Susan Carroll Fellowship
Allison Klein and Dan Keating of The Washington Post looked at police data and found that some of the liveliest neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. are also the ones riddled by the greatest number of robberies. “The Washington Post analyzed years of police statistics, focusing sharply on crimes this year, and found the biggest share of…
Read MoreJames Grimaldi and Susan Schmidt of The Washington Post present details from a new Senate committee report that says former power lobbyist Jack Abramoff paid conservative nonprofit groups to use their influence to benefit his clients. “The report includes previously unreleased e-mails between the now-disgraced lobbyist and officers of the nonprofit groups, showing that Abramoff…
Read MoreU.S. News and World Report’s David Kaplan writes about the killing of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya and the Russian government’s shocking and atrocious lack of response to the execution-style slaying of journalists there. “For those of us in international journalism training, Anna was something of a legend–a relentless investigative reporter who refused to back…
Read MoreJean Guccione and Doug Smith of the Los Angeles Times analyzed data from the Small Business Administration, the federal agency primarily responsible for disaster reconstruction loans, and found that of more than 150,000 homeowners and business owners approved for the loans, 2% were transferring the money to a new property in New Orleans. “Most New…
Read MoreDiana B. Henriques of The New York Times, with computer analysis by Andy Lehren and research by Donna Anderson, examined the quiet expansion of special benefits for religious groups. “In recent years, many politicians and commentators have cited what they consider a nationwide ‘war on religion’ that exposes religious organizations to hostility and discrimination. But…
Read MoreFarah Stockman, Michael Kranish, and Peter S. Canellos of The Boston Globe, with Globe correspondent Kevin Baron, examined the complete database of USAID prime awards from 2001 to 2005, containing more than 52,000 funding actions, to reveal that USAID gave more than $1.7 billion to 159 “faith-based” organizations. The percentage of USAID funds to NGOs…
Read MoreIn response to the latest spate of school violence, reporters at The Philadelphia Inquirer decided to investigate the safey of local schools only to find that it lax. “In spite of rules aimed at limiting public access, reporters who fanned out on a single day walked into more than a dozen schools unannounced and without…
Read MoreDeborah L. Shelton and Jaimi Dowdell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch used local data to revisit a topic the paper first examined five years ago: ambulance diversions from full hospitals.
Read MoreStudent reporter Sarah Rabil at The Daily Tar Heel analyzed state SAT rankings to take into consideration the impact of poverty and participation on these rankings. “An analysis by The Daily Tar Heel shows that the percentage of students taking the SAT in a given state dramatically affects a state’s average score. Poverty levels also…
Read MoreIn a two-part series Emily Ramshaw of The Dallas Morning News reports on the state of Texas’ sex offender registry, which is ladden with inaccuracy. Some experts blame an ever-increasing database without the manpower to maintain the information. “ The result? Vigilant parents and community groups are relying on faulty or incomplete data to protect…
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