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Brazilian Investigative Journalists Organise

13 January 2004

In Brazil, the killing of reporter Tim Lopes in June 2002 shocked the journalism community. Gruesomely murdered by drug lords in one of Rio de Janeiro's favelas or shantytowns, Lopes had gone undercover to report on child prostitution. However, his death has spawned a new organisation whose aim is to encourage more investigative journalism in the country, reports the "IPI Global Journalist."

The Brazilian Association for Investigative Journalism (Associaçao Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo, ABRAJI) has been operating since October 2002. Based at the University of Sao Paulo, the organisation has grown to more than 200 members. ABRAJI's aim is to stimulate the development of investigative reporting in Brazil and to provide training for reporters. The formation of the group is a critical step towards making investigative journalism more commonplace in Brazil, says a colleague of Tim Lopes.

For journalists in Brazil, reporting on favelas can be a dangerous and difficult task, writes ABRAJI coordinator Marcelo Soares. To enter a favela, they must first obtain pemission from the criminal lords, who control the slums. In recent years, the advent of sensationalist television news reporting has exacerbated the relationship, with TV cameras following police when they make raids into the favelas. This has blurred the distinction between journalists and the police, resulting in the loss of respect the crime lords might have had towards the press, according to Brazilian editor Cristina Grillo.

Through ABRAJI's work, it is hoped that investigative journalism will more ably expose organised crime in Brazil and probe the relationship between drug lords and the country's wider economic and political spheres, including the judiciary and legislative bodies, a colleague of Lopes says.

ABRAJI has established an e-mail forum to allow members to exchange information and investigative reporting tips. It has formed partnerships with international organisations to support its work, including the Global Journalism Network and the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. ABRAJI's first training seminars have already attracted hundreds of participants from smaller cities and rural areas, where reporters work in isolation.

For more information on free expression in Brazil, visit: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/131/
Visit these links:
- The Murder of Tim Lopes: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/31222/

- IPI Global Journalist: http://www.globaljournalist.org/

- ABRAJI: http://www.abraji.org.br/