Year after year, investigative journalism is becoming one of the most exciting genres of the press, and more and more journalists are tempted to bring out hidden truths to light. How to identify a problem that is of public interest? How to correctly "read" wealth statements of officials or databases of public institutions, and how to prepare a request for information? About these and many other useful things SAJ students spoke with trainer Alina Radu, director of "Ziarul de Garda" newspaper.

Investigative journalism is one of the most complex courses that are held at the School of Advanced Journalism. It lasts three weeks, during which students learn various skills and techniques necessary for a beginner in this field.

Thus, Alina Radu explained to young people what a documentation strategy is, how to do a confrontational interview, how to formulate the hypothesis of an investigation, how to verify information and, not lastly, how to conduct a journalistic investigation. The trainer also talked about the importance of pre-documentation, the relevance of sources and compliance with professional ethics.

Later, young journalists applied the new knowledge in practice. After several group exercises, students did the most important work independently – their own journalistic investigation. Like in previous years, the social theme was the main subject of journalistic investigations. Thus, Dumitrita Andriuta was interested in the situation with the protection of victims of domestic violence; Mariana Matcovschi learned why the anti-tobacco law is not complied with; Adriana Vlas addressed the problem of unauthorized buildings in Chisinau; and Nicolae Galaju analyzed the list of wine companies that received the right to export their products on the Russian market. Cristina Cornescu found out why Moldova loses positions in the world ranking of the perception of corruption; Eugeniu Kanskii investigated the way in which the State protects national heritage buildings. Their colleague Liliana Botnariuc watched what goes on in Chisinau Circus arena and found out why business people don't want to invest money into the renovation of its building; and Parascovia Spic was interested about an unauthorized building that belongs to a priest and which, according to State Inspection for Constructions reports, had had to be demolished.

To encourage students to do investigations – and do them professionally – the trainer invited to the SAJ reporters Anastasia Nani from the Journalistic Investigations Center and Victor Mosneag and Anatolie Esanu from "Ziarul de Garda". The guests explained to their future colleagues why they do investigative journalism, how they choose topics for investigations and how they work with sources. Anastasia Nani advised students to be fair during their entire careers, and Anatolie Esanu urged them not to let themselves be manipulated, especially by public persons. “A good journalist is an informed journalist. You must read a lot and be up to date with everything going on around you,” advised Victor Mosneag in his turn. It should be mentioned that Anastasia Nani and Anatolie Esanu are graduates of the School of Advanced Journalism.

In addition to future colleagues by profession, in the three weeks of the course students met with representatives of several institutions relevant for an investigative journalist. With Mircea Rosioru, chair of the Superior Council of Prosecutors, the students discussed the work and role of this institution and found out what journalists have in common with prosecutors. From Dorin Purice, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, young people learned details about the reform of the police and spoke about the importance of collaboration between the press and law enforcement, and together with Sergiu Gurduza, a member of the Central Electoral Commission, students analyzed the institution's website and found out how and where they can find the necessary information.

At the end of the course, after students' works were presented and analyzed in the group, trainer Alina Radu offered prizes for the five best articles – a book or a personal organizer. The ranking was made by the students themselves, based on criteria such as argumentation of the hypothesis of the investigation, the number of sources and their relevance, the accuracy of the text and correctness of the reporter, illustration of the topic and form of presentation. SAJ students say that this course was a serious challenge for them, but also that it helped them understand much better what kind of and how much work there is behind a journalistic investigation. Cristina Cornescu highly appreciated the experience of trainer Alina Radu, and Maria Svet admitted that it is one of the genres of journalism that requires a lot of involvement and responsibility: "You need a good spirit of observation and analytical skills."

On Monday, the School of Advanced Journalism starts the course of environmental journalism.