Balkan Insight
Encyclopedia
Balkan Insight is a publication of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), that focusses on news, analysis, commentary and investigative reporting from southeast Europe
. It is run by journalists in southeast Europe
, including BIRN regional director Gordana Igric, an international award-winner for her reporting on human rights abuses and war crimes.
Balkan Insight reports from Albania
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
, Bulgaria
, Croatia
, Kosovo
, Macedonia
, Montenegro
, Romania
and Serbia
. Balkan Insight articles have been republished by 95 media outlets in southeast Europe
.
Sections of the publication include In Brief, Analysis, Comment, Investigation, Business Insight and Justice Report.
are published on a real-time basis throughout the week.
Balkan Insight occasionally publishes special editions, focusing on a particular theme, issue, territory or major event such as an election.
Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a relatively recent political designation for the states of the Balkans. Writers such as Maria Todorova and Vesna Goldsworthy have suggested the use of the term Southeastern Europe to replace the word Balkans for the region, to minimize potential...
. It is run by journalists in southeast Europe
Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a relatively recent political designation for the states of the Balkans. Writers such as Maria Todorova and Vesna Goldsworthy have suggested the use of the term Southeastern Europe to replace the word Balkans for the region, to minimize potential...
, including BIRN regional director Gordana Igric, an international award-winner for her reporting on human rights abuses and war crimes.
Balkan Insight reports from Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. Balkan Insight articles have been republished by 95 media outlets in southeast Europe
Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a relatively recent political designation for the states of the Balkans. Writers such as Maria Todorova and Vesna Goldsworthy have suggested the use of the term Southeastern Europe to replace the word Balkans for the region, to minimize potential...
.
Awards
Recent award-winning Balkan Insight journalists and reports include:- Krenar GashiKrenar GashiKrenar Gashi is an award-winning researcher, investigative journalist, policy analyst and publicist from Kosovo, currently working at the Kosovar Institute for Policy Research and Development ....
and BIRN investigative team, winner of Best Print/Online Story of 2006 for "Ex-Policemen Run Kosovo Passport Scam"; awarded by Association of Professional Journalists of Kosovo. - Nidzara Ahmetasevic, Justice Report editor, winner of honorary mention for "The Last Taboo", dealing with the issue of rape and sexual abuse of men in detention camps during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina; awarded in December 2006 by the Claudio Accardi Association.
- Arbana Xharra, winner of First Prize, 2006 journalism competition; awarded in December 2006 by United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and Kosovo Anti-Corruption Agency; for reporting on corruption in both Balkan Insight and the Kosovo daily newspaper Koha DitoreKoha DitoreKoha Ditore is the leading daily newspaper from Kosovo. It is published by Koha Group and was founded and owned by politician Veton Surroi. His sister Flaka Surroi is now the publisher, following Veton Surroi's launch of his political career within the ORA reformist party...
. - Alina Constantinescu and Daniel Ganga, winner of honorary mention for reporting on ethnic minority issues; awarded in October 2006 by the Romanian Center for Resources for Roma Communities.
Content
Balkan Insight distinguishes itself among other news publications in southeast Europe by its independence and accuracy, and also by ability to draw on a large pool of journalists throughout the region, across national borders. Balkan Insight’s independent, cross-border coverage of international issues helps counteract the radical “Balkanization” of journalism in southeast Europe that mirrored “Balkanization” along national and other political lines after 1990.Sections of the publication include In Brief, Analysis, Comment, Investigation, Business Insight and Justice Report.
- In Brief articles are short, quick-read news stories supplemented by concise analysis. They
are published on a real-time basis throughout the week.
- Analysis articles are longer stories, typically 900-1000 words in length, describing an event or trend in southeast European news and reporting from an analytical perspective.
- Comment articles are opinion pieces contributed by a wide variety of high-quality analysts, frequently well-known journalists, policy experts and economists from southeast Europe and elsewhere.
- Investigation articles are Balkan Insight’s longest, most research-intensive articles. These are frequently the fruit of long and difficult investigation, often involving more than one journalist in more than one location.
- Business Insight articles cover business and economic news in an analytical manner. They are similar in length to Analysis articles. BIRN aims ultimately to expand Business Insight into a publication in its own right, a market-leading subscription-based newsletter covering international business and economic trends in southeast Europe. For this purpose, BIRN recruited in 2007 a board of editorial advisors whose members include some of the region’s most respected market economists and business leaders, some of whom have contributed opinion pieces to Balkan Insight.
- Justice Report articles are linked into Balkan Insight online from another BIRN publication, Justice Report, which provides in-depth coverage of war crimes trials ongoing in republics of the former Yugoslavia.
Balkan Insight occasionally publishes special editions, focusing on a particular theme, issue, territory or major event such as an election.
Staff and contributing editors
Balkan Insight staff editors and contributing editors include:- Gordana Igric, BIRN Regional Director, is a veteran Belgrade journalist and winner of Overseas Press Club (USA) and Human Rights Watch awards for her reporting on human rights abuses and war crimes during the violent breakup of Yugoslavia during the 1990s. She later directed the award-winning Balkans program of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. With former IWPR colleagues across southeast Europe, she founded BIRN in 2005.
- Ana Petruseva, Assistant Editor, is a journalist in Skopje, Macedonia, where she is the founder and country director of BIRN Macedonia. She has worked for a wide variety of media outlets since 1997, including ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, ArteArteArte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
(France/Germany), Spiegel TV (Germany), Rai Uno (Italy), Deutsche Welle (Germany), Forum (Macedonia), covering both the Kosovo war of 1998-1999 and the Macedonian conflict of 2001. She also produces documentary films. - Marcus Tanner, Editor and Trainer, is a journalist in London. A former assistant foreign editor and Balkans correspondent for The Independent (UK), he covered the break-up of Yugoslavia, the fall of communism in Bulgaria and Romania, the wars in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and the siege of Sarajevo. His books include “Croatia: a Nation Forged in War” (1997), “Ireland’s Holy Wars” (2001) and “The Last of the Celts” (2004), all published by Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
Press. - Eric JanssonEric JanssonEric or Erik Jansson or Janson was the leader of a Swedish pietist sect that emigrated to the United States in 1846.-Biography:...
, Contributing Editor, is an American journalist based in the UK. He has reported since 1997 from central and eastern Europe and the Balkans. A former Balkans correspondent for the Financial Times and Baltics correspondent for dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur, he has also written for the Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune and many other media outlets. In addition to editing, he has consulted BIRN on future development of Business Insight.