ANCIR Holds Cross Examination Course for Investigative Reporters

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The African Network of Centers for Investigative Reporting (ANCIR) is set to organize a two-day “Cross Examination Course for Investigative Reporters” in Lagos on July 23 and 24, 2014. The course seeks to equip journalists and human rights activists with the skills to interview sources to determine whether they are lying or not.

 According to ANCIR, “Cross-examination is the most effective engine devised for sifting truth from lies. It is the process by which an accusation and denial are evaluated to determine what is true and to unravel, where false, detailed defenses. This is, quintessentially, the investigative journalist’s craft. Yet the art of the forensic interview is seldom taught to reporters.”

The training course is coming in the heels of similar exercises held in Accra, Ghana on June 16 and 17, 2014 and in Abuja on July 12 and 13, 2014. The training is in order to change the situation of absence of proper training for reporters on cross examination through a series of hands-on courses led by legal professionals.

Journalists and human rights activists in the Lagos area are being invited to sign-up for the free two-day workshop, where they will learn to apply courtroom-style cross-examination skills used to sharpen their own performance with difficult interviewees, especially those with something to hide.

Participants in the course will have access to ongoing support from ANCIR specialists, and will be eligible for investigative story grants offered by ANCIR partners.

 It is recalled that previous training of this kind was organized by the Forum for African Investigative Reporters (FAIR) in 2013 for individual journalists, the course is now being offered to media houses across the continent and organized by ANCIR with sponsorship by Free Press Unlimited (FPU).

ANCIR is an association of Africa’s best investigative newsrooms, ranging from large traditional media to small specialist units. It works to strengthen African investigative journalism by improving the techniques, expertise, the tools used in muckraking newsrooms. It is underwritten by the continent’s largest association of media owners and operators, the African Media Initiative (AMI) and receives technology support from Code for Africa.

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