Jul 22, 2007 AMMAN (JT) — The Amman-based Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) invited journalists to benefit from the opportunity offered by this regional organisation, which seeks to nurture a culture of investigative journalism across the region. “We realise there is a need for investigative reporting in this part of the world. We have plans to train coaches and intensify our activities in the countries where we operate to attract more reporters to benefit from the programme,” the organisation’s executive director, Rana Sabbagh-Garghour, said Saturday. She made the remarks during a lecture she delivered at The Jordan Times. ARIJ’s coach, Saad Hattar, briefed JT staff on the basics of investigative reports and their unique traits vis-à-vis other types of reporting. Sabbagh-Garghour outlined ARIJ’s policy for funding local reports, saying that financial support per story amounts to $4,000 and selected reporters can work full time on the stories, in coordination between ARIJ and their employers. Stories produced by Jordanian, Syrian and Lebanese reporters are published on the not-for-profit organisation’s website (www.arij.net) and in their respective newspapers. Funded by the Danish parliament under a two-year programme, ARIJ was established by Arab media activists and media organisations, in cooperation with the Copenhagen-based International Media Support (IMS), following a series of meetings that were held in Copenhagen, Damascus, Beirut and Amman.