AI Training For Data-Driven Environmental Investigations

This event aimed to foster collaboration, expand professional networks, and teach journalists AI techniques specifically for environmental investigations.

The workshop took place in Vienna, Austria in January 2025. Applications to take part in it were opened until Nov. 30, 2024.

Organised by Mediahuiset Tromso in cooperation with the Urban Journalism Network, a European network of investigative journalists, it showcased the latest innovations in data-driven journalism tools and demonstrate their practical application to environmental reporting.

The program was specifically tailored to accommodate different skill levels, featuring collaborative pairings of traditional investigative journalists with tech-oriented counterparts.

It included:

• introductory overviews of state-of-the-art AI-driven tools used in environmental investigations.
• a set of exercises and tools for entry-level participants, such as building custom Large Language Models, writing effective prompts, and hands-on accessible analytics.
• building Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems and developing case-based methodologies for advanced and experienced data journalists.

 The workshop was led by experienced data and investigative journalists Rune Ytreberg and Lars Adrian Giske from the award-winning Norwegian newspaper iTromsø, and Hendrik Lehmann, the Head of Tagesspiegel Innovation Lab.