6. Frederik Obermaier on Panama Papers, Ibiza video & the role of media freedom for anti-corruption

On this episode of Kickback, we are thrilled to welcome Pulitzer-prize winning investigative journalist Frederik Obermaier, working for Süddeutsche Zeitung best known for his work on the Panama Papers and the Strache Video. Part 1 #PanamaPapers (0:00-08:10): “It is only logical to tackle a transnational challenge like corruption with a transnational team” The first part of the interview describes the collaborative efforts initiated by Frederik and his colleague Bastian Obermayer leading unprecedented investigations into the rogue offshore industry. Frederik describes how they went about detecting illegal activities in the data, why they decided to team up with over 400 experts – epitomized by Frederik: “We do see a change of mindset of journalist. 10-20 years ago the typical investigative journalist was this lonely wolf kind of existence, (…) we do see change towards a power of the pack “. (8:10-12:02) The interview touches on the importance of data analysis for modern investigative journalism. (12:03-15:09): Next the two discuss what new and surprising things Frederik learned by “getting a look into the machine room of this whole corruption machine” in the process of the Panama Papers. We kid you not, here Winnie-the-Poo and Harry Potter will make their unexpected appearance. (15:10-21:04): The discussion then moves towards Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) and whether countries should adopt laws to allow (public) registers of UBO’s. Part 2 – #StracheVideo #Ibizagate (21:05 – 30:40): “To bring back more accountability into politics, fighting for more transparency would be a major step!” The second part covers the recent “bombshell” revelations of a video secretly taped in the summer of 2017 showing two representatives of the Austrian right-wing party Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) who met with a woman pretending to be the niece of a Russian oligarch. Frederik outlines why this case of corruption had special relevance to lead to the resignation of Heinz Christian Strache, former leader of the FPÖ. The two discuss the importance of accountability via investigative journalism and how revelations can help the civil society to keep politicians accountable. In the discussion, the US are referred to as a developing country when it comes to efforts leading to more transparency in politics. (30:40 – 38:34): they discuss the moral implications of the trap that was set up to obtain this video and it “in the end it comes down to public interest”, how revelations by the Panama Papers differ from “data dumps” Part 3 - Press freedom is an important pillar for every democracy (38:35 – end): The last part deals with the main threats to independent investigative journalism, kicking off with the proposed take-over of the Kronen Zeitung, an influential Austrian tabloid, and to use the newspaper as a mouthpiece to back the FPÖ party in the election campaign discussed in the Strache Video. The discussion covers the academic work by Christopher Starke showing that a relationship between media freedom and corruption exists. Frederik: “press freedom (…) was already under siege in autocratic countries, now we have to speak about press freedom in democracies”. The interview ends on what each individual can do to help independent and critical media and what keeps Frederik doing his challenging job. For more information on: - Frederik’s work: https://www.frederikobermaier.com/ - the Panama Papers: https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/ - the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists: https://www.icij.org - The Strache Video: https://projekte.sueddeutsche.de/artikel/politik/caught-in-the-trap-e675751/ - Research on media freedom and corruption: Starke, C., Naab, T. K., & Scherer, H. (2016). Free to expose corruption: The impact of media freedom, internet access, and governmental online service delivery on corruption. International Journal of Communication, 10, 4702–4722.