The Journalism Development Group LLC was founded in 2004 by a group of experienced international journalists who wanted to help improve news media in developing countries. Our goal was to develop new and innovative ways for media outlets to meet and exceed international standards for investigative reporting and newsroom management.  

Our founding principles grew out of our careers as working journalists and managers, followed by years of experience in newsrooms around the world.

We believe that the best way for media to improve is for like minded journalists to share their experiences in the real world setting of a newsroom. JDG doesn’t "train" journalists. We work as peers, mentors or advisors, side-by-side to help circumvent limitations, implement standards, spark continuous improvement and set new standards of accuracy, fairness and quality.

The first step in the process of our projects is to help define journalism. Often, local journalists may not even share the same definitions of basic concepts, such as what is "news."  No work is done until we understand what news, commentary, accuracy, fairness and investigative reporting mean in the local context. Then we define goals unique to that newsroom.

Our ultimate goal is sustainable growth from a journalistic as well as financial standpoint. We also leverage successes in one outlet on the larger environment by foisting higher standards on competitors, raising expectations of readers and embracing new responsibilities for public service.

Ours flagship venture, the Center for Investigative Journalism in Sarajevo, has received local and worldwide recognition for programs that have implemented these principles. Foreign Policy Magazine’s June 2005 issue, which bemoaned the millions of dollars wasted on media development in the Balkans since the end of the war, said "CIN's first effort… shows that sometimes dogged journalism can beat the odds." It added, "The thoroughness of CIN's reporting is particularly impressive, considering the obstacles investigative journalists face in a media environment as unstable … as Bosnia's."