Dataharvest 2025 - the European Investigative Journalism Conference

Satellite imagery is a powerful tool for data-driven investigations, but getting started can be tricky. In this session, you'll learn how to navigate the U.S. Geological Survey's portal to access free satellite imagery from around the world - as well as common limitations when working with the data format. Then, using the *terra* package in R, you'll be guided through loading and analysing this data to identify urban heat islands. You will leave with practical skills, fresh inspiration and the confidence to tackle your own spatial analysis projects.

Participants should have a working knowledge of R. To get the most out of the session, please come with R & RStudio (or another coding platform of your choice) already installed on your computer and a (free) account on the USGS Earth Explorer portal

Journalism is almost never delivered live. These days, always there seems to be a screen between the journalists and the audience. But before the online and digital world swallowed everything, journalism reached people through the pages of a newspaper or magazine, on a TV screen, or on a crackling radio (if you are too young to know what we're talking about, ask your parents).

It doesn't have to be like that -- even today when most people start feeling sick and anxious at the mere thought of being away from their smartphones for a few hours.

There are offline and in-person ways for us to present, deliver and disseminate our investigations and other reporting. And there seems to be a growing appetite among audiences and (some) media organisations to explore ways to get together and experience journalistic storytelling live.

In this session, three journalists who've been experimenting with different offline and in-person ways of journalistic storytelling will share their experiences, the lessons learnt, and how it feels to have your audience look you in the eye and talk to you in person as you present or deliver your story.

Journalists are increasingly using laboratory analyses as part of their investigations. However, they often approach laboratories without fully understanding what this entails. In general, laboratory analyses can be used to trace the origin of goods (food, lumber, or steel) through methods such as DNA or isotopic analysis. They can also be used to analyse environmental matrices, such as water or soil, to detect pollutants. But how exactly does this process work? What are the right “research questions” to ask before contacting a laboratory? Which laboratory should you choose? How much does it cost? How long does it take to get results? And how relevant are these results to a journalistic investigation? These questions are often overlooked. It turns out that laboratory analysis is not a magic wand that can instantly solve an investigation.By the end of the session, participants will have learned simple but essential rules to ensure that laboratory analysis becomes a key component of their investigations—not just a superficial add-on.