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Posts by Alena Rehberger
IRE Radio Podcast | A Conversation with Laura Poitras
How do you earn the trust of a source like Edward Snowden? Or the former bodyguard of Osama bin Laden? On this bonus episode of the podcast we’ll hear from someone who did just that. Earlier this year documentarian Laura Poitras spoke with Toronto Star reporter Robert Cribb at the 2015 IRE Conference. In the…
Read More#FOIAFriday: International FOIA tips and resources
Requesting data or documents from another country can be a confusing and challenging task. What kinds of records are available? Who do you contact about them? Which laws govern their release? For #FOIAFriday this week we put together a roundup of some of our favorite resources on international records requests. If you have foreign FOIA…
Read MoreGlobal FOI: AP tests laws in 105 countries
**This article appeared in the Winter 2012 IRE Journal** By Martha Mendoza, The Associated Press My freedom of information lesson at The Associated Press Mexico City bureau was not going well. Everyone kept inexplicably cracking up. MISTAKE #1. It ends up that “FOIA” sounds remarkably close to a vulgar f-word in Spanish. Also, because Mexico actually…
Read MoreAmerican clunker: U.S. FOIA falling behind other countries
**This article appeared in the Fall 2014 IRE Journal** By David Cuillier, University of Arizona School of Journalism When it comes to freedom of information, the United States can learn a lot from other countries. Now, 103 countries have freedom of information laws, most of those passed in the last 15 years. Many were modeled after the…
Read MoreForeign FOI: How to request records in another country
**This article appeared in the 2015 1st Quarter IRE Journal** By Emilia DĂaz-Struck, