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 "private companies" ...
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Human Tissue Donation
It’s a billion dollar business that begins with an act of generosity: When someone or their family agrees to donate a person’s body, for free, after death. When they click the “donor” box on their driver’s license application, most organ donors don’t realize that they have also agreed to donate their tissue. They’ve made a legally binding promise that a private company can take skin, bones, tendons, ligaments and anything that’s not a living organ—and turn it into for-profit medical products. In a four part radio series that aired in July 2012, NPR Correspondent Joseph Shapiro highlighted this little known industry and the shortcomings in regulation that raise concerns among donors, medical professionals, and government officials at many levels. The series was part of a collaboration between NPR’s Investigative Unit and the International Consortium for of Investigative Journalists, a project of the Center for Public Integrity.
Tags: Human tissue donation; organ donors; ICIJ; Center for Public Integrity
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New York Times: Princelings
The “Princelings” series looked at the business dealings of the relatives of China’s senior leaders, and how they were able, in some cases, to amass billions of dollars worth of shares in public and private companies. The Times gave a detailed account of the wealth accumulated by the family of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and the relatives of former Central Bank chief Dai Xianglong. The investigation found that much of the wealth was hidden behind layers of private companies, suggesting the wealth was intentionally disguised or hidden from the public. No media outlet had ever offered such a detailed account of the wealth of a family of a senior leader. The Times also found evidence that the family of the prime minister and the former Central Banker received pre-IPO shares of Ping An Insurance after those two senior officials were aggressively lobbied by executives at Ping An and their bankers. The lobbyists had sought special approval or licenses for Ping. The departments the two officials oversaw eventually gave the approval, The Times found.
Tags: Chinese politicians; China's senior leaders; business dealings
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Are EMS Companies Taking Medicare For A Ride?
The Houston Chronicle published stories detailing how Houston was the nation's private ambulance capital and how it was connected to questionable Medicare payments and unregulated for-profit mental health clinics.
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Workforce Central Florida
The state's Regional Workforce Boards -- 24 private, nonprofit entities -- receive more than $300 million a year in public money to help put people back to work. The story revealed that the regional agencies handed out millions in business deals to companies owned by or controlled by their own board members. The reporters discovered that local elected officials charged with overseeing the boards had abdicated virtually all their authority, sometimes failing to meet for years at a time.
Tags: Regional Workforce Boards; public officials; local government
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Parking Patients
"Parking Patients" examined the amount of time hospitals in the Memphis area were taking to assume custody of patients brought to their emergency departments by city ambulances. In hundreds of cases we found patients were spending hours strapped to ambulance stretchers, waiting inside emergency departments for hospital staff to sign off on the transfer of care. In the meantime, city paramedics were tied up waiting with the patients and unavailable to answer other emergency calls. We found dozens of cases in the last year in which the city ran out of available ambulances to answer these calls, and had to rely on private companies to fill the gap, sometimes resulting in longer response times. The fire department blamed these shortages on the practice of hospitals using paramedics as "free labor."
Tags: broadcast; hospitals; paramedics; patients; waiting; ambulances
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Watchdog website and its web pages
The Oklahoman/NewsOK.com started this project in 2008 with the Right to Know page, a collection of databases developed internally to go along with stories and links to relevant public information. That site became part of the Watchdog page in 2009. In 2010, the staff continued to evolve the Watchdog page with "mini-sites" of investigative topics, such as a political corruption case at the Oklahoma Legislature; the staff's FOI fight over the birth dates of public employees; and allegations of bid-rigging with a married lawmaker and lobbyist for a private company seeking a state juvenile justice contract. Other "mini-sites" under Watchdog include ongoing coverage of the state Department of Human Services and the federal stimulus package.
Tags: continuous coverage; online; watchdog; bid-rigging; Department of Human Services; federal stimulus; FOI; Right to Know
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Top Secret America
The story covers the country's vast national security and intelligence system and determines if it is really fulfilling its purpose of keeping citizens safe. It details the organizations and private companies that are part of system, but kept from public view.
Tags: national security; Top Secret America; oversight; terrorism; 9/11
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Investor's Club
The story shows that the University of California had invested $2 billion into private equity funds and companies with policy making Regents that held substantial conflicts of interest. The Regents include California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, his personal investment adviser, and the husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
Tags: Regents; conflict of interest; University of California; investment; Arnold Schwarzenegger
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Prison Profiting: Behind Arizona's Immigration Law
NPR's report shows that private prison corporations helped to write Arizona 1070, its controversial immigration law. The story examines "the private prison companies' handin getting the law written and passed, beginning with a private meeting at the Hyatt in washington D.C and ending with extensive campaign contributions and political connections to lawmakers and the governor of Arizona."
Tags: immigration; private prisons; lobbying; Arizona 1070; illegal immigrant; illegal immigration; criminal justice
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Renaissance 2010: Searching for Equity
Karps' investigation looked into the the impact of Renaissance 2010, an education initiative in Chicago intended to "open 100 new schools, most of the charter schools, and close 70 failing schools within a span of six years" in an effort to bring better education to areas that needed it most. This investigation looks at the actual results of the plan. To report the story, Karp had to struggle against the barriers to obtaining meaningful information on charter schools. While funded publicly, they are operated by private companies that are not subject to the same transparency laws as public schools.
Tags: education; charter schools; public schools; academic performance; FOIA; transparency; Renaissance 2010; Chicago