by Andrew Kreig
Three journalists who helped break the "Panama Papers" secret asset
scandal last month described May 12 at the National Press Club their
year-long secret investigation of hidden assets, as well as their
innovative methods and future implications.
In
the largest leak probe in journalism history, some 376 investigative
journalists from 80 countries worked collaboratively to report stories
beginning April 3 on 11.5 million financial records from the
Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. The firm is one of the world's
top creators of shell companies that hide the assets of the wealthy. The
probe has prompted official resignations and ongoing investigations in
several nations.
Also, the probe coordinated by International Consortium of
Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has created hope that a new model can
augment the traditional investigative reporting, which is so expensive
and otherwise difficult that many if not most news organizations have
abandoned ambitious projects.
"Collaboration is the way to go," said ICIJ deputy director Marina
Walker Guevara, "not the 'lone wolf' model." She is shown with her ICIJ
colleagues Will Fitzgibbon (at left) and Kevin Hall (at far right), the
chief economics correspondent for McClatchy chain of newspapers. Panel
moderator Thomas Burr, press club president and Washington correspondent
for the Salt Lake Tribune, is at center in the photo republished
courtesy of photographer Noel St. John.
"The Panama Papers," she said, "show an array of behavior far beyond
tax evasion," and include traffic in drugs, arms, and people (for sex).
Burr opened the discussion by noting that one of ICIJ's first
meetings on its scoop occurred in secret nearly a year previous at the
club in the room right behind where the panel was sitting. "Honestly,"
he said,"we at the club had no idea what they were talking about. Until
now. That was one of the first meetings of the consortium of journalists
who are investigating what we now call 'the Panama Papers.'"
ICIJ, founded in 1997 by the American University journalism professor, best-selling author and former ABC and CBS News producer Charles Lewis (shown in a file photo), began breaking its story April 3 on its site with a story headlined, Giant leak of offshore financial records exposes global array of crime and corruption.
Partner news organizations around the world published or broadcast
their own versions under a plan whereby ICIJ controlled the timing, but
participating outlets controlled the subject and approach.
ICIJ's story began:
A massive leak of documents exposes the
offshore holdings of 12 current and former world leaders and reveals how
associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin secretly shuffled as
much as $2 billion through banks and shadow companies. The leak also
provides details of the hidden financial dealings of 128 more
politicians and public officials around the world.
The cache of 11.5 million records shows
how a global industry of law firms and big banks sells financial secrecy
to politicians, fraudsters and drug traffickers as well as
billionaires, celebrities and sports stars.
These are among the findings of a yearlong
investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists, German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and more than 100
other news organizations.
How the Scoop Started
An individual known as "John Doe"
approached the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) with an offer
to leak the documents. The source remains anonymous even to journalists
on the investigation. "My life is in danger," he wrote them.
"Pay
attention to whistleblowers," said the ICIJ's Walker Guevara in
describing lessons learned from the project. She praised the newspaper
SZ for following that procedure even though newsrooms are increasingly
busy during an era of decreased income. She praised the organization
also for realizing that the data and story possibilities were too
massive for one news organization.
Even ICIJ, with 12 staffers and a base
in Washington, DC, was far too small to handle the workload. Therefore
it went beyond its usual 190 partners to organize approximately twice
that many for this project.
Hall, shown in another photo by Noel St.
John, said his employer McClatchy has detailed him for a year on the
project virtually full time. He said two of his McClatchy colleagues
have been working on it full-time for a half-year even though the
company has been undergoing significant cost-cutting and management
changes, like most mainstream news organizations.
ICIJ's website describes how it has been organized to overcome such financial difficulties:
ICIJ was launched as a
project of the Center for Public Integrity to extend the Center’s style
of watchdog journalism, focusing on issues that do not stop at national
frontiers: cross-border crime, corruption, and the accountability of
power. Backed by the Center and its computer-assisted reporting
specialists, public records experts, fact-checkers and lawyers, ICIJ
reporters and editors provide real-time resources and state-of-the-art
tools and techniques to journalists around the world....
The need for such an organization has
never been greater. Globalization and development have placed
extraordinary pressures on human societies, posing unprecedented threats
from polluting industries, transnational crime networks, rogue states,
and the actions of powerful figures in business and government.
The news media, hobbled by short attention
spans and lack of resources, are even less of a match for those who
would harm the public interest. Broadcast networks and major newspapers
have closed foreign bureaus, cut travel budgets, and disbanded
investigative teams. We are losing our eyes and ears around the world
precisely when we need them most.
Our aim is to bring journalists from
different countries together in teams - eliminating rivalry and
promoting collaboration. Together, we aim to be the world’s best
cross-border investigative team.
What we do
What we do
The leaked data covered nearly 40 years, from 1977 through the end of
2015. It permits an unprecedented view of the world of offshore
finances. Panelists said some journalists have faced litigation threats
but none have been sued so far. Also, they said that Panama's government
strongly discourages use of the name "Panama Papers" for the scandal
and instead prefers that it reference only the law firm Mossack an
Fonseca. ICIJ note that sanctions against the media are different around
the world, thus providing another reason to empower local news outlets
to publish information according to their best judgment regarding the
facts and also their audience temperment.
Although some critics might speculate
that the concept of "collaborative" journalism might create gatekeepers
with too much control over sensitive topics, ICIJ's deputy director
emphasized that local partners can emphasize what they think important,
with the benefit of both local knowledge of the players and expected
audience reaction.
The panelists stressed also that the many stories already published
around the world about the financial disclosures are just the beginning.
"This is the gift," Hall said, "that's going to keep on giving for a long time."
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