2025-09-12 15:00:48
We dug into an investment fund when it was just in its infancy. Fiagro, a financial instrument created by the Brazilian parliament to mobilize private investment to fund agribusiness in the country, was entering its third year of operation when we decided to open our investigation.
The fund was successful in its start in the market: It reached a net worth of US$8.1 billion on the Brazilian Stock Exchange (B3) from March 2023 to March 2025, while its major financial asset, Agribusiness Receivable Certificates (CRA, its acronym in Portuguese), increased in volume by 46% during the same period, reaching US$28.3 billion.
Fiagro is like a big box filled with dozens of hidden packages or financial assets — each one tied to a different company or project in the agribusiness world. To understand what’s really inside, you have to open each package and look into it closely. It takes time, tools, and knowledge, particularly in financial and geospatial analysis, to answer our investigation question: Is Fiagro financing land-grabbing and/or socio-environmental violations in the Amazon rainforest? With the support of the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network, we unpacked the box and published our findings in the series Financial Market: A Black Box Over Green Areas.
Journalists working at O Joio e O Trigo had already uncovered that Fiagro was financing illegal agribusiness activities in the Cerrado. This Brazilian ecosystem, often considered the country’s “water tank,” which supplies water to the entire country, is also threatened by the expansion of monoculture crops. We aimed to check if Fiagro had the same impact on the world’s largest tropical rainforest.
Initial suspicions about Fiagro arose from its own regulations. The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (Comissão de Valores Mobiliários/CVM), the government body responsible for regulating all financial instruments traded in the Brazilian capital market, has no rules preventing Fiagro’s resources from being accessed by farmers and companies engaged in illegal commercial activities.
Brazil has a history of socio-environmental violations financed by government rural credit and bank loans, but such abuses have been addressed and halted by regulations to exclude “dirty” farmers and companies. It was a lightbulb moment when we realized that there’s a lack of stringent, sustainable rules for Fiagro.
Hence, the hypothesis that we set out to prove was that farmers and companies were borrowing money from bonds pooled by Fiagro and applying it to expand their operations and profit from illegal activities.
After some interviews with fund managers and financial workers, we identified datasets that would be useful to test the hypothesis. The starting point was a database maintained by the Brazilian Stock Exchange, which contains mandatory regular filings for all public investment funds. These reports, available as PDFs, list the financial assets like CRAs included in each Fiagro fund. That’s what led us to take a closer look at the assets themselves.
The documents related to these assets are stored in private databases, but they are also publicly accessible through the online database of securitization firms — the companies responsible for issuing CRAs, the bonds backed by agribusiness receivables. That’s where the real digging began: We coded several scrapers using Python, a programming language, to scrape more than 10,700 PDF files from the websites of eight different securitization firms: True, Opea, Virgo, Ecoagro, Provincia, Canal, Vert, and Ceres. These PDF files contain detailed information of the Fiagro assets, allowing us to identify the amount of money involved, where it was going, and most importantly, the names of both individuals (such as farmers) and companies (such as those in the biofuel and meatpacking industries) connected to each bond.
We uncovered companies that accessed huge amounts of credits through CRAs to fund their operations, including meat giants JBS and Minerva Foods, as well as “green” ethanol producer FS Fueling Sustainability.
Once thousands of PDFs containing reports and financial data were in hand, we could determine the amount of credit received by companies of interest. Image: Graphic by O Joio e O Trigo
There was more to keep diving into: Some documents contain lists of rural producers — such as corn and cattle suppliers — paid with funds from Fiagro assets. As those lists surpass hundreds of pages in PDFs, we had to make use of table extraction tools including Tabula (open source) and ExtractTable (paid) to extract the data from the PDFs into a spreadsheet for further analysis.
After organizing and cleaning the names, we cross-referenced them with a range of environmental crime datasets downloaded from the official database of the Brazilian environmental agency (Ibama). This gave us details of each crime, such as terms of embargoes, notes of infraction, and fines. The cross-reference was done on RIN Data, an internal data platform developed by the Pulitzer Center based on Aleph, the open source data platform by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) to support investigative journalism.
