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 "tax data" ...
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Databases: Investigating Locally and Around the World
Donald's presentation explores the importance of a "data state of mind" for reporters. Beyond knowing FOIA laws, he outlines the (at least) 25 databases every newsroom should have and use in their reporting. The databases cover several different beats, and Donald details the value of each.
Tags: databases; reporting; census data; budgets; audits; tax data; personnel files; campaign finance; financial disclosure reports; voter registration; election results; crime statistics; sexual predators; business demographics; SEC 10K: EDGAR; 990s; EPA Toxic Release Inventory; EPA Enforcements; water quality data;
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Back to basics: Finding stories in what is readily available but rarely examined
This tipsheet points to readily available information which is ripe for investigative stories. The tipsheet touches on everything from depopulation of rural areas and neglected neighborhoods to sales tax revenues.
Tags: investigative reporting; quick-hits; data sets; story ideas; computer-assisted reporting; CAR
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Paper and Databse Trails
Hall discusses the information that an investigative reporter can gather from various data sources including documents and databases. The tipsheet provides a list of documents/records and what sort of information you can anticipate finding with each given example
Tags: documents; FOI; databases; audits; payroll documents; police reports; correspondence; reports; annual budgets; overtime; purchasing records; contracts; campaign finance reports; test scores; tax-exempt organizations; inspection reports
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What's next in housing? CAR for real estate
Grotto explores the potential for CAR stories in the midst of the current housing crisis. Suggests looking at the redevelopment of public and low income housing. He talks about the new strategy of mixed-income developments in Chicago. Grotto details where to go for housing data. Grotto lists key documents when doing housing stories: master ground lease; restrictive covenants; leasehold mortgages; quick claim deeds; regulatory and operating agreements.
Tags: public housing; low-income housting tax credit; LIHTC; HOME block grants; recorder of deeds;
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Following the Money: From Grade School through College
This tipsheet discusses how to track education funding from grade school through higher education. The data sources used for example are the Illinois State Board of Education and Property Tax Revenue from the Illinois Department of Revenue. Lowenstein advises on where to look for education funding: local property taxes; commercial and industrial property taxes; local and federal governments; test scores by region; other supplemental income for schools
Tags: education; taxes; property taxes; department of revenue; education funding; testing; test scores
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A Neighborhood Built to Fail
Mellnik discusses how to identify foreclosures, starter homes and lenders from various public records. He explains how to use the register of deeds, county property records, FHA data, building permits, bankruptcy filings, and consultant reports to find data for a story about property records. He also includes some tips about mapping foreclosures.
Tags: property; foreclosure; mapping; data analysis; public records; real estate; beat reporting
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Using property tax/appraisal records in stories: avoiding pitfalls
Lavigne shares general and specific advise for utilizing property and tax records in investigative stories. She explains how to deal with challenges and irregularities that occur when working with land records, and lists types of records that are frequently overlooked.
Tags: land records; real estate; property taxes; titles; deeds; contracts
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Using data for profit and nonprofit businesses
Wethe provides several tips for starting business investigations, primarily focusing on on-line and public record resources that are available for most companies. He explains researching taxes, financial statements and records, contact information and court filings.
Tags: open records; public records; business; financial records; court filings; taxes; nonprofit; online resources
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Property, mortgages and foreclosures
The authors explain how paper and electronic records from property transactions, mortgages, property taxes and foreclosures can provide essential information for reporters on that beat. The authors refer back to their own experience using those records to offer tops about finding and understanding similar data.
Tags: real estate; property; taxes; Home Mortgage Lending; mapping; Census; demographics
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Banking on the Poor: Documenting the Big Business of Poverty
This tipsheet serves as a guide for any reporter looking to delve into the "fringe financial industry." This industry serves people who lack access to banks and other mainstream financial institutions; it includes payday lenders, car title lenders, pawn shots and check cashing outlets. Nixon's tipsheet explains each of these institutions and offers advice on how and where to get the data to report on them.
Tags: check cashing; poverty; pawnshops; lenders; loans; interest; taxes; demographics; census