CEOGlobal Investigative Journalism Network
DAVID E. KAPLAN is executive director of the Global Investigative Journalism Network, an association of 145 nonprofit organizations in 62 countries dedicated to investigative reporting. GIJN acts as a global hub for the world’s investigative journalists, providing training, resources, and expertise.
Over a 35-year career Kaplan has managed nonprofit newsrooms, investigative teams, and cross-border projects, reported from two dozen countries, and won or shared more than 25 awards. During the late 1980s and early ‘90s, at the original Center for Investigative Reporting in San Francisco, he helped develop the model of a nonprofit investigative news enterprise. In 2008, he became editorial director of the Center for Public Integrity, where he rebuilt the group’s editorial structure and revitalized its data journalism unit and International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. As ICIJ director, he tripled funding, expanded its reach into 20 languages, and directed widely acclaimed investigations into the tobacco, asbestos, fishing, and energy industries.
Until 2007 Kaplan worked as chief investigative correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, then a two-million circulation newsweekly. His stories there drew worldwide attention, including exposés of racketeering by North Korean diplomats, Saudi funding of terrorist groups, and the looting of Russia. His books include YAKUZA, published in 12 languages and widely considered the standard reference on the Japanese mafia. He has worked in media development for 20 years and has trained more than a thousand reporters worldwide in his investigative journalism workshops. Among his publications is Global Investigative Journalism: Strategies for Support (CIMA, 2013).