Statement

More than two decades into my relationship with IRE, I still remember the day I first stepped into the IRE office in Neff Annex, as a young grad student at the University of Missouri. To help work my way through school, I would soon be fielding calls from reporters around the country who needed help finding resources to fuel their stories.

It was in those dozens of conversations with working journalists that I fell in love with watchdog reporting. They were out there in their communities: struggling, persevering, overcoming low pay and long hours, hostile public officials and unscrupulous business leaders, trying their best to tell people the truth.

When I look back years later, after working for tiny news organizations and large ones, as a beat reporter and on investigative teams, using data analysis and knocking on doors, it all comes back to that one moment. Sifting through dusty file folders in the IRE office, and discovering the wisdom and history of thousands of journalists within them. Sharing it with those who needed it most as they prepared to speak truth to power.

That to me remains the crystallization of IRE: that we help each other. That we learn from each other. That we lean on each other. At times we need help from others, and at times we step up to pay it forward to those seeking help. It’s what makes us not just a professional organization, but a community.

With the sudden tragedy the IRE community has experienced, and with journalism under fire more than ever, I want to give back to an organization that had given me so much. Having previously served on the board once before, I feel a renewed responsibility to help care for and ensure the success of our organization and its mission. Our members need IRE more than ever. And we need them.

I ask for your support for election to the board, so I can help finish the work that’s already begun, and expand on it even more: to bring IRE events into local communities across the country, make it more affordable and accessible, and get IRE’s training and resources into your hands quickly and decisively when you need them most. I ask for your support so I can help ensure IRE is a community we can all be proud of, one where everyone feels welcome and supported, and one we can rely on in good times and challenging ones, as we head towards what’s to come.

• Current Position:
  • Data and Investigative Journalist, The Associated Press
• Prior Experience:
• Work experience:
  • Investigative Data Journalist, Bloomberg Industry Group
  • Senior Producer, Data/Investigations & Politics, CNN
  • National Investigative Producer, Scripps Washington Bureau
  • Business/Automotive Writer for The New York Times
  • Staff Writer, 100Reporters
  • Business Reporter, Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune
  • State and Local Government Reporter, Joplin (Mo.) Globe
• Other related experience:
  • Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Business & Economics Journalism at Columbia University, a one-year program for mid-career journalists to complete a year of MBA coursework at Columbia Business School
  • Taught for seven years as an adjunct professor at The George Washington University, teaching courses in data journalism and associated watchdog techniques
  • Presented data journalism and watchdog sessions for other journalism organizations, such as the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW)
• IRE Experience:
  • Active member of IRE for more than 20 years
  • Served on the IRE board from 2022-2024, where I spearheaded efforts to make IRE membership a more year-round, accessible experience for journalists around the country, expanding local networking meetups and skill-share training sessions to communities across the U.S and internationally. I was also significantly involved with ongoing efforts
    to soon revamp IRE’s website and make its resources like tipsheets and training materials much easier to find. I also aimed to help ensure IRE regained sound financial footing during a particularly challenging period.
  • Have attended nearly IRE and NICAR conference since 2004
  • Previously screened IRE contest entries for many years
  • Run the IRE meetup group in Washington, DC
  • Regular speaker and trainer at IRE and NICAR conferences, having participated in dozens of sessions over the years
  • Former IRE research assistant staffer while working my way through Mizzou’s grad program
  • Regular participant in IRE’s conference mentoring program to help young journalists grow and feel welcomed
• Expertise:
  • Print, broadcast and digital storytelling methods
  • Investigative reporting
  • Data reporting and analysis
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Shoe-leather beat reporting
  • Government/politics reporting
  • Immigration reporting
  • Business/corporate reporting
  • Teaching/mentoring
  • Certified Scrum Master
  • Columbia Business School-trained in corporate finance, strategy, accounting and business operations
• Related Links:
  • Personal website with links to various journalism projects: https://aaronkessler.rbind.io/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronmkessler
• Key issues to address as a board member:
  • Increased focus on affordable, accessible training for members of all backgrounds and experience levels. IRE is already the premier training organization for investigative, beat and data journalists in the country, but I’d like to help it broaden its offerings even more to ensure both new journalists of all backgrounds feel welcome and supported, and also
    more experienced journalists feel IRE is still offering training that speaks to their needs as they advance through their career journeys.
  • Year-round community programming. I would like to see IRE expand its offerings for members to gather for networking and learning in their local communities outside of the annual conferences themselves. The conferences are fantastic opportunities to grow and meet other practitioners of the craft. But the more we can engage people where they live on a regular basis throughout the year as well, the more members can build and sustain connections to the IRE/NICAR community. Additionally, such local events can aid recruitment and retention, as the barrier to entry is very low to attend a networking meetup or member-led training session in your local community, as compared with traveling to a conference which may simply be out of reach. During my previous time on the board, I spearheaded efforts to expand such efforts, and current board members have continued that journey in exciting ways. I hope you’ll allow me the honor and opportunity to continue that work and build out even more local and accessible events in communities around the U.S. and globally.
  • Financial stability. The news industry is going through yet another significant upheaval. Seemingly every week in recent months has been filled with announcements of new cuts or layoffs at organizations large and small. It’s a scary time to be in a profession that is seemingly on such a razor’s edge. This makes what IRE is doing all the more vital, both to serve its members who need more resources and training, and more job prospects gained through the IRE network. That means it’s paramount that IRE maintain its own financial stability to ensure the long-term health of the organization.
  • Improved access to IRE’s vast library of training materials. IRE has a wealth of information on how to pursue stories, and it doesn’t cost its members another dime beyond their annual membership. Accessing that treasure trove of wisdom should be one of the most valuable aspects of joining and remaining an IRE member. The recent launch of a resource-specific companion website is a great start towards making things more accessible, but there is more work to be done expanding those efforts, and I believe it’s one of the most important ways IRE can be relevant to its members at this vital time for journalists around the world.