Umar Cheema's investigative report among top 10

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 25 November 2014

Umar Cheema's investigative report on the taxes of Pakistani lawmakers has been recognized as one of the top 10 high-impact reports. The Global Investigative Journalism Network highlights the significance of such journalism in prompting societal change.

Summary

ISLAMABAD: Investigative reporter of The News, Umar Cheema’s report on taxes of Pakistani lawmakers features among top 10 “high-impact” investigative reports done in recent decades.

The News reports that Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) has shortlisted these reports from around the world to exemplify the role of investigative journalism as change agent in societies.

Other reports ranked among top-10 high-impact investigations include: ‘The BAE Files’ of Guardian’s 7-year long investigation into a network of global bribery; YanukovychLeaks, documentations of diaries of fleeing Ukrainian President; series of stories on more than 120,000 offshore companies and trusts exposing the hidden dealings of politicians and billionaires around the world.

An investigation in 2,000 by Philippines’ journalists into sitting president’s hidden assets; probe into the killings of disabled children in Ghana who were deemed to be possessed by evil spirits; a series by South African journalists shining lights on the alarming conditions in hospitals resulting in scores of deaths of newborns; as well as reports from Brazil and Costa Rica also stand among the top 10 stories.

All these stories have been published under the title, “Investigative Impact: Making the Global Case for Muckraking,” by the GIJN.

Cheema’s tax report and its impact was also mentioned by Columbia University’s journalist Professor Sheila Coronel who said it generated a lot of resonance in Pakistan and abroad resulting in policy change.