In 2010, Paweł Reszka, Wojciech Cieśla, Michał Majewski and Roman Daszczyński came together to support journalism in the Eastern Partnership countries and founded the Reporters Foundation (Fundacja Reporterów), one of the first journalistic NGOs in Poland.
In 2010 they decided to support journalists from various post-Soviet countries, from Ukraine to Azerbaijan. In the early years, they provided training, and they did well - those who participated in the Foundation's projects are now leading journalists in their respective countries (Kristina Berdinskich, Anna Babiniec, Dymitr Gnap) and have produced notable publications, such as the award-winning Yanukovych Leaks project.
"Investigative journalism is in its greatest crisis since 1989" - a mantra often repeated by many reporters. The Foundation believes that investigative journalism is not dying, and that its role is particularly important today. Being a watchdog means supporting democratic institutions, and investigative journalism is a public good. In Poland, this good has been slowly disappearing from the mainstream media. Observing the social and political changes in Central Europe, they concluded that strong investigative journalism is also needed in Poland.
The Foundation has brought together individuals from different media and its activities are not linked to the publishers they work with on a daily basis. In a tiny room with barely enough room for a table, they work after hours in their own newsrooms. They train journalists, work with young people interested in investigative journalism and share their professional skills. Investigative journalism is their passion.
As well as focusing on Poland, they are involved in many cross-border projects. They are the only media organisation in the country to work with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a well-known media network in Europe. They learn new methods to help them pursue what they have always been dedicated to: evil, corruption and injustice.
They are part of the Global Investigative Journalism Network, advise Journalismfund Europe and work with other international investigative teams. They also coordinate VSquare.org, a network of investigative journalists from the Visegrad countries. In 2021, they launched their own Polish media outlet, FRONTSTORY.PL.
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