Agenda – BIRN Summer School

Ohrid, North Macedonia
17 – 23 August, 2026

09:00 – 11:00 The Investigative Mindset
Blake Morrison – Lead Trainer, Investigative Projects Editor, Reuters News
11:00 – 11:15 Coffee Break
11:15 – 12:15 The Investigative Mindset
Blake Morrison – Lead Trainer, Investigative Projects Editor, Reuters News
12:15 – 13:30 Lunch Break
13:30 – 14:45 Formulating Story Ideas: How to Structure Your Pitch
Gordana Andric – Investigative Editor, BIRN Hub & BIRN Serbia
14:45 – 17:00 Q&A with BIRN investigative journalists
Gordana Andric, Sasa Dragoljo and Ana Petruseva, featuring insights from 10 investigations, moderated by Jeta Xharra
17:00 – 18:00 One-on-One Trainer Check-ins (20 minutes per consultation)
Spots to be scheduled via Google Calendar
19:00 – 21:00 Dinner

09:00 – 09:15 Wrapping Up Day 1
Blake Morrison – Lead Trainer, Investigative Projects Editor, Reuters News
09:15 – 11:30 Masterclass in Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) – Part I
Reade Levinson – Visual Investigations Reporter, Reuters News
11:30 – 11:45 Coffee Break
11:45 – 13:15 Masterclass in Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) – Part II
Reade Levinson – Visual Investigations Reporter, Reuters News
13:15 – 14:00 Lunch Break
14:00 – 16:00 Advanced Data Journalism – Part I
Jonathan Soma – Knight Chair in Data Journalism, Columbia Journalism School
16:00 – 16:15 Coffee Break
16:15 – 18:00 Advanced Data Journalism – Part II
Jonathan Soma – Knight Chair in Data Journalism, Columbia Journalism School
18:00 – 19:00 AI in Investigative Journalism: Transforming Newsrooms, Data and Document-Based Investigation
Jonathan Soma – Knight Chair in Data Journalism, Columbia Journalism School
19:00 – 21:00 Dinner

09:00 – 09:15 Wrapping Up Day 2
Blake Morrison – Lead Trainer, Investigative Projects Editor, Reuters News
09:15 – 11:00 Digital Security in the Real World
Sharbil Nammour – Media Safety Advisor and Founder, Vallaris Solutions
11:00 – 11:15 Coffee Break
11:15 – 12:45 From Exposure to Impact: Why Some Investigations Spark Change and Others Don’tJeta Xharra – Director, BIRN Kosovo

12:45 – 13:45 Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 The Art of Interview
Blake Morrison – Lead Trainer, Investigative Projects Editor, Reuters News
16:30 – 18:00 Scenario Based Exercises & Live Problem Solving
Sharbil Nammour – Media Safety Advisor and Founder, Vallaris Solutions
18:00 – 19:00 One-on-One Trainer Check-ins (20 minutes per consultation)
Spots to be scheduled via Google Calendar
19:00 – 21:00 Dinner

09:00 – 09:15 Focus on Learnings & Next Steps
Blake Morrison – Lead Trainer, Investigative Projects Editor, Reuters News
09:15 – 10:30 Policy-oriented investigative reporting
Alex Anderson – BIRN consultant
10:45 – 11:00 Coffee Break
11:00 – 12:30 Engaging Citizens in Investigative Reporting: From Crowdsourcing to Impact
Ana Petruseva – Director, BIRN North Macedonia, and Karla Juncic – Engaged Citizens Reporting Programme Coordinator, BIRN Hub
12:30 – 13:30 Lunch Break
13:30 – 14:45 Fact-Checking — hate the process, love the reputation. A survival guide to solid evidence
Felicia Crețu – Editorial fact-checker, CU SENS Media Project
14:45 – 16:30 Developing and Refining Pitches
16:30 – 16:45 Coffee Break
16:45 – 19:00 One-on-One Trainer Check-ins (20 minutes per consultation)
Spots to be scheduled via Google Calendar
19:00 – 21:00 Dinner

09:00 – 09:15 Wrap up and What’s Next
Blake Morrison – Lead Trainer, Investigative Projects Editor, Reuters News
09:15 – 11:00 Reporting Under Legal Pressure: Protecting Investigative Journalists from Legal Risks and Reprisals
Bojana Paneva – Senior Associate, Karanovic & Partners / Commercial Law Firm
11:00 – 11:15 Coffee Break
11:15 – 13:00 Geolocation and Visual Investigation
Azem Kurtić – Journalist, Balkan Insight, BIRN Hub
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
13:00 – 14:00 Freedom of Information: Using FOI to Strengthen Investigative Reporting
Ana Petruseva – Director, BIRN North Macedonia
14:00 – 15:30 The Flamingo Revolution: Environmental Journalism in the Middle of a Protest and an Information War
Besar Likmeta – Editor in Chief, BIRN Albania
15:30 – 17:00 Reporting the Environment: How to Investigate Pollution, Risks and Public Health Impacts
Blake Morrison – Lead Trainer, Investigative Projects Editor, Reuters News
17:00 – 17:15 Coffee Break
17:15 – 19:00 Fossil fuels, food systems and pledges: a primer to climate investigations
Diego Arguedas Ortiz – Climate journalist and media trainer
19:00 – 20:00 City Tour
20:30 – 22:00 Dinner in the City Centre

09:30 – 11:00 Panel: How to identify strong environmental stories in local communities?
Katerina Topalova – investigative and environmental journalist

Wojciech Oleksiak – journalist

Dragan Gmizić – investigative journalist

Moderator: Gordana Andric – Investigative Editor, BIRN Hub & BIRN Serbia
11:00 – 11:45 Looking under the hood: where is the money going
Diego Arguedas Ortiz – Climate journalist and media trainer
11:45 – 12:30 How to cover heat: Ideas, principles and examples of good investigations
Diego Arguedas Ortiz – Climate journalist and media trainer
12:30 – 12:45 Coffee Break
12:45 – 14:00 About audiences: what psychology and media research tell us about them
Diego Arguedas Ortiz – Climate journalist and media trainer
09:00 – 14:00 Pitching Stories — parallel session
Blake Morrison – Lead Trainer, Investigative Projects Editor, Reuters News

Besar Likmeta – Editor in Chief, BIRN Albania

Saša Dragojlo – Investigative Journalist, Balkan Insight, BIRN Hub
14:00 – 15:00 Lunch
15:30 – 16:30 Certificate Awarding Ceremony
18:00 Boat trip — Ohrid Lake
19:30 – 22:00 Dinner in the City Centre