The way I’m presenting the FTG approach and methodology on this website is, for me and as of July 2024, an initial version that I’m putting out there for others to read and to consider using it, adapting it, contributing to it, or criticising it. If you have any comments or questions about it (or about this website), you can get in touch with me on contact@josemcalatayud.net
From my side, these are the next steps I’m planning regarding the “follow the governance” approach and methodology_
- to produce and make available all the content on this website as a single DOC or PDF document to download
- to continue working on the three case studies mentioned on this website
- on natural gas in Europe, which is the most advanced, I may try and put together a proposal to launch a cross-border investigation, to research the governance system more in-depth and to produce a whole set of stories and other media resources
- on online advertising and personal data, and on AI governance (which are indeed connected), I’ll continue the first research phase I’ve been conducting
- to think and test how to make my own work documents from those case studies publicly available in a way that’s most practical and useful to me and to others
- and to to consider producing open source blueprints or templates of journalistic outcomes based on FTG research: investigative explainer, timeline of events, mapping of actors and responsibilities, and mapping of norms and established practices
- to experiment with software based on LLMs (e.g. ChatGPT) as a research assistant
- given the huge amount of information and data that’s in principle available about the history and the current set-up of any governance system, finding and selecting the most relevant information risks being quite labour-intensive and time-consuming — that’s why using software like ChatGPT could be potentially useful
- however, as of right now I am sceptical about the capacity of those programmes to assist with the research, plus there are other questions regarding the ethics of using and promoting such automated systems that may make me reconsider whether I should really experiment with them
- to experiment and test how to best use software like Datashare and Aleph to manage, handle and analyse big amounts of information and data
- to polish up the website (and the document version) and promote it through LinkedIn and other channels
- to discuss the FTG approach and methodology formally and informally with colleagues in journalism conferences, presentations and other such gatherings and events, as well as when considering the possibility of working together in an investigation_
- if you are in or passing by Berlin and would like to discuss FTG, you can get in touch with me
- in late September, I will be in Athens to participate in iMEdD’s International Journalism Forum (where I’ll be a speaker, but not about FTG)
- in mid-October, I will be in Bologna to participate in the Climate Conference organised by Arena for Journalism in Europe, where I’ll be a speaker and will indeed talk about FTG as an approach and methodology
- to pitch an article on FTG as an investigative methodology to specialised websites and other outlets
- to start collecting and listing on this website examples of journalistic stories and other research articles that fit, at least in part, within the FTG approach and methodology
- to pitch a series of investigative explainers, under the label “Follow the Governance”, to media outlets