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Conference Highlights
Back to IRE Conferences: Dallas/Fort Worth 2006
Awards luncheon
Bill Marimow of National Public Radio offered the keynote address at the annual luncheon, which featured the presentation of the 2005 IRE Awards. The lively luncheon allowed members to salute the best investigative work of the year.
Marimow, a longtime IRE member, is the vice president for news at National Public Radio, a position he's held since February of 2006.
Prior to joining NPR in May 2004, Marimow worked in newspapers for 34 years. He was editor of The (Baltimore) Sun for four years, beginning in 2000, and managing editor for six years before that. During his years at The Sun, the newspaper received many Pulitzer Prizes for feature writing, investigative reporting and beat reporting.
Marimow also spent 21 years at The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he was a reporter for 15 years — from 1972 to 1987 — and later served as New Jersey editor, city editor and assistant to the publisher.
As a reporter, Marimow co-wrote stories which received the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished public service in 1978. Those stories revealed how Philadelphia police detectives were beating suspects and witnesses in order to secure confessions. In 1985, Marimow received a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for stories describing how a small group of K-9 officers in Philadelphia were commanding their police dogs to attack innocent, unarmed men and women. He was The Inquirer's lead reporter on the coverage of the bombing of the MOVE house by Philadelphia police, which was a Pulitzer finalist in the general reporting category in 1986.
At NPR, he was part of a team that produced an investigative story in 2004 on how prison guards in New Jersey state prisons were assaulting detainees and using their dogs to attack them. The story received a Robert F. Kennedy award for radio reporting and an IRE award for the best investigative reporting in radio in the nation.
Marimow had shared his experiences and techniques with IRE members in conferences and conversations over the years and inspired many young journalists to pursue investigative reporting.
A graduate of Trinity College, Marimow also studied the First Amendment at Harvard Law School, which he attended as a Nieman Fellow in 1982-83. Marimow is married to Diane, a potter, sculptress and art teacher. They have two children, Ann, a reporter, and Scott, an investment banker.
The Awards Luncheon was held on Saturday in the Grand Ballroom at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel. Admission to the event was included with conference registration.
CAR training
The conference began with an optional computer-assisted reporting day on Thursday, June 15. The day focused on using CAR techniques to add depth and context to investigative stories. IRE instructors tailored their presentations to both beginning and advanced CAR users.
Hands-on CAR training was available throughout the conference, with experts in a CAR demo room offering one-on-one instruction and small workshops. In addition, the IRE staff was available to answer questions and review databases included in the expanding Database Library of IRE and the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting.
Audio recording (new this year)
We have audio taped conference panels for a number of years but, in the past, you had to purchase tapes individually for the panels of your choice. This year, we’ve included access to all audio recorded panels in the conference registration fee. To access the audio recordings, conference attendees will simply go to the conference Web site after the conference (we will send a message when the recordings are available), enter your membership number, and download to the panels of your choice.
For members who did not attend the conference, the recordings will be available for a fee. Please contact the Resource Center (573-882-3364 or beth@ire.org) for more information.
Mentoring (Sponsor: The Poynter Institute for Media Studies Inc.)
The conference offered an opportunity for in-depth, one-on-one coaching on investigative reporting. These private sessions allowed attendees to seek advice on challenging stories or follow-up ideas.
Al Tompkins of The Poynter Institute offered mentoring sessions for broadcast journalists. Attendees were able to sign up on site for these sessions.
Print journalists had the opportunity to sign up for mentors before the conference.
Show & Tell
The broadcast Show & Tell, always a favorite with television journalists, was back. These sessions offered broadcasters feedback on their latest work. New tapes were shown every 15 minutes. The Show & Tell room was available Friday and Saturday.
International attendees (Sponsor: American University)
International journalists had a chance to meet and get to know one another during a Friday luncheon. During the past several years, 10 percent or more of those attending IRE conferences came from outside the United States. The luncheon was followed by a special panel of international focus and was open to all attendees.
Blues Bash
Another popular event, the eighth annual Blues Bash, kicked off at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 15. Texas blues great W.C. Clark was this year's headliner. The bash was thrown at the historic Rose Marine Theater, 1440 N. Main St., Fort Worth. Blues Bash patrons enjoyed exclusive use of the renovated theater, an indoor reception area and a private outdoor plaza.
Receptions
Friday (Sponsor: Vinson & Elkins LLP; Special thanks to Criminal Justice Journalists)
A tour of the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas was available from 7:15-8:30 p.m. The tour was followed by a reception of light hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar.
Saturday (Sponsored by Haynes & Boone LLP and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC)
Saturday night's reception was at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Tours of the museum, light hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar were available.
IRE elections
The IRE Board of Directors election was held on Saturday, June 17, during the membership meeting at the conference.
Members unable to attend were allowed to vote by absentee ballot. Members who did travel to Fort Worth voted during the membership meeting.
Board election results are available by clicking here http://www.ire.org/history/pr/elections06.html
