By Roy Harris With his first words, Bob Woodward signaled the blunt, no-nonsense tone of “Accountability Reporting and Digging Deep,” the 2009 IRE Conference showcase panel with Woodward and Leonard Downie Jr. Downie– the longtime executive editor at The Washington Post, now headed for Arizona State University–had begun the discussion by describing the 37-year reporter-editor…
Read More(This is the news release from the Knight Foundation’s announcement at the IRE Awards Luncheon, June 13, at the 2009 IRE Conference in Baltimore.) The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation today announced a $15 million initiative to help develop new economic models for investigating reporting on digital platforms. The grants, some on-going, some…
Read MoreThe Panama City News Herald tallied farm subsidy data for Florida and examined the subsidies paid to U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd and other Congressional leaders with ties to agriculture. Matt Dixon reported that in “Boyd’s first 10 years in Congress, Boyd Family Farms has received $1.2 million in subsidy payments, ranking it 12th out of…
Read MoreThe University of Illinois is re-evaluating its admissions policies after the Chicago Tribune uncovered a “shadow admissions process” for politically connected applicants. “At a time when it’s more competitive than ever to get into the University of Illinois, some students with subpar academic records are being admitted after interference from state lawmakers and university trustees,”…
Read MoreThe Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., published “Risky Business,” a four-part series on the Bethlehem Area School District’s costly use of variable-rate bonds and swaps to finance hundreds of millions of dollars in school renovations. “While the board approved swap after swap on the advice of the administration and former financial consultant Les Bear, no…
Read MoreAn Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis found that the state of Georgia does not keep track of all of students, which leads to questions about the state’s dropout and graduation rates. According to the article, “Last year, school staff marked more than 25,000 students as transferring to other Georgia public schools, but no school reported them as…
Read MoreWhile schools struggle though a budget crisis and freeze funds, San Diego Unified spent more than $2,000 in federal money for disadvantaged students to send its superintendent to a conference in Washington, D.C. “Deputy Superintendent Chuck Morris, who approved the spending, now says charging the federal fund for the expenses was inappropriate and vowed to…
Read MoreA three-day series by The Columbus Dispatch explored a little-known facet of the Federal Housing Administration’s mortgage insurance, which, in addition the helping first-time home buyers obtain loans, insures $56 billion in outstanding loans for developers to build and renovate apartments for people of modest means. “Bad loans, no penalties” examined how developers who have…
Read MoreA story by Michael Jamison of the Missoulian (Missoula, Mont.) shows that the contracting scheme the federal government is employing to award stimulus contracts favors large corporations over small- and medium-sized firms. In an effort to speed up the bidding process, the federal government is using indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, or IDIQ, contracting. “An IDIQ is…
Read MoreHundreds of dedicated investigative reporters and editors will gather for the IRE Conference in Baltimore this week to hear from the industry’s biggest names, to honor the nation’s best investigative journalism and to brainstorm about ways to breathe new life into the profession. Already, more than 700 reporters, editors, journalism educators and students have pre-registered…
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