Another helpful approach was to connect with research and data organizations specializing in the data we were interested in. We formed partnerships with the Center for Climate Crime Analysis (CCCA) and Operação Amazônia Nativa (OPAN), which shared their databases and supported the investigation with their respective expertise in the field of meat supply chains and land conflict within Indigenous lands.
This analysis identified individuals and companies linked to land invasion and conflicts, Indigenous people’s expulsion from their territories, and illegal deforestation in the Amazon region. Using Brazilian government databases including the Land Management System (Sigef), Rural Environmental Registries (CAR), and Integrated Information System on Interstate Transactions with Goods and Services (Sintegra), we were able to identify the locations where these actors were carrying out commercial activities, such as raising cattle and growing crops. Such information guided our field reporting trips. It was crucial to visit the locations to verify what was happening on the ground and talk to affected communities.
In Rondônia, the first Amazonian state we visited, we witnessed cattle being raised inside an embargoed area overlapping the Tanaru Indigenous land. That was a clear violation of the law, as all commercial activities are prohibited in embargoed areas. Using GTAs (cattle transport permits), we tracked the cattle from the embargoed area to another legal farm owned by the same family to be “laundered” before being sold to JBS and Minerva Foods, the two largest meatpacking companies accessing Fiagro’s funds to purchase cattle.
In another Amazonian state, Mato Grosso, Indigenous members of the Kawaiweté/Kayabi people told us they tried to return to their ancestral land in the early 2000s after they were expelled in the 1960s. However, they were threatened and warned to leave the territory by producers of soy, corn, and cotton who operated farms on the recognized Indigenous land. Two of them are shareholders in a biofuels company that profited from Fiagro assets.
One of the biggest limitations in the financial data was the lack of detail about where the money actually ends up. Only a few investment funds and bonds include lists of entities who receive the credit raised from the capital markets. When those lists are available, they are a gold mine, as they often include names and identification numbers like CPFs for individuals or CNPJs for companies. But issuers are not required to publish this information, which makes it harder for journalists to trace specific companies or rural producers who benefit from the loans.
One key lesson we learned is that we should have looked at the bigger picture from the start, especially by examining the underlying Fiagro assets earlier in the process. In the beginning, we focused heavily on the Fiagro documents themselves. We later realized the real value was actually hidden in the documentation of the assets, which sat on the sidelines of the main Fiagro documents. In fact, much of the data I ended up scraping midway through the yearlong investigation came from those asset-related files.
Finally, financial jargon can be a barrier for those unfamiliar with the language of the capital markets. Still, with time and effort, it’s possible to break through and make sense of it.
Journalists and newsrooms can replicate this methodology to help improve transparency in Brazil’s capital markets and beyond. It offers an investigative path that connects two key points. On one side are companies or farmers accessing credit through the stock exchange with little or no public scrutiny. On the other side are investors seeking financial returns through bonds and funds that may be linked to threats on Indigenous lands or protected territories.
The tools and datasets mentioned earlier can support investigations into other companies and supply chains, not only those involving meat and corn, as shown in this case. They can also serve as a starting point for uncovering other underreported aspects of the financial market.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by the Pulitzer Center and is reprinted here with permission. It has been lightly edited for style and clarity.
Bruna Bronoski is a Brazilian freelance journalist specializing in the intersections between land grabbing, the financialization of agriculture, and the financial market. As a Fellow, she analyzes the impacts of financial instruments from the Brazilian stock market in the Amazon rainforest. Her work also includes socio-environmental issues and the use and occupation of land in Brazil, which has been published in such outlets as O Joio e o Trigo, Repórter Brasil, Agência Pública, UOL, Climate Tracker, among others. Her work has been republished by newsrooms in Latin America and Europe.
