Christiaan Triebert Alumnus of the Year 2018

Christiaan Triebert is the new Alumnus of the Year of the University of Groningen. He is awarded the prize for his contribution to innovative investigative journalism. Triebert (1991) is affiliated with the research groups of Bellingcat, Airways and the New York Times.

The jury of the annual prize is unanimous in their praise of Triebert’s qualities: ‘His work pushes the boundaries of traditional journalism, opens new doors, gives new insights, uncovers corruption and inspires others’.

Spectacular revelations

Using modern technology and digital sources such as WhatsApp messages, YouTube videos and Google Earth images, Triebert is able to reveal the circumstances of bombings, war crimes and human rights violations. He investigated the coup attempt in Turkey, the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the MH17 disaster and the wars in Syria, Iraq and Ukraine, as well as London’s moped gangs. Everything in his reports is verifiable – as is good academic practice.

New journalism

This makes Triebert one of the founders of a new kind of journalism, which he actively tries to spread. According to the jury, this is extremely important in today’s climate with the rise of fake news and uncontrolled mass media. Christiaan Triebert not only publishes in international media such as the New York Times, Al Jazeera, Daily Beast and Foreign Policy, he also gives workshops on this new type of journalism to fellow journalists all over the globe. In the Netherlands, he is praised as an expert in television shows such as De Wereld Draait Door, where he explains developments to a wider audience.

Background

Christiaan Triebert studied International Relations, Middle Eastern Studies and Political Philosophy at the University of Groningen, and obtained his Bachelor’s degree in 2015. During his studies he already worked as a journalist for the University newspaper (UK), for which he made reports and photo reports in war zones. He took his Master’s degree in Conflict, Security and Development at King’s College in London. In 2017, he was awarded the Innovation Award of the European Press Prize for his reconstruction of the 2016 coup in Turkey. Currently, he is Visual Investigations Journalist at the New York Times.

Award presentation

The Alumnus of the Year Award is a statue made by Groningen artist Wia van Dijk. It will be presented to Triebert during the Opening of the Academic Year on 2 September 2019.