Vance Center Leads Conversations on Investigative Reporting and Legal Risks at 2025 International Journalism Festival

Vance Center Executive Director Alex Papachristou moderated a panel on investigative reporting during the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy. Photo credit: Ascanio Pepe/IJF

Vance Center Executive Director Alex Papachristou returned to the International Journalism Festival in Perugia this year, moderating a panel on finding and participating in one-to-one safety clinics to address legal questions from reporters and editors.

On April 10, Papachristou moderated a panel, “How to Find and Execute the Scoops that Can Rock the World,” delving into questions of how investigative journalists find groundbreaking scoops and make decisions about which leads to investigate.

The panel featured insights from Alison Fitzgerald Kodjak, assistant managing editor at ProPublica; Karlijn Kuijpers, investigative reporter for Dutch outlet NRC; BBC Panorama producer James Oliver; and Gerard Ryle, director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

Vance Center Executive Director Alex Papachristou (center) moderates a panel on investigative reporting during the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy. Photo credit: Claudio Faina/IJF

The panelists shared insights from their experiences breaking major investigations, from the Panama Papers to uncovering links between Chinese organized crime groups and illicit marijuana production in the U.S. They recalled memorable moments when they realized that their reporting was going to have significant impact. In one example, the ICIJ’s Ryle shared that he knew the Panama Papers story would be big when he saw a photo of protesters throwing yogurt and bananas at the Parliament building in Iceland, responding to evidence of corruption by Icelandic government officials. 

Papachristou guided an interactive conversation that drew significant audience participation and questions on the role of luck in finding scoops, what to do when stacks of documents don’t just fall into your lap, and how to evaluate different types of impact.

Watch the full panel here:

Papachristou also participated in a series of safety clinics organized by Vance Center client A Culture of Safety (ACOS) Alliance. During the three days of clinics, reporters, editors, and publishers were able to sign up for one-to-one sessions to receive information on safety issues, including legal questions. Papachristou met with several journalists concerned about increasing legal risks to share information about sources of legal support, including Reporters Shield.

While in Perugia, he also met with festival attendees from ICIJ, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Bellingcat, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), and other Vance Center clients from around the world. 

See more photos from Perugia and the full program here.

Vance Center Executive Director Alex Papachristou moderates a panel on investigative reporting during the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy. Photo credit: Ascanio Pepe/IJF