KINGSTON, Jamaica — The largest association of public broadcasters in the world, Public Media Alliance, (PMA) in association with UNESCO, is this week seeking to shore up investigative journalism across the Caribbean through a training course that puts particular focus on the use of technology as a resource.

The course is a three-day programme called Investigative Journalism in a Digital Age which began yesterday. It is being hosted in Kingston at Creative Production and Training Centre (CPTC) and has participants from 11 countries.

“The role that media can play as a watchdog is indispensable for democracy,” the organisers have said.

They make the point that this is especially crucial in societies, like a few in the Caribbean, where the Corruption Perception Index scores are lower than the global average, and argue that “it is investigative, critical, and thorough journalism which often reveal corruption”.

The lead facilitator is Professor Brant Houston who holds the John S and James L Knight Foundation Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting at the University of Illinois. He is assisted by Steffon Campbell, Lecturer in Communication, Culture and Caribbean Society at the University of the West Indies Western Campus.

Day one of the training course explored the virtues of computer-assisted reporting, social and new media as research tools and information sources, and how to find online reports and databases.

Investigative journalism, by definition, goes further than conventional news reporting and carries a great deal of legal risk. It seeks to shine a light on social plights, influence social policy and trigger change, PMA said.

PMA, formerly Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, has over 100 member organisations across the 54 Commonwealth states.

Kimone Thompson