2025-09-11 15:00:32
For years, over coffee in Nairobi cafés, Verah Okeyo and Anne Mawathe traded stories of health investigations that took weeks to report, only to be condensed into a few paragraphs, two-minute clips, or dropped entirely.
Both seasoned health journalists, they grew frustrated with newsroom constraints and began to imagine a platform where health reporting could breathe. They envisioned longform, deeply reported stories that communities, policymakers, and global audiences could not ignore.
Out of that frustration came DeFrontera, created to fill a gap in African media with sustained, evidence-driven health journalism.
Already, DeFrontera’s reporting has covered investigations into how a once-model maternal health program in a Kenyan county collapsed under the weight of systemic failures; how simple but transformational protocols in another county dramatically reduced maternal deaths from postpartum bleeding; the alarming resurgence of deadly parasitic disease kala-azar in northern Kenya amid waning donor and government support; and an innovative “one health” initiative that delivers both veterinary and human vaccines to reach nomadic communities.
Guiding this ambitious editorial vision are two leaders with deep roots in both journalism and health. Okeyo, the chief executive and publisher, combines global health reporting with leadership experience at health nonprofit Jhpiego and the Nation Media Group, where she honed her ability to design editorial systems that uphold rigor and nurture emerging health journalists.
Mawathe, the editor-in-chief, brings decades of experience, including senior roles as chief producer of visuals for Africa at Reuters and Africa Health Editor at the BBC. She is recognized for transforming complex health data into engaging stories that have driven policy change and institutional accountability.
Together, the co-founders are positioning DeFrontera as a trusted voice in African health reporting, providing a platform for stories and perspectives often overlooked by mainstream media. I asked them about their vision, the challenges of building an independent outlet, and the role African journalists must play in global health debates. Our conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Q: How does DeFrontera approach telling health stories differently than legacy newsrooms you’ve worked in in the past?
Verah Okeyo: In legacy media, stories are often chosen for advertising, sales potential, and sometimes prestige. The order is politics, sports, then what I call MERSH: medicine, education, research, science, and health. Politics and sports receive investment, training, and resources. Science, health, and education are treated as something prestigious.
A recent story by DeFrontera examined a surge of cases of the deadly disease visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) in northern Kenya. (Image: Screenshot, DeFrontera
Because of that little investment, the quality of reporting is not going to be there. Too often, health is treated like politics, with shock, yet these are people’s lives, and audiences make decisions based on that reporting. Science coverage requires reading journals and talking to multiple types of people just to triangulate one thing. It is not a “he-said, she-said” kind of situation.
Another gap we were finding is how newsrooms manage content. You can spend a week in the field and end up with a two-minute story. At DeFrontera, we use what we call the circular economy: reusing content until there is nothing left, tailored for different audiences such as policymakers, healthcare workers, and the public. One story might run as a YouTube feature, then be broken into smaller parts for Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, WhatsApp, and so on.
Anne Mawathe: Mainstream media tend to report stories because a certain organization has given them data. They have done the research, and the media just report things like, “Kenya ranks among the top 10 countries with the highest mortality rate.” But we are not saying why this should matter. We want to turn these into public impact stories that reach people. We especially want to reach decision-makers with our storytelling.
Q: How do you center communities in your work?
AM: For us, engaging communities is a loop. It does not end when the story is published. We go back to the communities so they can see the story, give feedback, and have discussions. We hold forums with local health leaders. There, the community can share their reactions and pose questions to their local leaders. We want to give communities tools, language, and accessible storytelling so they can claim what belongs to them. We also encourage leaders to grant access.
Q: How do you ensure ethical storytelling in contexts where people are experiencing illness, stigma, or systemic neglect?
