[Roundtable] “Epstein Files”: Investigating in a Minefield

The Geneva Press Club and Investigativ.ch invite you to a roundtable discussion with:

• Forrest Rogers, Open Source, Visual Investigations Reporter, NZZ
• Sylvain Besson, Investigative Journalist, Tamedia
• Benjamin Grazda, Advocacy Officer, RSF Washington
• Laura Drompt, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Bon à Savoir
• Moderator: Laura Drompt, Investigativ.ch committee member

How can journalists uncover stories of public interest in an ocean of declassified documents? Unprecedented in scale, the Epstein case and its revelations mark a turning point for investigative journalism, which has had to sharpen its critical eye when dealing with data that was pre-filtered and redacted by the U.S. government. What precautions should be taken to extract reliable information from such data, cross-check sources, and protect exposed victims, without yielding to the pressures faced by journalists? Please note: this panel will be held in English.

This event is organized as part of Presstival. To view the full program, click here.

About Presstival

Launched in 2025 by journalists from various newsrooms, the Presstival association now brings together more than sixty professionals united by their passion for journalism. The festival is a large “sandbox” where the general public, media, associations, politicians, civil society, and experts can meet, present their work, and exchange ideas.

This initiative stems from a desire for change in response to the gloomy state of the profession. As a reminder, Switzerland, like many other countries, is facing a major crisis in journalism, marked by media consolidation, increasingly precarious working conditions in newsrooms, and the closure of historic publications.

The economic model of the press is struggling to find a stable balance, while advertising revenue continues to shift toward major web platforms. As a result, the profession has experienced waves of mass layoffs for over a decade. This erosion of information has a worrying and hard-to-measure impact on our ability to live together and function as a society.