Focus
Consortium to Support Independent Journalism in Latin America (CAPIR)
Strengthening media in Latin America and the Caribbean to counter evolving threats and conduct fact-based reporting that speaks truth to power.
Years active: 2020-present
Independent journalists in Latin America play a vital role in the region’s democracy, denouncing corruption, human rights violations and criminal networks as well as providing accurate, balanced information about important public issues.
However, recent years have seen a continuous deterioration of media freedoms in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) context. Journalists and other media workers face threats including attacks, repression and disinformation campaigns by increasingly authoritarian governments; violence and murders by private actors; and a dependency on government advertising and a scarcity of resources to conduct work independently.
In the online space, journalists and media face online censorship, harassment, surveillance and cyberattacks. Meanwhile, malign national and foreign actors capitalize on huge marketing budgets and the exploitation of algorithms to manipulate public opinion and elections.
In response to these challenges, in late 2020 IWPR created the Consortium to Support Independent Journalism in Latin America (Consorcio para Apoyar el Periodismo Independiente en la Región, CAPIR) to strengthen the capacity of journalists and media outlets in the region to sustainably counter threats and challenges, allowing them to conduct fact-based reporting that holds power-holders accountable.
CAPIR Members
The consortium is made up of six core members, all with complementary expertise to support journalists overcome threats and reach their full potential.
To ensure that the project methodologies are adapted to the contexts of the different countries and subregions where we operate, CAPIR also works with local civil society partners in each of our priority countries. They ensure that the project adjusts to different political realities, varying levels of free expression and and local socio-cultural considerations.
Animal Politico is a highly respected Mexican digital news media that has received several prestigious awards for investigative journalism. Their high impact reporting has led to the unseating of corrupt politicians and the procurement of justice for victims - gaining the outlet wide recognition across the region. Leaders in collaborative reporting initiatives, they also share their methodologies with other journalists across Mexico and Latin America.
animalpolitico.com
Armando.Info is a Venezuelan media outlet, leader in investigative journalism in Latin America. They have successfully led transnational investigative projects about corruption and organised crime, many of which have impacted the Latin American public agenda and have earned the organisation numerous national and international prizes.
armando.info
DataCrítica is focused on assisting the media in journalistic data investigations, providing data visualisation and analysis, and advanced digital tools to research essential current topics. By crossing data, their work has often supported greater understanding about how issues, ranging from human rights abuses to COVID-19, have specifically affected historically marginalised communities, women, and the environment.
datacritica.org
Ojo Público is an award-winning investigative news organization founded in Lima in 2014, dedicated to promoting democracy and human rights. It was selected for its reputation as one of the leading investigative media outlets in the region, its proven track record of successful collaborations with both international and local — including Indigenous — media in Peru, and the valuable, transferable lessons it has gained from these partnerships at national and regional levels.
ojo-publico.com
Founded in 1991, IWPR is an international not-for-profit organisation that empowers local voices to drive change in countries in conflict, crisis and transition. Where hate speech and propaganda proliferate, and journalists and civic activists are under attack, IWPR promotes reliable information and public debate that makes a difference.
iwpr.net
Vinland Solutions has more than 25 years’ experience intervening in critical situations for psycho-emotional care, as well as in advice for personal and institutional security. In the past 16 years they have worked with Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Freedom House, Periodistas de a Pie, the American and International Red Cross and IWPR to provide both in person and remote psychological support to at-risk journalists and to train journalists on their physical security.
vinlandmexico.com
Thematic Priorities 2021-25
CAPIR priorities are driven by the most pressing needs faced by journalists and media outlets in the region. The consortium focuses on how to best support journalists and media outlets to build capacity to meet these challenges themselves.
#1 INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM: NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ↓
#1 INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM: NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
In a region rife with corrupt and autocratic governments and organised crime, independent journalistic investigations have proven vital to uncover serious wrongdoing by authorities and private actors which would have otherwise gone unnoticed and unpunished. However, investigative journalism in Latin America is underfunded and dangerous both for journalists and their sources.
CAPIR is therefore providing training, mentoring support, access to data and security experts and seed funding to journalists across the region wanting to learn how to conduct investigative reporting. The project will provide the capacity for them to learn to work collaboratively, use access to information laws and data sets and a variety of digital tools.
Depending on the focus of the project proposed, journalists will be assigned expert mentors from IWPR, Animal Politico, Ojo Publico, Data Critica or Armando.Info.
#2 INTEGRAL SECURITY TRAINING AND SUPPORT
Security risks to journalists are probably the greatest threat to independent reporting in the region. The fear of threats also causes journalists to self-censor, leaving many sensitive issues or geographical locations with little to no independent coverage. These are known in the region as ‘silenced zones’ or ‘information deserts.’
All CAPIR participants have access to risk assessments and the development of security plans catered to the threats and vulnerabilities that they face in their context, as well as the specific dangers posed by the journalistic work to be investigated.
CAPIR partners have joined forces with Free Press Unlimited and physical security experts, to build a series of self-guided courses on digital, physical and psycho-social security that will be available in Spanish to journalists from across the region. These will be published in the Totem Project Website throughout 2021 at totem-project.org.
The same partners will also be available to provide individualised physical, psychological and digital security support to journalists facing specific risks, and to help media outlets develop institutional plans and protocols to ensure the safety of their staff.
At risk journalists also have access to emergency funding support when needed.
The range of measures covered by CAPIR.
#3 INTEGRAL MEDIA DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE (IMDI)
Managed directly by IWPR and bringing in experts from across the region, IMDI offers media outlets with high potential the opportunity to increase their reporting capacity, audience reach and financial sustainability as well as ability to protect their journalists.
Media, directors, editors and journalists participate in strategic planning to define their mission and business vision. They also consider the layout and sections of their media and social media pages, the type of content produced and the tone and style used, exploring creative ways to expand to new audiences.
Importantly, media outlets will be given access to finance experts who will provide guidance in the creation of business plans to diversify funding and ensure long term independence.
Sustainability will also be supported by the creation of organisational security protocols, that help institutionalise the digital, physical and psychological security of the media, journalists and other at risk staff.