A group of well-known journalists have launched Britain’s first ‘Investigations Fund’ to “encourage a new generation of reporters, and support independent journalism.”

The journalist Heather Brooke, recently in the news for her long-standing battle to get MPs to reveal their expenses, first signalled the fund was going to be launched when she tweeted a few days ago:

Having dinner w a group of uk’s top investigative journos. We’re setting up new fund. Any name suggestions?

They didn’t find a name but they did start a website. The IF includes journalists such as Martin Bright, Heather Brooke, Nick Davies, Peter Barron, Nick Fielding, Misha Glenny, Stephen Grey, Mark Hollingsworth, Andrew Jennings, Phillip Knightley, Paul Lashmar and David Leigh – covering most of the media industry.

Their mission is to:

We are setting up a fund that will support the kind of risky, challenging reporting for which there is a crying demand – and as an experiment to seek out new ways to support this vital work.

As recent global events like the financial collapse reveal, the demand is greater than ever for the reporters basic mission of “finding stuff out”.

The founders say there is a crisis in journalism.

The need for good information – and holding those in power to account – is more pressing and as obvious as ever.
- The invasion of Iraq – which has cost US$694 billion so far and nearly 100,000 civilian lives[ii]– was launched based on poor information.
- The collapse of Britain’s banking system followed a failure by both the authorities and the media to investigate what was happening.
- Across the nation, we’re affected by crime and by poor public services — and yet the press benches in our town halls and courtrooms across the country are largely empty.

In a globalised world we need reliable information that cannot be collected by any one individual. You can no longer form an intelligent view of the world and the threats to your own way of life just by looking around you. You need a media working in your interest.

1. Liberal Conspiracy
   

   Article: Journalists launch ‘Investigations fund’ http://bit.ly/yfsfu

2. sarah ismail
   

   RT @libcon Liberal Conspiracy » Journalists launch ‘Investigations fund’ http://bit.ly/yfsfu

3. Liberal Conspiracy
   

   Article: Journalists launch ‘Investigations fund’ http://bit.ly/yfsfu

   [Original tweet]

4. sarah ismail
   

   RT @libcon Liberal Conspiracy » Journalists launch ‘Investigations fund’ http://bit.ly/yfsfu

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5. sunny hundal
   

   @newsbrooke Journalists launch ‘Investigations fund’ http://tr.im/s26C

   [Original tweet]