IRE

Join IRE and NICAR in Phoenix for the 2010 Computer-Assisted Reporting Conference.

The annual event, which offers hands-on training, panels on the latest trends and insight into cutting-edge developments, will be hosted by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University from March 11-14.

The 2010 CAR Conference will give you the tools you need to dig deeper into stories and give readers, viewers and your online audience the information they’re demanding. It will offer something for everyone, from beginners to those with years of experience. The training provided at the conference helps journalists stay ahead in a competitive environment and will give you skills employers are looking for.

“We’re honored to be hosting IRE’s 2010 CAR conference here at the Cronkite School,” said Chris Callahan, dean of the school. “I attended my first CAR conference back in 1995, and have always found the sessions to be among the very best concentrated journalism training experiences in the world. With our new digital media complex in downtown Phoenix and faculty members such as Knight Chair Steve Doig, we hope to help IRE deliver a first-rate CAR training experience next spring.”

Registration and hotel information will be posted soon at www.ire.org.

By Steve Weinberg

With all the gloom about the future of newspapers and other mainstream media, the speakers at the showcase panel “Doing great work in tough times” at the 2009 IRE Conference provided a mostly upbeat alternate conventional wisdom.

Jill Abramson, New York Times managing editor, moderated the panel. She is bullish on the future of The New York Times, both hard copy and online. Even with a layoff reducing the news staff by 100, the newspaper still employs about 1200 journalists producing copy for the hard copy and Web versions.

At ABC-TV news and ABCnews.com, Brian Ross directs an investigative unit of 14. He has seen no diminishing of resources.

Mark Katches related how the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a newspaper with a circulation of about 200,000, grew its projects staff from zero to 10 between 2006 and 2009. The journalists on the team include a columnist and bloggers as well as shoe-leather reporters and veteran editors.

Paul Steiger, who left the Wall Street Journal newsroom after a spectacular career there as editor, is now running ProPublica. In his mid-60s, Steiger has made the transition from for-profit national daily newspaper to not-for-profit investigative enterprise. He hired and supervises a staff of 30, overseeing collaborations with mainstream media outlets as well as Web-only enterprises. Steiger faces the challenge of expanding the revenue sources from one wealthy donor to a variety of donors, but feels confident he can do so.

Andrew Donohue at voiceofsandiego.org dispelled the notion that his staff consists mostly of refugees from mainstream media who lost their jobs or panicked that they might lose their jobs soon. In fact, the Web-only investigative enterprise began four years ago, because those contributing money wanted to diversify media outlets in the San Diego area. The staff has grown from two to 12 and is focusing on seven enterprise beats.

Lawan Williams is supervising new content, including investigative pieces for the E.W. Scripps television stations — 10 in all across the nation. She is finding positive reception among local news directors and audiences.

Abramson noted that such showcase panels used to discuss “digging in dark corners.” Now the emphasis has changed to “digging in dark moments.” That said, the bullish panel members seemed convinced that the dark moments will be minimized not so far into the future.

As for me, who directed IRE from 1983-1990 and have stayed involved at the fringes, I am also bullish. I don’t want to minimize layoffs and closings. But those have occcurred in many cases because wealthy owners made ill-considered decisions about assuming too much debt. There is nothing sick about investigative reporting when it occurs in newsrooms with savvy owners. The evidence? The hundreds of amazing entries every year in the IRE Awards. Reading those should make anybody bullish about investigative reporting circa 2009.

Steve Weinberg is a contributing editor to The IRE Journal and teaches at the Missouri School of Journalism. His most recent book is “Taking on the Trust: The Epic Battle of Ida Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller.” (W.W. Norton).

Check out the IRE on the Road blog for several new postings, including:

• Tips on making the most of the computer-assisted reporting day on June 11 during the IRE conference in Baltimore.
• Advice from reporter Ron Campbell of The Orange County Register on digging deeper on covering businesses and their key leaders.
• A strategy for using mapping files to find data, even if you don’t use GIS software.
• An audio interview with Newsday reporters Eden Laikin and Sandra Peddie, who used databases and public records to track pension fraud in public schools.
• Watchdog tactics on the beat that helped the Detroit Free Press win a Pulitzer Prize this year for local news reporting.
• A guest blog item from reporter Brandon Stahl of the Duluth News-Tribune about how IRE training helped him investigate inaccurate property assessments.

— Doug Haddix and Jaimi Dowdell, IRE training directors

The Baltimore Marriott Waterfront has given us an extension to make reservations at our group rate for the 2009 IRE Conference. Make your reservation before Monday, May 25 to take advantage of the group rate and the added incentives. Rooms in our block are going quickly, so book your room today before they are gone.

We have also extended the early-bird registration until Monday, May 25. Register today to take advantage of the discounted rate.

We look forward to seeing you in Baltimore!

These are tough times in broadcasting, but the upcoming IRE Conference promises to be a good investment – arming journalists with the information they need to deliver strong, timely investigative reports for their news organizations when they return home.

The event will be held June 11-14 at the Marriott Baltimore Waterfront. May 15 is the last day for hotel reservations at the conference discount rate (if rooms are still available).

Investigative journalism’s biggest names – Bob Woodward, Seymour Hersh, James Bamford, Brian Ross, Armen Keteyian, Byron Pitts and many others – headline the conference. Jon Klein, president of CNN-U.S., will deliver this year’s keynote address. A host of panels will focus on the economic meltdown, new media strategies and nonprofit journalism.

We’ve also put together a strong series of broadcast-specific panels to help television journalists respond to the demands of the day. Among the panels:

In addition, many news organizations are partnering with other groups to maximize resources. How can your station do that? A panel discussion, Partnerships: The promise and pitfalls, will feature Ira Rosen from “60 Minutes,” John Solomon from the Washington Times, Hagit Limor from WCPO in Cincinnati and others.

And that’s only a portion of the panels offered at the IRE Conference. Broadcasters will be among the speakers at panels on many other topics.

There’s the ever-popular Show and Tell sessions, where you can show your work and pick up ideas from fellow investigative journalists.

If you reserve your room between now and May 15, you’ll be eligible for several incentives at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront.  Click here for more information.

Early bird conference registration for $175 is available until May 22. Register today!

– Phil Williams, IRE Board Member

In this free-read article from Uplink, Gregg Hennigan of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids explains how he used FEMA data and Microsoft Excel spreadsheet tricks to examine the flood aid flowing into eastern Iowa last year. Hennigan, a local government reporter, completed the story after attending and IRE and NICAR computer-assisted reporting boot camp.

- David Herzog

Seymour Hersh has joined the lineup of speakers at the 2009 IRE Conference. Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who has exposed scandals and cover-ups for decades — from the Mai Lai massacre in Vietnam to Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq — joins a strong group of speakers that also includes Bob Woodward of The Washington Post, Donald Barlett and James Steele of Vanity Fair, Jill Abramson and Dean Baquet of The New York Times, Brian Ross of ABC News, Armen Keteyian of CBS News, and David Simon, creator of “The Wire” and a longtime Baltimore journalist. Jon Klein, president of CNN-U.S., will deliver this year’s keynote address. Follow the latest news on speakers and panels on our Web site.