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 "political contributions" ...
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Paying for Political Favor
A guide on how to employ websites and search engines in your investigation of political contributions and lobbying.
Tags: Federal Elections Committee; Political Contributions; Lobbying; President; Open Secret
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Reporting on economic development subsidies
Heaney's Powerpoint presentation provides you with great questions to ask and issues to consider when covering economic development claims.
Tags: subsidies; wealth; data; Political contributions; lobbying efforts
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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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Ten Things to Look For Next Month - Midyear campaign finance filings
This list looks at what to look for in the midyear filings for both campaign finance and lobbying. From largest contributors and opponents' fundraising to new registrations and issues in the news.
Tags: campaign finance; lobbying; PAC; donations; contributions; political action committees
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Tracing Money In Federal Politics
Campbell details how to track federal campaign finance information. He identified the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as the "fountainheads of federal campaign data." Campbell gives an overview of the type of information available on these sites. And recommends searching the FEC site whenever you are backgrounding an individual.
Tags: campaign finance; federal elections; Federal Election Commission; FEC; Internal Revenue Service; IRS; backgrounding; money in politics; political contributions; campaign donations; donors
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Tracing Money in California Politics
Campbell details how to trace campaign finance information for the state of California, \"the ATM of national politics.\" The tipsheet aids in navigating information on the Secretary of State website, identifies the different ways you can search for candidates (since the 2000 primary), how to download the info into excel.
Tags: campaign finance; California; politics; donors; Secretary of State; money in politics; political contributions; campaign donations
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How to use campaign finance data to track fundraising, and other lobbyist largesse
The author discusses how to use FEC records to track fundraising done by lobbyists. He gives examples of data analysis and explains how to interpret the results. The author also discusses how to report on in-kind contributions from lobbyists.
Tags: campaign finance; FEC; fundraising; lobbyists; politics; state government; federal government
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CAR for Money and Politics
The authors list and describe sources for data to use in stories about money and politics. Some of the sources are place to find concrete records, such as the Federal Election Commission and the IRS. Other sources include organizations that have already compiled the records into searchable databases, like the Center for Public Integrity and OMB watch.
Tags: lobbyists; campaign contributions; politics; government documents; government contracts; government spending; sources; internet research
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Money and Politics on the Web
Campbell lists and explains various online sources to find information about campaign finance and lobbying. The list includes the Center for Responsive Politics, the FEC, and the IRS.
Tags: campaign finance; election; candidates; contribution; online sources; internet; data
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Follow the money trail in politics
Grimaldi lists numerous online resources for campaign finance and lobbying stories and explains how to most successfully utilize FOIA. His tipsheet offers both strategic and tactical advise for money trail stories, from the big questions to the little details.
Tags: politics; campaign finance; lobbyists; FOIA; open records; online resources; web sites; campaign contributions