News, it's what we do here. But often stories produced for this newscast can be one and done snapshots of a particular event and not a deep dive into more complex issues that are at the heart of questionable government actions and ongoing societal ills.
That's where investigative journalism comes in. In Belize, it's a term most often brought up in criticism of the news profession and less so used to describe practical examples of original research and reporting.
But tonight we're telling you more about Belize's first ever prize for investigative journalism, an award that seeks to quote: " recognize and reward courageous and dedicated journalists who watch, chronicle, reveal and hold to account the people and forces that work against equity, transparency, civility and good governance in our nation."
Cherisse Halsall took a closer look at the $10,000.00 award and the work journalists will have to put in to get it:
STANDUP
This is the future site of the Ministry of Finance, a treasure trove of valuable public information if ever there was one. But is any of that information even accessible? Politicians see no need to make it so, but strategic use of The Freedom of Information Act would force GOVERNMENT'S powers that be to reveal what they would rather conceal. But that's a legal tool rarely if ever employed by journalists.
But that may be soon change, and it's all thanks to a new investigative journalism contest with a $10,000 prize.
This morning I spoke to contest coordinator Holly Edgell to find out why the organizers and funders of the prize felt it was something that Belize sorely needed.
Holly Edgell, Journalist/ Competition Coordinator
"The focus behind this, we felt like this would inject a sense of urgency into journalists in Belize about really going deep into some subject matter that needs to be covered and anyone who watches the news in Belize knows that there is no shortage of issues so we feel like there could be an opportunity here not only for this particular prize but to really invest and inject again into the journalistic community a sense that news goes beyond just the day today. Some matters will deserve and require investigation."
And Holly's advice to the individuals and teams vying for the prize?
Holly Edgell, Journalist/ Competition Coordinator
"Find a very narrow story that is universal in interest to people and really go deep on that. Not try to do everything but again take an issue that is an inch wide and go a mile deep."
And back to those bastions of vital but unseen information, they're the ones that journalists will have to dig into.
Holly Edgell, Journalist/ Competition Coordinator
"I think that I hope that this contest encourages a lot of journalists to think about using their right to access public records because public records are just that, they are a lot of documents that can be requested from the government. They hold these documents and are supposed to be able to show most of them to the public and that is a right that not just journalists have but the members of the public have and a lot of the stories that we are talking about it's their. Right there in the record."
And while it's anticipated that one of the major media houses will bag the prize, the contest is also open to independents and bloggers who could use it to make a name for themselves.
Holly Edgell, Journalist/ Competition Coordinator
"Well I hope that independent journalists will look at this as well. We have thought about people who are independent journalists who may publish on their own platforms whether it be a blog or perhaps they are a freelancer maybe they don't work for Amandala directly but Amandala publishes their work I really want to incorporate them as well knowing that they may not have the resources of a news house."
"We want people to come to this not knowing the name of those biyines personally. We do have one Belize judge but the two others are from outside and so we hope that between the four of them we could look at those submitting the work as just names without any kind of baggage."
"Now, we have journalism happening in all corners of the country from PG to Corozal and so I really hope that for people who do consider themselves to be an underdog, a story well told does not have to be fancy or full of bells and whistles it just has to be a good story that is accurate has some impact and is told as I said well."
And telling a story well means making it easily consumable by the widest cross-section of the reading and viewing public. I asked Holly how much watchability and clean prose will come into play when the judges pick their winner.
Holly Edgell, Journalist/ Competition Coordinator
"That goes to the quality of the writing whether it's a broadcast or print or digital product. The clarity of the storytelling is the balance of data facts and figures with just explaining the situation. Speaking to someone as if they're a neighbour, your mother, your boyfriend, your girlfriend not some professor of investigative journalism somewhere, that's really important. I often criticize some U.S. investigative journalism because it seems like it's written for other journalists that's really not the point and whether it's a small underdog as you call them or one of the major media houses in Belize, you know I think it's important that it's just a well done investigation and that it can be easily consumed and understood."
The contest's judging panel consists of four journalist or former journalist judges, three who work outside Belize and one from within the country. The winner will be announced in April of 2023.
Investigative stories produced between the 1st of January 2022 and the 31st of December, 2022 are eligible for submission.
