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February 1975: Journalists meet in Reston, Va., to discuss whether an organization to improve investigative journalism is feasible. In attendance: Myrta Pulliam and Harley Bierce, The Indianapolis Star; Paul Williams, former investigative editor and Ohio State University professor; David Burnham, The New York Times; Leonard Downie Jr., The Washington Post; Frank Anderson, Long Beach Independent; Robert Peirce, St. Louis Globe-Democrat; Jack Anderson, syndicated columnist, and his associate Les Whitten; Jack Landau, Washington, D.C. bureau of Newhouse newspapers; John Colburn, news executive from Landmark Communications, Norfolk, Va.; Robert Friedly, Disciples of Christ Christian Church, Indianapolis; and Edward DeLaney, an Indianapolis lawyer.
The philanthropic arm of the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company, based in Indianapolis, donates a $3,100 planning grant. Advisers from the American Newspaper Publishers Association and the American Press Institute looked on. Ron Koziol from the Chicago Tribune newsroom had participated in the planning, but could not attend the meeting.
June 1976: On June 2, Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles is seriously injured by a car bomb in connection with an investigation. He dies 11 days later on June 13. … The first Investigative Reporters and Editors national conference is held in Indianapolis. About 250 journalists from 35 states attend. In the wake of Bolles' murder, IRE begins to organize the Arizona Project, intended to show those who harm journalists that the investigation will continue. Bob Greene, a Newsday editor, moves to Arizona temporarily to direct the project. Reporters, editors and journalism students volunteer to work under Greene's direction.
October 1976: Paul Williams, Ohio State University journalism professor, dies. IRE's plan to establish its headquarters at OSU must be rethought.
March 1977: The Arizona Project team completes its reporting, writing, editing and legal review. The 23-part series about corruption in the state where Bolles died is offered at no cost to news organizations for publication in whole, or in part. Some people named in the series sue IRE for libel.
June 1977: IRE's second annual conference meets in Columbus, Ohio. The June national conference becomes a permanent part of IRE's services. The membership fee is $15 annually for professional journalists, half that for journalism students.
June 1978: The reach of IRE's national conferences increases as transcripts of specific sessions become available from the 1978 Denver gathering, as well as the 1976 and 1977 conferences. In addition, IRE contracts with a private company to produce audiotapes of almost every national conference session. IRE collects and catalogs "tip sheets" and other handouts from conference speakers.
July 1978: The Centre for Investigative Journalism, patterned in part after IRE, opens its headquarters at Carleton University, Ottawa.
August 1978: IRE finds a home at the Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia. John Ullmann, a doctoral candidate at the school, becomes IRE's first executive director. A volunteer board of directors, elected from the general membership, devotes countless hours to making the organization strong while fulfilling its educational mission. Early directors come from The Indianapolis Star, Newsday, NBC News, (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, Tulsa Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald-American, The (Riverside) Press-Enterprise, The Denver Post, The (Eugene) Register-Guard, Los Angeles Times, Long Beach Independent Press Telegram, The Kansas City Star, Lewiston Tribune, and Washington and Lee University. …
IRE appoints a volunteer coordinator for each of 13 regions to serve members better. Those coordinators come from print, broadcast and academic positions, mirroring the board of directors. Also devoting countless hours to IRE are Missouri School of Journalism faculty who volunteer to help produce the magazine and perform other tasks, as well as students who either volunteer or receive modest payment from government work-study money, scholarships and research assistantships through the university.
September 1978: To supplement the national conferences, IRE organizes regional conferences, including its first Far West regional, held in Palm Springs. The regional conferences differ from the national conferences mainly in duration, often running two days instead of three or four.
October 1978: The IRE Journal appears as a full-fledged magazine, published bi-monthly. Stories include how to use the federal Freedom of Information Act, the risks of accepting stolen documents, digging out records on corporate conduct, and local angles worthy of investigative reports. … IRE establishes the Resource Center, a compilation of print and broadcast investigations to be studied for reporting and writing techniques, as a memorial to Paul Williams.
1979: IRE paid membership reaches 1,000.
February 1979: IRE holds its first conference designed primarily for college students in Columbia, Mo. These student conferences, meant to reach out to future professional journalists, are the brainchild of James Polk, an NBC News investigative reporter, who organizes them each year.
November 1979: Membership dues increase to $20 annually for professional journalists, $10 for journalism students.
January 1980: IRE holds its first conference designed for broadcast journalists, in Louisville. … IRE starts its publication program to supplement the Journal with a booklet, "Crime Statistics: How Not to Be Abused" by David Burnham of The New York Times.
June 1980: IRE presents its annual awards for the first time, recognizing investigations that were published or broadcast during 1979. The six categories yield more than 300 entries.
September 1980: An auction is held in Los Angeles to raise money for IRE's legal defense fund and a separate legal defense fund for IRE director Bill Farr of the Los Angeles Times. IRE potentially owes $45,000 to its insurer for deductibles to the Arizona Project lawsuits. Farr owes money related to a jail term 11 years earlier when he refused to divulge a confidential source related to the Charles Manson murder case.
February 1981: The only libel suit against IRE from the Arizona Project that goes to trial ends in a verdict favorable to IRE. A plaintiff award of $15,000 for alleged emotional distress was vacated.
August 1981: IRE's libel insurance carrier makes a generous decision about deductibles owed from the Arizona Project litigation. The decision places IRE on the track toward permanent solvency. … A survey of IRE members shows 72 percent are reporters, 60 percent work at newspapers, 79 percent are male, and 22 percent spend three-quarters or more of their time on investigative projects.
June 1983: IRE, in conjunction with St. Martin's Press, publishes "The Reporter's Handbook: An Investigator's Guide to Documents and Techniques." Edited by John Ullmann and Steve Honeyman, it has contributions from dozens of IRE members.
August 1983: Ullmann leaves his position as IRE executive director and is replaced by Steve Weinberg, who teaches at the Missouri School of Journalism.
September 1983: IRE names five volunteer regional coordinators, who are all professors of journalism.
January 1984: Accomplished investigative journalists visit IRE and speak to Missouri School of Journalism classes. Funding for the individual trips comes from IRE member Bob Greene of Newsday.
June 1984: A second professional journalist, Jan Colbert, joins the IRE staff as assistant director. Like the executive director, her commitments and her salary are divided between the journalism school and IRE.
July 1984: IRE publishes the first of its books based on entry forms from its annual awards competition, "The IRE Book: Summaries of Many Top Investigative Stories of 1983."
August 1985: Two months after the IRE national conference in Chicago, IRE offers a conference on a specialized topic, covering agriculture. It is done in conjunction with agriculture faculty and staff at the University of Missouri. IRE also sponsors a conference on investigating sports in Jacksonville, Fla.
September 1985: Newspaper project editors from around the nation gather in Minneapolis under IRE sponsorship. The conference is Ullmann's idea; he joined the Minneapolis Star Tribune as project editor after leaving the IRE staff.
