The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. Add to that more than 3,000 tipsheets from our national conferences on how to cover specific beats or do specific stories and you have a resource that no reporter or editor should be without. These stories and tipsheets 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. Logged-in members can view the tipsheets free online:
Search results for "enron" ...
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Investigative Business Journalism: Ten Signs a Company has Financial Problems
This tipsheet is true to its title: it is a list of ten things to look for when investigative businesses that could indicate that a publicly traded company has financial problems. The list includes dramatic changes in corporate structure and fancy new headquarters.
Tags: corporate fraud; CEO; Enron; big business
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Flesh on the Bones
Moffeit uses examples from his own series on the failing companies, Qwest and Enron, to illustrate some dramatic and compelling storytelling techniques. He talks about narrative, characters,and emotional landscapes as well as suspense, dialogue, tragedy and other classic writing tools and structures.
Tags: Narrative; storytelling; planning; dialogue; structure
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White Collar Crime
Alice Crites offers this tipsheet on using the web and resources from the Census Bureau to track white collar crime. A great handout in the post-Enron era.
Tags: PACER; TRAC; census; white collar crime; federal courts; county courts; dockets; public records; FOI
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Ideas and resources for investigative stories
Joan Claybrook of Public Citizen offers a primer to 7 separate issues that affect the public; medical malpractice, health, electricity deregulation, auto safety, food, global trade, and campaign finance. Medical malpractice, deregulation, auto safety, and campaign finance each have additional information on the subjects in this comprehensive tipsheet.
Tags: medical malpractice; health; doctors; hospitals; prescriptions; enron; deregulation; ford; firestone; tires; lobbying; nonprofit; campaign finance; 527; NAFTA; data; irradiation
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Using the FOIA to get the documents
The Freedom of Information Act is an important tool to journalists, even with more restrictions to information occurring all the time. IRE Board member James Grimaldi gives a step by step guide through the FOIA filing process. Included in this tipsheet are a series of links to help reporters in their FOIA requests.
Tags: FOIA; department of justice; documents; records; ACLU; SPJ; department of state; defense department; department of interior; department of commerce; department of agriculture; NASA; Enron
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Working the system to get the documents
Grimaldi provides ways to work the system to get the documents you need. This includes strategies on filling out FOIA forms and links to the web for more information. Three stories are included that are not available for download. One concerning pipelines built by Enron in South America, another dealing with the dangers of working in a chemical plant, and a column about a zoo that is not revealing medical records for their animals because of privacy reasons.
Tags: FOIA
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Dissecting financial statements: Some helpful hints
Seven helpful tips on where to find and how to interpret financial statements. The tipsheet includes a story about Enron's broadband business charade and how advised investors could have avoided the disaster by Adam Lashinsky (Fortune)
Tags: ENRON; 8-K; 10-Q; DEF 14-A; www.edagar.com
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Tips on Anti-Competitive Practices in the Rx Industry
Young, the research director of the Public Citizen, explains the strategies used by pharmaceutical companies to extend their patents for prescription drugs. The handout sheds light on the corporations' legislative maneuvers. It also offers a list of online resources to investigate the pharmaceutical industry. The handout includes a New York Times article about the drug makers' lobby in Washington.
Tags: pharmaceuticals; patents; FDA; legislature
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Tracking Corporate Lobbying
Young, the research director of the Public Citizen, explains how to use information from lobby disclosure reports in stories. The handouts provides list of websites to find the reports and other lobbying data online.
Tags: money and politics; legislature
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Tipsheet No: 1584
Attkisson of CBS News shares five ideas how to use FOIA, public documents and inside sources to learn more of what corporations report to the government.
Tags: business; corporations; federal agencies; government