This course is for experienced broadcast, print and/or online journalists and reporters who are looking to expand their field of expertise into practical investigative journalism methods, and take their skills to the next level.

This hands-on investigative journalism course aims to:

• Inspire you with real-life case studies
• Instil confidence in you to dig deeper
• Provide you with the essential knowledge and tools for an impactful and enduring career in investigative journalism
• Help you structure and schedule your revelations to hit hard at practices which have previously gone unreported
• Help you tell original, true stories that may change society for the better

WEEK 1

We believe in “learning by doing” and take a practical, hands-on approach to training. We start the course with several small group interactive sessions and workshops, to ease the class into interacting with each other. 

Module 1: Know your target audience 

• Where do ideas come from?
• How to zero in on an audience
• Mapping your target audience
• Influencers, agreed realities, and emotional payoffs
• Using mapping to discover target audiences
• Using social media for insights
• Developing target audience statements
• Pitching target audiences

Module 2: Persuade your target audience 

• What is learning and why this is important to understanding audiences?
• How do people learn? Information, skills, and behaviours
• The ingredients of persuasive aims
• Why you need different credible sources
• Why you should craft emotional appeals
• The benefits of formulating a logical approach
• Investigating examples – persuading target audiences
• Applying persuasion to your own context

Module 3: Storytelling for media professionals 

• Narrative journalism versus information journalism
• The eight essential elements of story
• Symbols and universal truths
• Studying real examples illustrating the eight essential elements of story
• Story detective sessions: develop your own story
• The micro story: story in a tweet
• Create characters to engage audiences
• The importance of character: identifying people like us
• The types and tropes of drama characters
• Character histories and how to craft them
• Hero journeys and creating powerful character growth

Module 4: Creative formats to engage audiences 

• How do we tell stories using media?
• Ten engaging formats and what makes them unique
• Which formats are good for conveying information versus conveying emotions?
• Types of formats and the ideas box
• Combining ideas creatively
• The 3 Act Structure and the 5 Act Structure
• Investigating formats: interviewing
• Investigating formats: the discussion
• Practice: engaging audiences with the discussion format

Participants will further:

• Receive training in basic audio using zoom recorders and popular audio editing software for radio or podcasting
• Practice “interviewing for storytelling and Investigation”
• Analyse successful investigations with experienced and award-winning  investigative journalists as guest speakers

WEEK 2

In the second week, we practise using in-depth skills such as:

• Core tools for investigations: hypotheses, timelines, and source maps
• Structuring your story’s “Masterfile”
• Learning-by-doing: combining all learned techniques to prepare an in-depth core project for further investigation back home
• Data journalism essentials such as Excel 
• The Story-based approach

All final project work is subject to group critiques. In doing so, we can ensures that your final project is clear, concise, and will achieve maximum impact.

WEEK 3

In the final  week, participants will work on their in-depth core project on the subject of governance, accountability and corruption.

Course dates: 7 September - 25 September 2020
OKP & MSP scholarship application window: open from 5 February - 17 March 2020 

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

• You are currently working as a journalist and have a minimum of three years' experience in or for a media organisation.
• Provide the original proof (or a properly certified copy) of your most recent educational qualification, in secondary or higher education.
• Have sufficient skills in spoken and written English as this is the working language for our courses.  

After you have completed all the course sessions and assignments, you will receive an RNTC certificate and join the ranks of more than 6000 RNTC alumni worldwide.

Do you  qualify for a scholarship for an RNTC course?

The most commonly awarded scholarships for our courses are the OKP and MSP (MENA) scholarships. OKP fellowships are available to 53 countries and MSP scholarships to 10 countries.

For more information, please visit our scholarships page.