Amman – Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) held a specialized training workshop, “From an Idea to a Podcast: How to Produce an Audio Investigative Report?”, on September 9–10, led by Ibrahim Hamadah, ARIJ’s Executive Editor. Hamada specializes in creative writing, narrative storytelling, and podcasting, and brings 18 years of media and journalism experience.

The workshop drew more than 100 participants from 27 countries, including investigative journalists, university professors, and radio professionals, reflecting the growing interest in investigative audio journalism across the Arab region and beyond.

Designed for investigative journalists and media practitioners seeking to turn written investigations into compelling audio, the training went beyond research and verification to focus on narrative craft: how to tell an investigative story that captivates listeners and holds their attention from start to finish.

Hamada guided participants through each stage of producing an investigative podcast, from identifying a worthy story idea, to building narrative structure and writing for the ear, to sound engineering and professional publishing across platforms.

Workshop Themes

Over two days, the workshop covered the following themes:

• Story Selection: How to choose a story worthy of investigation and shape it into a compelling audio product
• Audio-Based Investigation: Tools for gathering audio evidence, including interviews and field recordings
• Narrative Structure: Fundamentals of scriptwriting for radio and podcasts, building a story that keeps listeners hooked
• Soundscape: Field recording, music selection, and sound design to enhance realism without compromising credibility
• Sound Engineering and Distribution: Fundamentals of recording and editing, leading to professional podcast publishing in Arabic across platforms

Participants’ Testimonials

• “This workshop gave me exactly what I’d been searching for to master investigative podcast production fully. It gave me the confidence to pursue investigative ideas with a focused methodology, one centered on human-driven audio storytelling, grounded in facts and evidence.”
  — Zeinab Barjawi, freelance journalist, from Lebanon
  
  
• “An excellent workshop; it completely changed how I think about podcasting. It gave me a clear, practical understanding of the medium’s concept and techniques.”
  — Mohamed El-Asyuti, freelance journalist, from Egypt
  
  
• “The workshop gave me a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of preparing and presenting podcasts, and provided me with new tools that I can use to develop my journalistic work and produce more interactive and impactful content.”
  — Alaa Mazhar, journalist at Al-Ghad newspaper, from Jordan
  
  
• “From this workshop I learned that investigative podcasting is not just audio narration; it is a form of investigative journalism that is better able to simplify topics and reach a wider audience. Many of my convictions about podcast production in general, and investigative podcasting in particular, have changed.”
  — Hanan Taha, freelance journalist, from Yemen

This workshop was held as part of the Brave Media project, led by BBC Media Action in partnership with ARIJ and others, and co-funded by the European Commission