Dominique Strebel is head of the Maz study, former journalist at the Beobachter and president of the research network Investigative.ch.

WW: Journalists from all over the world collaborated on the "Offshore Leaks" research. What lessons can journalists learn from the affair?
Dominique Strebel: With the offshore leaks, a quality of research was achieved that was previously out of reach. For the first time, a global phenomenon - the globalized offshore business - found an equal opponent - a global network of journalists. A network that not only had the data and the expertise to process it, but also the journalists to break the data down into specific national and local stories. In Switzerland, the SonntagsZeitung and Le Matin Dimanche came to the rescue. These are media that cultivate investigative journalism - for example in the form of a research desk. In this respect, the offshore leaks show that national media must excel in research and make a name for themselves internationally. This is the only way they can get their hands on big stories.

Media companies like Tamedia can afford specialized research positions. How do small media titles promote research?
For smaller media titles, it is important that individual journalists specialize in research and are supported by their superiors and the publisher. However, initiatives such as the Swiss research network Investigativ.ch are also important. It pools the research knowledge of 150 journalists, promotes exchange and supports journalists in their research.

Researched stories are a way for media titles to distinguish themselves. How does Investigativ.ch ensure that this research incentive is maintained?
The more than 150 members of Investigative.ch do not research stories together, but help each other at the tool level. Through knowledge sharing, checklists, sample letters for requests for access and concrete coaching, these journalists help each other so that stories that one of them is pursuing for their paper can actually be realized.

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Dominique Strebel is head of the Maz study, former journalist at the Beobachter and president of the Investigativ.ch research network.

WW: Journalists from all over the world collaborated on the "Offshore Leaks" research. What lessons can journalists learn from the affair? Dominique Strebel:
With the offshore leaks, a quality of research was achieved that was previously out of reach. For the first time, a global phenomenon - the globalized offshore business - found an equal opponent - a global network of journalists. A network that not only had the data and the expertise to process it, but also the journalists to break the data down into specific national and local stories. In Switzerland, the SonntagsZeitung and Le Matin Dimanche came to the rescue. These are media that cultivate investigative journalism - for example in the form of a research desk. In this respect, the offshore leaks show that national media must excel in research and make a name for themselves internationally. This is the only way they can get their hands on big stories.

Media companies like Tamedia can afford specialized research positions. How do small media titles promote research?
For smaller media titles, it is important that individual journalists specialize in research and are supported by their superiors and the publisher. However, initiatives such as the Swiss research network Investigativ.ch are also important. It pools the research knowledge of 150 journalists, promotes exchange and supports journalists in their research.

Researched stories are a way for media titles to distinguish themselves. How does Investigativ. ch ensure that this research incentive is maintained?
The more than 150 members of Investigativ.ch do not research stories together, but help each other at the level of tools. Through knowledge sharing, checklists, sample letters for requests for access and concrete coaching, these journalists help each other so that stories that one of them is pursuing for their paper can actually be realized.

Can you explain this with an example?
The Bieler Tagblatt was interested in the case of a local politician who was allegedly the subject of criminal proceedings. As there were difficulties in accessing the judicial documents, the journalist from the Bieler Tagblatt turned to Investigativ.ch. We coached her and helped her to submit a request for access to the public prosecutor's office. With success. The journalist Brigitte Jeckelmann got hold of the closure order and discovered that the public prosecutor's office had made a mistake: the proceedings were not closed because there was nothing to the case, but because the statute of limitations had expired. The investigation turned into a Lead story in the Bieler Tagblatt.

In which areas are searches urgent?
In my opinion, important stories are left lying around, especially in the local area. Stories that are about being persistent, sticking with it and not allowing yourself to get caught up in the muck. In general, research is particularly important in the justice sector: journalists have to look at how public prosecutors' offices and courts work.

What is the problem with local journalism: the lack of resources or the inhibition to bite because you live close to each other?
Both. That is why the Maz Media Training Center and Investigativ.ch are in the process of developing a new platform. With Drehscheibe Schweiz (Drehscheibe-schweiz.ch), we want to strengthen local journalism and generate new ideas. Best practice examples from other regions will provide local newspapers with inspiration for their own stories. Journalists can receive coaching for their research. There will also be a blog where publishers can discuss new forms of local journalism. For a local newspaper, participation will cost CHF 500 per year.

When will the platform go live?
We have already received a two-year grant from Beatrice Oeri's Basel Foundation for Media Diversity. It amounts to 150,000 francs. What we still need to get started is a declaration of intent from the publishers that they are basically prepared to help with the financing in the long term. As soon as the publishers have given their okay, the money from the foundation can be called up and work can begin on setting up the website. This should be the case in the course of the year.

Back to the offshore leaks: the documents on which the research is based were submitted anonymously. Isn't there a risk of being instrumentalized as a journalist?
I have every confidence in the 90 investigative journalists working on the case for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). For investigative journalists, checking the truth and credibility of information or informants is part of their normal day-to-day research tasks.

There is currently a debate as to whether journalists should pass the documents on to politicians and the judiciary. What is your position on this?
In my opinion, the documents must not be handed over due to the protection of sources. Journalists should not become stooges of politics. However, the research material should be passed on to other media in a second phase. The more eyes that see the data, the sooner the important stories will be written. This must happen now.

Revelations such as those about offshore business are good publicity for journalism. Do you agree?
Yes, but what is very special is that this global networking, as achieved by the ICIJ, would never have come about through the political system or the judiciary. There would have been years of legal assistance proceedings before the countries could have been brought together. This unique overall view of a global phenomenon can almost only be achieved by journalistic work.

Isabel Imper