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 "legislative" ...
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Access and Influence: A guide to following the money and legislative or regulatory outcomes.
Nixon's Powerpoint lays out how to follow the money in and out of the election season. He includes documents to use and examples of news stories.
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Data Ideas for Congressional Coverage
Thorough tips and advice on how and where to look for information regarding congressmen in areas such as staff members, salaries, owned properties, received donations, etc.
Tags: congress; senate; congressman; senator; fec; legistorm; opensecrets; legislative bills; sopr; senate office of public records
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Following The Money
Salant details where to look and what to look for when investigating campaign finance. He lists resources for the following: campaign contributions; lobbying; earmarks; legislative favors
Tags: campaign finance; Federal Election Commission; FEC; Center for Responsive Politics; CRP; Sunlight Foundation; Internal Revenue Service; IRS; National Institute on Money in State Politics; OpenSecrets.org; earmarks; lobbying; legislative favors
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Resources for Covering California's State Capitol
Joseph created a list of resources when covering the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. His list includes a brief description of what information is available through each resource, along with the pertinent links.
Tags: California government; capitol reporting; state senates; Cal-Access; California Legislature; Cal Channel; Capitol Morning Report; Legislative Analyst's Office; LAO; Department of Personnel Administration; California Fair Political Practices Commission; Leginfo; California Election History
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Spanish translation of: Being the government watchdog: legislative corruption
This is the spanish translation of tipsheet #2730. Williams comparte las lecciones que aprendio y las tecnicas que uso cuando investigo la legislatura del estado de Tennessee. Da una lista de fuentes y recursos on-line para examinar, gastos para analizar y trucos que los legisladores usan para recolectar y distribuir dinero.
Tags: gobierno estatal; legislatura; legisladores; corrupcion; finanzas partidarias; finanzas de campaña; registros públicos; fondos estatales; consultoria; regulacion; leyes; influencia; espanol; 2730
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Center for public integrity policy data accuracy
Perry shares the Center for Public Integrity's procedures and policies for computer assisted reporting. It addresses data importation, cleaning, coding, updates and fact checking. It is an extensive explanation of CAR methods. Also included is a summary of the methods used for a story about lobbyists providing legislators with free travel.
Tags: CAR; computer assisted reporting; data; campaign finance; research
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Being the government watchdog: legislative corruption
Williams shares lessons he learned and techniques he used while investigating the Tennessee state legislature. He lists sources and on-line resources to examine, expenditures to scrutinize and tricks lawmakers use to collect and distribute money.
Tags: state government; legislature; legislators; corruption; campaign finance; open records; public records; state funds; consulting; regulation; lawmakers; influence; graft
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Internet 101: Better Search Techniques for the Web
Lyles lists helpful but little known resources for reporters doing internet research. She includes advice about how to run the most effective searches, using news search engines, finding information from blogs, and using subscription services. Lyles also includes a list of resources for "quick facts" such as the CIA World Factbook for facts about different countries and the FAA Aircraft Registry for facts about aircraft legislation.
Tags: internet; invisible web; search engines; google; news research
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Finding documents under the dome
This tipsheet makes recommendations on how to find state statutes, codes, payroll, and legislative bills. There are also alternative sources listed if the agency you ask for information says no.
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Making effective use of the internet for investigation
Berens lists the different online resources for investigative reporting in terms of campaign finance, non-profit organizations, and other businesses. He includes websites that list audits of state agencies, information through the Better Business Bureau, how to research election data, payroll data for state employees, a sex offender database, and a state legislative search.
Tags: state agency audit; Better Business Bureau; charity; campaign finance; business reporting