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 "prison" ...
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Investigating Prison Abuse
Halloran's Powerpoint goes over how to gather facts, collect evidence and what to do when you encounter road blocks in your investigation into prisons and prison abuse.
Tags: Prison Abuse; inmates; collection evidence; broadcast
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Investigating Prisons
Chang gives three thorough tips on what to remember when investigating prisons. From humanizing the inmates to remembering to cover the statistics.
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(More than 5) Databases for criminal justice reporting
Roberts discusses the "data-rich" nature of the criminal justice beat, identifying several key databases for reporters. Examples include 911 response data, jail bookings, jury selection transcripts, National Corrections Reporting program and many more
Tags: crime; arrest; jail; courts; police; criminal justice; violent offenders; sexual offenders; prison; inmates; judicial reporting; NACJD; NCRP; jury; juries; court docket
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How to Snare the Interview
This tipsheet addresses how to get the difficult interviews for broadcast journalists. It gives pointers from "snaring in general" to approaches for specific interviews - the victim; government officials; whistleblowers; corporate types; schemers/scammers; prisoners; and children.
Tags: Interviewing; broadcast; television; radio;
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Covering Invisible Populations
Teichroeb outlines lessons she's learned while covering marginalized people and populations - such female prisoners and abused students. Much of her tipsheet touches on issues of developing the trust of your sources. Teichroeb includes links to a handful of stories she completed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Tags: marginalized populations; trauma; abuse; sources; documents; ethics; conflict of interest; Dart Center on Journalism and Trauma and Dart Society
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Investigating Probation
Neff's tipsheet provides information about the records and documents you should seek when investigating probation, including the need to know the specifics of your state's laws. Included in with the tipsheet are examples of these various documents.
Tags: probation; court records; court documents; crime reports; crime reporting; prison records; probation violation records;
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Watchdogging the Authorities
The authors provide tips for monitoring often overlooked aspects of the criminal justice system, such as evidence management, appellate rights, and youth prisons.
Tags: law enforcement; crime and courts; prison; state government; local government
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Arizona Department of Corrections
A brief outline of what the Arizona Department of Corrections does and what goals they have.
Tags: prison; criminal justice; state; Arizona; criminal justice track
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Getting started on the cops beat
Ploheski's tipsheet is a guide for new crime reporters who want to excel immediately. It contains advice for cultivating sources, establishing your presence, obtaining records, and being thorough. It also includes one of Plohetski's crime stories for the Austin-American Statesman.
Tags: crime; police; law enforcement; justice system; criminals; jail; prison; victims; murder; cops