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 "public complaints" ...
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Moving abuse stories beyond the courthouse
Davis talks about covering abuse - but steering clear of the "extraordinary" cases and focusing on the other stories. He suggests delving into how often abuse happens, why it keeps occurring, and how the system fails at prevention of abuse.
Tags: case-tracking systems; public documents; domestic violence; abuse; Complaints and Settlements; Broken Trust; Sarasota Herald-Tribune; Coaches Who Prey; Seattle Times; The ABCs of Betrayal; The Columbus Dispatch
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Digging deeper into sports stories - on and off the court
WIllmsen gives eight examples of places to find public records that will "put you on the trail of a great in-depth sports story."
Tags: public records; players; GuideStar; booster clubs; coaches; administrators; athletic associations; FERPA; complaints; NCAA; governing bodies; recruiting; foreign students; rosters
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Investigating Infrastructure: Sources for Data
This tipsheet lists various sources of data that could lead to good investigative stories. Some examples include pothole complaints, broken fire hydrants, and snow removal maps. All together there are 17 suggestions, and each one includes a brief explanation.
Tags: story ideas; data; databases; public records; open records
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Public Documents
In this tipsheet, Skertic provides a detailed list of the documents reporters can and should obtain from the legal system. The author also lists what to look for in the records after getting the documents.
Tags: public records; public information; legal system; FOIA; courts; municipal court; state court; federal court; bankruptcy; probate; complaint; deposition; lawsuits; criminal records; financial history
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IRE Consumer Ideas
This tipsheet offers a long list of consumer investigations that the authors have conducted at their news organizations. In addition to these story ideas are lists of possible consumer scams and complaints that would be worth checking out in any community.
Tags: broadcast; consumer affairs; investigative reporting; consumer groups; story ideas; scams; public complaints; Internet scams
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The BOMEX files: A comprehensive analysis of Arizona's MDs
Using an analysis of the agency's computer database, obtained under the state's public records law, New Times found that the physician-dominated board rarely disciplined its own, accumulated a backlog of nearly 1,000 complaints and took years to deal with complaints against incompetent and dangerous physicians. This tipsheet provides advice on how to conduct a similar investigation.
Tags: CAR