Verah Okeyo, DeFrontera publisher and CEO. Image: Pulitzer Center
VO: We have a principle that ours is a do-no-harm kind of journalism because for us, it is paramount that we are respectful in the way we tell our stories. Anne and I are very experienced reporters, so we course-correct as we go, and we also draw from both life and professional experiences to ensure ethical storytelling. For example, at Jhpiego, informed consent was standard. We practice the same: if someone appears in our stories, we explain where the material will go and its impact, then get their consent. We are also intentional about language.
Q: What structural inequities do Global South journalists face when working with international media?
VO: Often, the stories international editors want are inaccurate because they come with a narrow perception of Africa’s health systems. For example, during COVID, Africans were better prepared than assumed because we have long dealt with deadlier zoonotic diseases like Ebola and Rift Valley fever. Our doctors and clinical officers are trained to work in low-resource settings. Yet external editors arrive with “confident ignorance.” They may even try to misframe visuals, such as filming long queues of patients that have nothing to do with the disease in question, just to fit a narrative.
AM: My experience at the BBC and later Reuters showed me that the problem also lies in structural power. Too often, reporting is shaped by parachuting journalists or external fixers. When Africans themselves edit and produce these stories, we reclaim the narrative. At Reuters, as the first African woman in my position, I pushed for Africans to own their stories. But inequities remain: global funding systems, research agendas, and editorial control still sit in the Global North. During COVID, however, we saw that Africa could teach the West how to manage outbreaks. This gives me hope that the dynamic is changing.
Q: What kinds of gatekeeping or skepticism have you personally faced as African journalists reporting on global health, and how do you navigate it?
VO: I’ve experienced gatekeeping on two levels. First, within medicine and global health itself: if you’re not from that background, people assume you’ll get it wrong. Scientists and doctors are cautious, and sometimes won’t speak unless they can review your copy. We refuse this unless it is highly technical and specialist input is necessary. To navigate this, I immerse myself in the field: I read medical journals, attend conferences, and pay for memberships in professional societies, like the Kenya Obstetric and Gynaecological Society and the Nurses Association of Kenya. This helps me understand clinic realities and connect medicine with politics. The second layer is international: external editors often assume Africans are helpless and waiting for saviors. Over time, as they see our expertise and preparation, this gatekeeping lessens.
Q: Have you encountered resistance to your approach from within journalism or from institutions you report on, and how did you respond?
VO: Resistance comes from both journalism and institutions. Within journalism, some dismiss your work as “not new” or “just another startup.” I counter this with my experience and access, which allows me to pursue stories others can’t. From healthcare, resistance occurs because I straddle roles as journalist and medical anthropologist. Physicians may expect me to understand the system fully or refrain from critique, but my focus is on patient needs. Critiquing healthcare practices often meets pushback because doctors are seen as untouchable. NGOs and donors also exert control, sometimes wanting to pre-review stories to avoid upsetting funders. I navigate this by working through counties or local authorities, allowing stories to be published without giving agencies editorial control.
Q: What has it been like to lead a media organization as women in the industry?
VO: So far, our gender has worked in our favor and opened opportunities for two main reasons. First, the respect the industry has given us because of our experience. People expected we would bring different skills. Anne has been in the health and human rights beat for over 20 years in broadcasting. She was BBC Africa’s founding health editor, covering the continent and leading productions where health stories were reported in Swahili, English, and French. She kept that momentum even as Reuters Africa’s head of visual. I have been known for my extensive coverage of medicine and public health, and also for my grant-writing and fundraising work at the Nation. My time working at Jhpiego and pursuing a PhD in medical anthropology also added to that credibility.
There is also a culture that assumes, because we are women, we will report on health better. We have noticed, for instance, that health administrators are more willing to allow us into maternity wards compared to our male colleagues, even when both have official permission.
Q: How are you approaching funding and long-term sustainability, and what challenges have you faced?
