Global Reporting Centre

The Global Reporting Centre (GRC) is an independent news organization focused on innovating global journalism, based out of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Its model works by pairing scholars, leading journalists and news organizations to cover neglected stories around the world. Founded by Peter W. Klein, it grew from the International Reporting Program (now called the Global Reporting Program) based at the University of British Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Writing, and Media. Peter W. Klein stepped down as executive director in 2023 to join NBC News as executive editor of investigative reporting. Andrea Crossan, who was the former executive producer of PRX’s The World (radio program), took over as executive director.

Projects
In 2018, the Global Reporting Centre received a $2.5 million grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for ‘Hidden Costs of Global Supply Chains,’ a multi-year project bringing together researchers, journalists, students, and media broadcasters to investigate “corruption, labour abuses and environmental impact hidden within global supply chains.” The organization has also partnered with the Center for Investigative Reporting to report on a digital dumping ground in China. In 2016, the Global Reporting Centre received funding from the Aga Khan Foundation to profile efforts to wipe out Rh Disease and explore it as a public health issue. The resulting story by Jennifer Yang was published in the Toronto Star.

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Reporting Centre partnered with the Associated Press and the PBS series FRONTLINE to investigate the medical supply crisis as part of its work on global supply chains. That investigation led to a documentary, a series of articles, and an interactive explainer. The Pulitzer Center also created educational resources based on the documentary. From 2021 to 2023, the Global Reporting Centre continued its reporting on supply chains, partnering with NBC News to produce a series about plastic production in Appalachia. Shell agreed to pay $10 million for exceeding emissions limits during the launch of its Petrochemicals Complex in Beaver County, PA, weeks after NBC News and The Global Reporting Centre questioned Shell and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as part of its investigation.

The Global Reporting Centre has also supported cross-sector collaboration between academics and journalists by providing grants and other support under the ‘Hidden Costs of Global Supply Chains’ project, including funding projects like The Carbon Cage, a collaboration between journalist Duy Linh Tu and Saint Mary’s University associate professor Kate Ervine, published by Scientific American. The Carbon Cage won the 2023 Telly Award in Virtual Art Direction. The Global Reporting Centre also funded a partnership between Toronto Star reporter Robert Cribb and Genevieve LeBaron, former University of Sheffield  professor and current professor and director of the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University. That collaboration led to a 10-month investigation into how COVID-19 was impacting garment workers in South Asian and African countries; it garnered global coverage from the BBC, Reuters, and The New York Times.

The Global Reporting Centre has also developed media guides, including a guide for “empowerment journalism," which provides practical advice and best practices for community-engaged reporting. This reporting method was used in the production of Turning Points, a series of documentary shorts produced in partnership with PBS NewsHour that “explores alcohol use, addiction, resilience and healing” in Indigenous communities in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

In 2023, the Global Reporting Centre released Not Just Words, the results of a survey of 645 journalists in 87 countries that focused on reputational attacks. More than 60% of journalists surveyed reported at least monthly attacks on their reputations. The survey was led by researcher Chris Tenove, and conducted in partnership with the University of British Columbia School of Journalism, Writing, and Media, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Disinformation Project at Simon Fraser University, and PEN Canada.

Awards and recognition
The Global Reporting Centre has won numerous awards for excellence in journalism in a range of categories.

China's Generation Green


 * Best Online Video News Series and Small Online News Organization Video Series (2014 Edward R. Murrow Award);
 * Non-deadline Online Reporting (2014 Sigma Delta Chi Award);
 * Best Interactive Story (2014 Canadian Online Publishing Awards);
 * Recipient for the Online Media category (2014 Canadian Association of Journalists Awards)

Million Dollar Med$
 * Science, Technology, Health and Environment (2015 Jack Webster Awards)

Out of the Shadows
 * Pro-am Student Award (2016 Online Journalism Awards);
 * Silver, Best Editorial Package (2016 Digital Publishing Awards);
 * Best Online Video News Series (2016 Edward R. Murrow Awards)

Strangers at Home
 * Best Social Video Series (2017 Webby Awards)

Stuck.
 * Best Article or Series (2018 Canadian Online Publishing Awards);
 * Best College/University News or Event Feature (2018 EPPY Awards)

The fish you (don't know you) eat
 * Best Digital Editorial Package (2020 Digital Publishing Awards);
 * First Place, Multimedia Production (2020 Emerge Media Awards)

America's Medical Supply Crisis
 * Winner, Video (Division 1) (2020 Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards);
 * Business Investigative Reporting (2021 Deadline Club Awards);
 * Honourable Mention, Best Digital Design (2021 Digital Publishing Awards)

Turning Points
 * Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (2022 Edward R. Murrow Awards);
 * Silver medal for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (2023 Anthem Awards)

Growing Older
 * First place, Student Category (2022 Association of Health Care Journalists Awards);
 * Mark of Excellence Award for Collaborative Journalism (2022 Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards)

In 2023, the GRC was awarded the Jack Webster Foundation’s Bill Good Award, which recognizes “a B.C. individual or organization that makes a significant contribution to journalism in the province, or addresses a community’s needs and benefits via journalism.”