Nearly 950 journalists from 26 countries came to the IRE Annual Conference in Phoenix to attend dozens of panels and workshops and to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Arizona Project.

The four-day event, held June 7 through June 10 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa,  included special tracks with sessions on covering U.S.-Mexico border issues, managing and editing investigations, doing broadcast investigative work, covering the criminal justice system, and using computer-assisted reporting.

Special recognition was given to the Arizona Project, which was a cooperative investigation by 38 IRE members in 1976 and 1977. The Project was launched by IRE members and led by Newsday editor Robert W. Greene after the killing of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles. The Project extended the work of Bolles by examining government corruption and organized crime in Phoenix. (Click to watch Project member Bob Greene's video introduction to the Awards Luncheon.)

The conference also featured a showcase panel of leaders in journalism talking about how to do investigative reporting in the new landscape of media. Dana Priest, an award-winning investigative reporter for The Washington Post delivered the keynote speech at the IRE awards luncheon. (Contest winners can be seen at www.ire.org/contest/06winners.html.

Audio, tipsheets and more:

If you have general conference questions, please contact Ev Ruch-Graham, sr. conference coordinator, ev@ire.org or 573-882-8969. If you have registration questions, please contact John Green, membership coordinator, jgreen@ire.org or 573-882-2772.