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The Role of the Media and Investigative Journalism in Combating Corruption

Paris: OECD (2018), 18 pp.
"Media reporting and investigative journalism, including by NGOs, is a vastly useful, but possibly underexploited, source of information for allegations of transnational corruption. The exposure of recent scandals through effective international cooperation by transnational networks of journalists as well as NGOs has amplified the impact of investigative reporting and significantly raised awareness of cross-border financial crime. While the OECD Secretariat regularly monitors global press for foreign bribery allegations and brings these to the attention of law enforcement officials in Parties to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, the OECD Working Group o Bribery (WGB) will, in turn, continue to ensure that countries allocate appropriate human resources, expertise, foreign-language skills, training and software, to monitor and act upon media reports of bribery in international business. A constructive relationship between the media, civil society and law enforcement could also be further strengthened while ensuring the independence and integrity of the different actors. Effective press freedom, open data, access to information and whistleblower protection frameworks are essential to enable free and credible reporting. Nevertheless, the number of journalists killed while reporting, many on corruption stories, is alarming. Governments must make press freedom and the protection of journalists, and their sources, a priority. Two-thirds of Parties to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention still do not provide satisfactory whistleblower protection despite significant progress made by several countries in recent years. Given the importance of whistleblowers and the protection of sources in bringing allegations of corruption to light, the OECD will continue to work with countries to establish effective legislative frameworks for the protection of both public and private sector whistleblowers." (Conclusion)