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 "weight" ...
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Watching the Watchdogs
The story documented how six tax investigators for the city of Pittsburgh were failing to do their job. Instead of looking for deadbeat businesses, they were shopping, taking four-hour lunch breaks or simply going home. Moreover, some of them got reimbursed for mileage on the days they were not working. Their jobs are especially critical in difficult financial times, when Pittsburgh is under state oversight because of its poor finances. The story had added weight because this was not an isolated case of one or two employees; the entire department has only eight tax investigators and this investigation found six of them goofing off.
Tags: tax investigators; Pittsburgh; misconduct; city government;
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MBI Heavy Trucks
WSMV-TV examined MBI trucking, “the nation's largest garbage hauler,†which hauls ordinary household trash across Tennessee. Their analysis of "a single trucker's daily weigh tickets for a period of more than 3 years" showed that he only "followed the federal weight law just 21 times." As a result of the investigation the company's safety and compliance record has caught the interest of the federal government.
Tags: waste management; trucking; highways; roads; U.S. Attorney; FBI; Congress; federal government; MBI; landfill;
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Big Boys
"The story looked at the weight of today's high school football players and compared it to those 20 years ago." The findings showed "significant increase in weight of players, but no corresponding increase in height."
Tags: sports; football; weight; linemen; protein supplements; creatine; weight gain
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Losing It
After hearing about a new weight loss drug that was in showbiz circles, Early News reporters went undercover to Tijuana as tourists and were able to purchase the drug, Clenbuterol, at six "farmacias" without a prescription. Further investigation revealed "the growing number of bariatric physicians who are offering medications which are not approved for weight loss for their obese patients." Their reporting further found doctors who said their patients were "abusing their kids' prescriptions for ADHD drugs to drop weight."
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Death and Destruction
A collection of statistics-based stories including: state and local coroners offices that disposed of unidentified cadavers without informing authorities, the early death of professional athletes due to dramatically increased weight, the natural disaster declarations by presidents seeking re-election, and the elimination of helmet-use among motorcyclists.
Tags: Statistics; helmet law; cadaver; John Doe; weight gain; professional athlete; natural disaster; re-election; motorcycle; coroner
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Rating the Diets
The authors used an "evidence-based approach" to rate nine different popular diet programs in terms of their nutritional value and usefulness.
Tags: nutrition; dieting; Weight Watchers; Slim-Fast; Zone diet; computer assisted reporting; calorie analysis; weight loss
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Poison Pills
This investigation exposes the dark side of the commercial weight loss pill industry. It chronicles the rise and fall of ephedra products, and pays special attention to the corrupt businessmen who profited from the dangerous drugs. The article also covers more recent trends in the industry and discusses the new drugs' potential for harm.
Tags: Weight loss drugs; doctors; herbal supplements; FDA; Food and Drug Administration; Metabolife
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Troubled Bridges
In this Oregonian three-part series, Zaitz and Long take a look at Oregons deteriorating bridges. The bridges are in bad shape because, as some argue, Oregon allows truck weights that far exceed designed capacity. The bridges are cracking, and Zaitz and Long discover it's not up to bridge designers to fix them. Instead, the problem lies in state politics.
Tags: Oregon bridges; bridge inspection
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Were warning signs ignored?
The first modern suspension bridge in Maine and chosen as the world's most beautiful bridge in 1931, the Waldo-Hancock bridge now faces demolition. The Herald and the Maine Sunday Telegram detail this 2040-feet long bridge's history, its safety problems and their causes. Their investigation reveals that engineers had predicted structural problems with the suspension bridge's main cable as early as 1959. Furthermore, various state documents reveal confusion by state engineers over safety issues and also, the mistrust between state engineers and consultants who were hired.
Tags: MDOT; Gov.John Baldacci; Maine Historic Preservation Commission; bridge weight