Negotiating as a Journalist: Access, Narratives, and Emotions

Yousur Al-Hlou and Masha Froliak
Investigative Journalists

Investigative journalism, by necessity, involves negotiation. Journalists must negotiate both internally with themselves and externally with sources, editors, and other stakeholders on many questions: How to access important and sensitive sources? How to persuade individuals to engage;? How to structure an interview to build trust in order to gather information? How to engage multiple narratives in the reporting? How to both prepare meticulously and remain open and curious? And what, particularly in the context of reporting on crimes in conflict zones, are the implications of journalistic frameworks on notions of blame and culpability?

Al-Hlou and Froliak will discuss their work creating visual investigations at The New York Times, with a particular focus on the war in Ukraine. Join us to gain a deeper insight into how these important and compelling pieces are produced, and how the fields of journalism and negotiation can learn from and enrich one another.

For Harvard affiliates only