VO: For now, funding isn’t an immediate worry. We have seed support from the International Center for Journalism and the Gates Foundation for the next three-and-a-half years. Anne and I have had to learn to think like fundraisers. When we cover a story, we already consider how it can be positioned to attract support while remaining true to our mission. As a nonprofit, advertising is not an option, so partnerships are crucial. Building these relationships takes time, careful communication, and understanding the language of funders. We show researchers the impact of their work through storytelling, without compromising editorial independence. Sustainability also involves operational efficiency and creativity. We reduce costs by sharing tasks across our team and ensure every story is solid, grounded in evidence, and ethically reported. Over time, these small, consistent efforts help build a product and reputation that funders can trust, allowing us to maintain independence while securing support.
Q: What advice would you give to emerging journalists from the Global South who want to cover health stories but face under-resourced or extractive systems?
Anne Mawathe, DeFrontera editor-in-chief. Image: DeFrontera
AM: Stick with the basics. Know why you exist as a journalist and commit to showing up. There is no way to succeed without engaging directly with people. Modern journalism sometimes encourages sitting at your desk, doing social listening, and thinking that is enough. It is not. You must speak to real people, understand their specialities, and extend beyond online observation. You do not have a monopoly on ideas. If someone else covers a story similar to yours, it does not mean they copied you. Put in the work and consistently do your job. The impact of your reporting and the fact that you are producing work with life and meaning should be enough motivation.
VO: Global health journalism also requires an entrepreneurial mindset. Most newsrooms cannot fund health stories due to elitism and limited resources, so you must find ways to sustain your work. First, you need to genuinely care about people and be committed to their well-being.
Second, read widely, particularly in biomedical sciences. Knowledge is essential. Third, you need to be able to sell your ideas. Grant applications and partnerships require persuasion. Study marketing, advertising, and successful campaigns. I observe advertising videos and analyse them for lessons. You need to make your journalism a product that is visible, fast, and compelling.
Finally, speed and timing matter. Your story must reach funders, platforms, and audiences quickly, even before you meet them.
Stick with the basics. Know why you exist as a journalist and commit to showing up. There is no way to succeed without engaging directly with people.
Q. How do you take care of yourselves and manage your mental health?
Mawathe: Going to the gym regularly helps me a lot, and sometimes I unload on Verah, which helps too. Doing post-mortems after an assignment gives me relief. The hardest part is reliving the interviews while editing or producing the story. Over time, you learn to pace yourself. I also watch documentaries, mostly on African history, which shifts my focus from the heaviness of the stories. Giving yourself immediate breaks after intense assignments is crucial, something most journalists in newsrooms cannot do because of the workload. That pause is important for mental health.
Okeyo: I have a strong constitution, and I rarely get shocked. I prepare myself psychologically by mapping out the journey of a story and anticipating challenges. My upbringing helped; my mother was a nurse and midwife, and I grew up assisting her with deliveries and community healthcare. That experience gave me resilience and a calmness in the face of trauma. When stories feel heavy, I use physical activity like the gym or martial arts to release stress. Sleep also helps.
I am also fortunate to have friends and colleagues who are doctors and nurses, so I can gauge the severity of what I witness. They give perspective on cases, which helps me manage anxiety. My personal temperament is naturally phlegmatic, which keeps me steady. Anne and I also balance each other; my calm complements her energy
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published by The Reuters Institute and is republished here with permission.
Maurice Oniang’o is an award-winning freelance multimedia journalist and documentary filmmaker based in Nairobi, Kenya. He has written for National Geographic, 100 Reporters, Africa.com, and Transparency International, among others. A National Geographic Explorer recipient, he has also produced documentaries for National Geographic’s Ultimate Vipers, as well as Project Green, Africa Uncensored, NTV Wild, and Tazama.
2025-09-10 15:00:35
With 70 days until the kickoff of the 14th Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Malaysia, the full program for the event is taking its final shape. With more than 300 esteemed journalists, data gurus, and world renowned experts committed as speakers so far — nearly 100 of which are from the host continent, Asia — the geographic diversity and subject matter knowledge at GIJC25 will be unsurpassed.
