ABSTRACT

The up-and-coming phenomenon of open source in journalism lead by non-journalistic actors like Airwars, Bellingcat, Forensic Architecture and Syrian Archive has brought an entirely new dynamic to investigative journalism. These actors share and rely heavily on an open-source ideology. With novel methods and tools, they integrate a new set of actors, competencies, and technology into journalistic practice, renegotiating and transcending professional boundaries. For the genre of investigative journalism, they can in many ways be leading the development of methodology as well as ideology; but how? This article addresses this question based on in-depth interviews with an exclusive selection of key informants from these networks. The study is theoretically framed by conceptualizations of collaboration, professional identity, and open-source logic. The results show that, sustained by networked technology, new open-source practices are rapidly emerging in the field of investigative journalism. These practices interrupt professional exclusivity on the one hand, but on the other, they seem to reinforce values of public interest, democracy, and accountability with the help of completely new actors. The open-source investigators thus transform the traditional role of the journalist as “controller” and “gatekeeper” into an enabler of free collaboration, opening “gates” towards new spaces and actors.

摘要

由 Airwars、Bellingcat、Forensic Architecture 和 Syrian Archive 等非新闻机构领导的新闻业开源现象正在兴起，为调查性新闻业带来了全新的活力。这些参与者共享并严重依赖开源意识形态。他们使用新颖的方法和工具，将一组新的参与者、能力和技术整合到新闻实践中，重新协商并超越专业界限。对于调查性新闻类型，他们可以在很多方面引领方法论和意识形态的发展；但是怎么办？本文基于对来自这些网络的关键线人的独家选择的深入访谈来解决这个问题。该研究在理论上以协作、专业身份和开源逻辑的概念化为框架。结果表明，在网络技术的支持下，新的开源实践正在调查新闻领域迅速兴起。这些做法一方面打破了专业排他性，但另一方面，它们似乎在全新参与者的帮助下强化了公共利益、民主和问责制的价值观。因此，开源调查人员将记者作为“控制者”和“看门人”的传统角色转变为自由合作的推动者，为新的空间和参与者打开了“大门”。在全新的参与者的帮助下问责制。因此，开源调查人员将记者作为“控制者”和“看门人”的传统角色转变为自由合作的推动者，为新的空间和参与者打开了“大门”。在全新的参与者的帮助下问责制。因此，开源调查人员将记者作为“控制者”和“看门人”的传统角色转变为自由合作的推动者，为新的空间和参与者打开了“大门”。