and building compelling stories from the sustainability reports that will soon be filed by large corporations with operations in the EU.
People
  • 27 June 2025 16.10–17.10
Summer Conference Event
 — Class

Accessing the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

This class will take a detailed look at the reporting requirements for large corporations on the impacts of their actions and those within their supply chains. It will guide participants through accessing, understanding and building compelling stories from the sustainability reports that will soon be filed by large corporations with operations in the EU.
People
  • 27 June 2025 16.10–17.10
Summer Conference Event
 — Talk

Lessons I Learned after Fifty Years’ Experience of Investigative Journalism

A talk by veteran investigative journalist Martin Tomkinson. More details – TBC.
People
  • 27 June 2025 17.20–18.10
Summer Conference Event
 — Keynote Talk

Surveillance, Undercover Reporting and Source Protection: Dónal MacIntyre in conversation with Harlo Holmes 

Veteran TV investigative journalist Dónal MacIntyre joins Summer Conference to discuss a career of undercover work, protecting the identities of sources and his recent request to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) to confirm that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) placed him under direct surveillance.
People
  • 27 June 2025 18.30–20.00
Summer Conference Event
 — Networking

CIJ Summer Drinks Reception

Our traditional drinks reception for all the participants of the CIJ Summer Investigative Journalism Conference 2025. Wine, beer, soft drinks. Networking.