Investigative journalism gets financial boost at Golden Globes

Johannesburg - Global investigative journalism received a significant financial injection at the Golden Globes on Monday, with a $1m (R12.4m) grant awarded to the organisation that broke the Panama Papers story.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced at the Golden Globes that two grants of $1 million each will be granted to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the Committee To Protect Journalists.

Based in Washington, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is a global network of more than 200 investigative journalists and 100 media organisations in 70 countries who collaborate on in-depth investigative stories.

Its South African its partners include amabhungane and Financial Mail.

The ICIJ said the grant would go towards the purchase of a permanent headquarters in Washington, DC.

The grants, coming less than eight weeks after the groundbreaking Paradise Papers investigation by ICIJ, will also be used to support investigative journalism and provide better protection for journalists.

Paradise papers 

The Paradise Papers were the latest in a series of global journalistic exposes of the offshore financial industry that have triggered reforms and investigations by governments around the world – from the United States to Vietnam to New Zealand.

READ: The #ParadisePapers data dump: What's been reported so far

 “There’s never been a more important time to safeguard the truth by supporting investigative journalism,” said ICIJ director Gerard Ryle in a statement.“Truth is under attack, both politically and economically, and the brutal reality of recent years is that journalists routinely risk their lives just for doing their jobs, even in countries once thought safe."

“One of the main aims of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is to bring accountability on a global scale," he said.

"We bring journalists together to safeguard the truth and to safeguard each other. Along the way, we bring a new kind of scrutiny to world events and complex problems – using data and document-supported facts that cannot easily be dismissed."

This is the first time a donation announcement has been made during a live telecast of the Golden Globes.

“We HFPA journalists are committed to supporting humanitarian organisations, film restoration, and film education,” said HFPA president Meher Tatna in a statement.