Interview

 Interview With Uliana Malashenko

This interview was made for a Journalism Workshop lesson in ESECS Portalegre. The main topic is ‘Investigative Journalism’. Uliana Malashenko firstly mentions that an investigative journalist should have elements such as a good sense of ethics, curiosity, and analytical skills.

Noting that justice can still be served if journalists are not involved in investigating corruption, illegal activities, and other similar issues of public concern, Malashenko said, “Theoretically, yes. Practically, no. First of all, this research takes a lot of time, expertise, and patience, and it's unlikely that bloggers or YouTubers will invest heavily in it because the nature of bloggers is different. So is the business model. In contrast, many investigative newsrooms are non-profit.”

                  Picture 1: Uliana Malashenko

“Newsrooms avoid relying on leaked information”

While Malashenko states that there are usually two ways to find the injustice or corruption experienced, she underlines that the first is a meticulous analysis and the second is leaked information.

"Studying leaked information is somewhat problematic, and investigative newsrooms try to avoid reliance on this information because such an approach can reduce trust in the media, making them perceived as partisan," Malashenko said.

Malashenko states that investigative newsrooms keep both sides under control when governments follow a 'wrong' policy or do something wrong.

Picture 2: From Uliana Malashenko’s Perspective

“The role of investigative media in countries without democracy is unclear”

While recommending the book "Scandal and Silence" on the subject, Malashenko states that it is concluded that not every case of false disclosure turns into a political scandal, emphasizing that this only happens when the news is handled by the opposition.

Giving the Watergate news as an example, which is also included in the book, Malashenko gives an example that a few weeks after the news was first published, it was ignored until the political opposition got involved and acted.

Finally, Malashenko said, “The role of investigative media in countries with less democratic powers are much more ambiguous: sometimes autocracies may be interested in keeping some of these points to gather information about the society, and even some non-political changes in the case of low-level cases of corruption or gender discrimination. they can” she said.

“The system in the USA works much better than in Russia”

Regarding situations such as the destruction of requested documents when information is requested from a specific source, a situation that investigative journalists frequently experience, and the lack of transparency, Malashenko:

“Yes, almost always! But I have to admit that the system works much better in the US than in Russia in this regard due to classification laws and FOIA requests. They are very, very slow to respond. Even when you send a PDF file from their website that says it's exactly the information they collected, they can say they don't collect the information you want and make it public. But, again, it's a great tool overall. Russian officials usually say no to all requests. When I say always, I mostly refer to Russia and some of the situations I encountered here while describing their workplaces. They're not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, and that's another story about what can be done to keep them under control..."

Picture 3: Uliana Malashenko

“Numbers can be manipulated too”

“I feel there is a lot more interest in investigative journalism than five years ago, but it's still not enough,” she said of the dynamics of investigative journalism in the US. In addition to his statement, Malashenko also underlined that some media outlets prefer to hire data scientists for investigative journalism roles and try to get more objective coverage based on data, noting that numbers can also be manipulated, and this job is not just about technical skills.

In the USA, where she works, Malashenko said that investigative journalists are part of the normal democratic process in the USA. We have the 'First Amendment here, and the media sometimes still play a role as the 'Fourth Force'."

 

Ata Ahmet Kökçü

Emirhan Enşan