Florida Times-Union reporters Topher Sanders and Mary Kelli Palka used open records laws to obtain data on Advanced Placement classes that the Jacksonville, Fla. school district didn’t want public. Sanders and Palka used the data to compare students’ performance in AP classes, and on the national AP exam and the state’s standardized test, the Florida…
Read MoreA series in the Los Angeles Times examines how effectively districts across California are dealing with teachers and other staff who are failing their students. In the Los Angeles Unified school district, “about 160 instructors and others get salaries for doing nothing while their job fitness is reviewed. They collect roughly $10 million a year,…
Read MoreClick here to listen to audio. Newsday reporters Eden Laikin and Sandra Peddie used databases and public records to track pension fraud in public schools. At a recent Better Watchdog Workshop in Los Angeles, the reporters discussed how similar investigations can be done in any community. The workshop was held at the Annenberg School for…
Read MoreA project by the Center for Public Integrity delved into the financial crisis by analyzing 7.2 million subprime loans made from 2005 through 2007. The analysis revealed 25 lenders responsible for nearly $1 trillion in subprime lending during that time. Their reporting uncovered “that at least 21 of the top 25 subprime lenders were directly…
Read MoreMark Fazlollah and Joseph Tanfani of the Philadelphia Inquirer examined the city’s flawed Board of Revision of Taxes. The board, among other things, allowed backdoor tax cuts that cost the city millions. According to the article, “Decades of such deals and persistent mismanagement by the BRT have left Philadelphia with one of the most unfair…
Read MoreThe Arizona Republic has spent a year investigating a network of 22 charities with ties to a Phoenix televangelism ministry. Nearly all the charities are part of the Combined Federal Campaign, which is the largest workplace charity drive in the world. The series reveals how much donors may not know about the charities they give…
Read MoreThese are tough times in broadcasting, but the upcoming IRE Conference promises to be a good investment – arming journalists with the information they need to deliver strong, timely investigative reports for their news organizations when they return home. The event will be held June 11-14 at the Marriott Baltimore Waterfront. May 15 is the…
Read More“Hackensack University Medical Center has pulled advertisements from North Jersey Media Group, publisher of The Record, and has banned the newspaper from hospital property following publication of a story about its governing board,” reports Mary Jo Layton of NorthJersey.com. The article addressed questionable practices of the hospital’s board members and trustees.
Read MoreThe San Francisco Chronicle and The Chauncey Bailey Project report that Yusuf Ali Bey IV, leader of the defunct Your Black Muslim Bakery, was indicted by an Alameda County grand jury. “Prosecutors are likely to bring the case with special circumstances – allowing them to seek the death penalty against Bey IV, 23. He allegedly…
Read MoreThe Fayetteville Observer investigated a police department’s mishandling of a child abuse case. The department’s actions ultimately led to its loss of felony arrest powers, scrutiny from the Cumberland County district attorney and a grand jury probe of corruption. The death of 3-year-old Anijah Burr had never been reported and was kept hidden behind a…
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