Headline: Digging Deeper: Inside NewsWire Africa’s Investigative Reporting Lab
Not all journalism is created equal. While fast news dominates timelines, NewsWire Africa is betting on something more enduring: depth. Enter the Investigative Reporting Lab, NewsWire’s flagship initiative that supports long-form, data-driven, accountability journalism across Africa.
Through funding, editorial mentorship, and data research support, the Lab empowers local reporters to take on complex investigations—stories involving land grabs, health system failures, election fraud, or corporate malpractice.
Recent Lab-supported stories include:
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“Broken Vows” – An exposé on marriage-related land disputes in Uganda that forced a policy review;
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“Ghost Projects” – A deep-dive into misallocated pandemic recovery funds in West Africa;
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“The Digital Divide” – A cross-country collaboration on tech inequality in rural school systems.
The Lab also trains journalists in advanced data visualization, cross-border collaboration, and freedom-of-information law strategy. It’s not just about producing one story—it’s about building the infrastructure for sustained watchdog journalism in places where press freedom is fragile.