The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "premium price" ...
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Dark Market
"The story examined 30 percent of the commodity futures markets for oil that trade without regulation. We examined how these markets may have played a role in bumping up the price of oil over the summer of 2008."
Tags: gasoline; Intercontinental Exchange; ICE; Trading Commission; barrel; premium price;
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Speed Trap: Racial Patterns in Traffic Stops
The Boston Globe analyzed newly released state records on traffic stops and found that "on city boulevards and rural lanes, whites are far more likely than minorities to receive written warnings instead of tickets when stopped for identical traffic offenses." The report also looked at sex and gender, and found "women, especially young women, get breaks that aren't afforded to men." In order to then quantify the cost of such unequal treatment to the public, the Globe looked at factors such as lost ticket revenue and higher insurance premiums -- concluding "the price tag...amounts to an estimated $25 million a year." But the news wasn't all bad, as the analysis revealed the Massachusetts State Police did give almost identical treatment "to all drivers, regardless of race, sex, or age....No local police department of any size was as fair as the State Police." The earlier series (Jan 6-7) deals with how statewide, black and Hispanic drivers "received traffic tickets at a rate twice their share of the population." And when they were stopped, those drivers were "50 percent more likely to have their cars searched," even though whites were more likely to be found carrying drugs. The Globe uses tables and graphics extensively to convey the results of its analysis.
Tags: traffic; tickets; ticket; race; minority; trooper; cop; police; speeding; drugs; warning; gender; profile; profiling; citation; database; CAR; statistics; public records; open records; research; tables; graphics
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Stone Cold Chemicals
WAGA-TV investigated Stone Cold Chemicals, which "sells cleaning supplies to federal, state and local government offices across the country. They generate millions of dollars -- tax dollars -- by offering the government supervisor a gift. In exchange, the supervisor agrees to order what are often over-priced supplies. (WAGA-TV) found the company giving supervisors what they called a 'premium,' worth as much as 10 percent of what they ordered. Purchasing agents told (WAGA-TV) this type of sales tactic is unethical, and in their opinion, illegal. That may explain why the company often sent those expensive gifts to the supervisor's home instead of the office."
Tags: Stone Cold Chemicals; conflicts of interest; federal; state; local; government; gifts; politics; tax dollars; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT
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Are you paying too much for auto insurance?
Consumer Reports examines auto insurance premiums in seven big states, and finds that there can be more than a fourfold difference in prices for identical coverage from different insurers. The article explains how insurance companies tailor policies to specific drivers, possibly overcharging them. It also reveals that "U.S. drivers overpay some $300-million by failing to take advantage of them." The report includes table of premiums that the major insurers in California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington would offer specific drivers, depending on their mileage, record, age and marital status.
Tags: automobiles; cars; driving record; road accidents; insurance coverage; teenage driving; commuters; speeding tickets; towing
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The New Farm Crisis
Corporate hog giants like Premium Standard Farms have flooded the market and sent pork prices plummeting. Many small farmers are driven out of business and then added to the PSF payroll as animal factory employees.
Tags: Employment
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Factory Farms: Profit at a Price
Because of an exemption in state law, corporate hog farms are allowed to operate in three counties in northern Missouri. They've brought economic gain, but also wrought environmental damage, and the organization charged with overseeing the, the Department of Natural Resources, Lacks the authority to force them to change their ways. An investigation of Premium Standard Farms, the third largest pork producer in the county, reveals that hog manure spills from their facilities continue to damage Missouri's waters.
Tags: VIDEOCLIP TAPE TRANSCRIPT pigs livestock waste run-off
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No title (id: 6339)
Asbury Park Press finds evidence of consumer fraud in New Jersey seafood markets; sellers cheated customers, falsely labeling inexpensive species as premium, high-priced fish, May and September 1989.
Tags: None
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No title (id: 4310)
Common Cause Magazine article finds the government's Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, the world's biggest buyer of infant formula, is paying premium prices for formula while less than half the children targeted by the program are served, March/April 1988.