To give both those already registered and prospective attendees a glimpse at just some of the conference’s 15 tracks and more than 150 sessions, we are sharing a few of the many new and innovative panels and workshops planned below.
Journalists in data-scarce environments face unique challenges due to government restrictions on information access and lack of infrastructure. This panel, moderated by Code for Africa’s chief data officer, Italian journalist Jacopo Ottaviani, showcases innovative methodologies that combine rigorous fieldwork with open source research to uncover hidden stories. As speakers, Kenyan data journalist Purity Murikami, ARIJ Executive Editor E’thar AlAzem, and Teodora Ćurčić from BBC Serbia demonstrate practical techniques for gathering data in restrictive contexts, integrating satellite imagery analysis with on-the-ground reporting, and building compelling investigations from fragmented sources. Through real case studies, attendees learn innovative strategies for data collection, verification methods for unofficial sources, and workflows that succeed despite limited resources.
Algorithms are behind some of the most common, helpful applications we use, as well as some of the greatest harms such as systemic bias and unjust claims denial — yet their processes are often hidden from view. In this key panel, moderator Karol Ilagan of the Pulitzer Center, along with speakers Karen Hao, an AI expert and freelance journalist, Jasper Jackson, managing editor of the Transformer, and Gabriel Geiger, investigative reporter at Lighthouse Reports, share tools and techniques needed to investigate these technologies and their integration into society and tips to track AI supply chains and cascading harms, particularly in the Global South.
The global water crisis isn’t a future threat — it is devastating communities now. Through compelling case studies, investigative journalists like 7iber Executive Editor Lina Ejeliat from Jordan, Ruido Editorial Director Edgardo Litvinoff from Argentina, and Egyptian freelance reporter Eman Mounir share investigative methodologies for exposing complex water stories and holding powerful actors to account, including tips for overcoming access challenges in sensitive environments and translating local crises into narratives that drive change. Moderated by Colombian environmental journalist Andrés Bermúdez Liévano from El CLIP, this panel also offers practical takeaways on corporate accountability and government failures, plus strategies for impactful storytelling on environmental justice.
In an era of declining trust in journalism, this panel, moderated by the Pulitzer Center’s Rozina Breen, explores how media organizations can rebuild credibility by integrating citizen monitors and local communities into investigative processes. Panelists include Nigerian investigative journalist Olugbenga Adanikin, editor Noelia Esquivel from Costa Rica’s La Voz de Guanacaste, and Kazakh journalist Lukpan Akhmediarov offering practical engagement strategies and risk management techniques for involving communities in monitoring government spending, public contracts, and abuse of power. Through real-world examples, attendees learn how collaborative journalism enhances local impact, builds audience loyalty, and creates sustainable accountability mechanisms that benefit both newsrooms and the communities they serve.
Across theaters of conflict from Sudan to Palestine, gathering and analyzing evidence of war crimes poses a similar challenge. In this session, Danish documentary filmmaker Henrik Grunnet acts a moderator to look at common problems with this subject matter: What methods can keep reporters, sources, and chains-of-custody safe? How can reporters counter active efforts to deny documentation and the gathering of testimonies, or report from afar? Is it ethically justifiable to use undercover techniques, and pose as someone else to extract key information? Insights into these questions and trusted methods for holding war criminals accountable come from panelists who have lived and worked on the front lines of conflict, like Yevheniia Motorevska, who leads The Kyiv Independent’s war crimes investigations unit, Myanmar Now multimedia journalist Su Chay, and Hadi Al Khatib, co-founder of Mnemonic’s Syrian Archive project.
Religious groups are often able to commit abuses under secrecy, using spiritual authority as control mechanisms. Investigating these cases often requires convincing traumatized victims and systematizing complex information. Moderator Anton Harber, of South Africa’s Henry Nxumalo Foundation, brings together Colombian reporter Juan Barrientos, Radio New Zealand’s Anusha Bradley, and Peruvian investigative journalist Paola Ugaz to discuss methodologies for building trust with sources, navigating institutional resistance, and developing compelling narratives from sensitive testimonies. They will also share their challenges, including legal harassment and persecution, while revealing creative approaches for accessing key information.
