The Ferret is an independent non-profit

media cooperative Media cooperatives are a form of cooperative that report on news based on the geographic location of their membership, or the general interests of the membership. Often they are a form of alternative media, critical of mainstream perspectives, with ...

in Scotland set up to investigate stories in the public interest which launched in May 2015.

History

The Ferret was launched in May 2015. With the support of members, it aims to produce independent investigations that can be sold to outlets in the mainstream media. The cooperative structure was chosen to allow readers to be more than passive recipients of their stories. The Ferret was the first publication in Scotland to join press regulator

IMPRESS The Independent Monitor for the Press (IMPRESS) is an independent press regulator in the UK. It was the first to be recognised by the Press Recognition Panel. Unlike the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), IMPRESS is fully compliant ...

, and adopt an editorial policy compliant with the recommendations of the

Leveson Inquiry The Leveson Inquiry was a judicial public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal, chaired by Lord Justice Leveson, who was appointed in July 2011. A series of ...

. A crowdfunding appeal was chosen to launch their first investigation into aspects of the fracking industry and unconventional gas. They hit their target within a week. By the close of the appeal, they had raised more that double their target and so they decided to look at the treatment of asylum seekers too. They organised a conference with

Strathclyde University The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

held in April 2016. In November 2016 The Ferret was shortlisted in the "Digital Innovation" category of the 2016 British Journalism Awards. In April 2017, the co-operative launched a

fact checking Fact-checking is the process of verifying factual information, in order to promote the veracity and correctness of reporting. Fact-checking can be conducted before (''ante hoc'') or after (''post hoc'') the text is published or otherwise dissem ...

service. It remains the only fact checking project in Scotland to be independently assessed as meeting th
International Fact Checking Network Code of Principles.
In 2018, Ferret co-founding Director Billy Briggs and photographer Angela Catlin were awarded Outstanding Digital Journalist of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards. The award recognised Billy Briggs and Angela Catlin's reporting from Iraq the previous year, which wa
published by The Ferret.
The organisation also won Online/Digital Award at the 2018 Scottish Refugee Media Awards for a story by Ferret Director Karin Goodwin and Angela Catlin highlighting the increasing numbers of children being made destitute in Scotland.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferret Internet properties established in 2015 2015 establishments in Scotland Media cooperatives United Kingdom journalism organisations Co-operatives in Scotland