This workshop, featuring Salud con Lupa Director Fabiola Torres and Australian reporter Will Fitzgibbon of The Examination, teaches journalists how to investigate oligopolies in the pharmaceutical industry that restrict access to essential medicines through high pricing and market manipulation. Participants learn to uncover price-setting mechanisms, expose patent extensions and lobbying tactics, reveal conflicts of interest, regulatory capture, and barriers to generic competition. The session provides practical tools for investigating complex market structures, holding pharmaceutical companies accountable, and informing policy debates that can improve healthcare access and affordability globally.
In an era of increasing digital surveillance and authoritarian crackdowns on press freedom, journalists face unprecedented risks when crossing borders, covering protests, or working in conflict zones. The search and seizure of electronic devices has become a primary tool for intimidation, source exposure, and censorship. Through real-life case studies and hands-on scenarios, panelists Raya Sharbain of The Tor Project and Citizen Lab’s Bill Marczak offer preventative measures, response protocols during seizure, and demystify what happens to seized devices: how they’re unlocked, searched, what data is extracted, and potential worst-case scenarios.
Cross-border collaborative journalism can uncover stories that individual newsrooms cannot tackle alone. However, the success of these ambitious projects often hinges on skilled editorial leadership that can navigate complex logistical, cultural, and professional challenges. This esteemed panel, moderated by Correctiv Editor-in-Chief Justus von Daniels, brings together veteran newsroom leaders like Arena for Journalism in Europe Co-founder Brigitte Alfter, ICIJ Executive Director Gerard Ryle, El CLIP Co-founder María Teresa Ronderos, and CENOZO Coordinator Arnaud Ouedraogo to discuss their insights on team building, project management, and the editorial decision-making processes that transform individual reporting into powerful collective storytelling.
2025-09-09 17:43:46
The Mill is the founding publication of Mill Media, which since being started in June 2020, has become a new force in British journalism, publishing high quality local journalism in six UK cities. The company has been described as “one of the most interesting and impressive media startups of the last decade,” by the FT’s John Burn-Murdoch, and as “very, very impressive” by the Wall Street Journal’s editor Emma Tucker.
Over the past few years, The Mill has become known for its major stories, including an investigation that led to the resignation of Andy Burnham’s advisor Sacha Lord, a story that was listed for the prestigious Paul Foot Award. And our investigation into the University of Greater Manchester has led to a major police investigation and the suspension of senior officials, including the vice chancellor, and has been mentioned several times in parliament.
This is a job for a journalist who believes in our mission, loves the kind of reporting we do and is passionate about applying our brand of journalism to many more stories in the years ahead. We need someone who has a natural flair for writing — who will deliver the kind of stories our readers look forward to when they open our newsletters.
2025-09-09 17:35:31
We are looking for a qualified Machine Learning (ML) Engineer to join ICIJ’s technology team, working closely with our ML engineer in coordination with full stack and system engineers as well as a UX/UI designer. This is a full-time position on a 12-month contract.
With the help of your teammates, you will be responsible for designing, building and shipping ML related tasks and pipelines for processing from a large amount of documents through our open source software Datashare. Datashare ML pipelines cover a wide range of ML topics spanning Natural Language Understanding (NLU), computer vision and speech-processing with privacy, quality and scalability in mind.
We use vision algorithms in Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to extract text from documents, to detect passports in scanned documents, or to understand document layouts and better extract their content. We plan to leverage Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) to transcribe various audio and video files. We use NLU to extract entities from documents and plan to perform entity resolution between documents. We intend to improve document search and retrieval, potentially using leveraging graphs and vector-embeddings.
ICIJ’s tech team collaborates with academic partners on cutting-edge ML topics; as an ML engineer you will also be actively involved in R&D projects.
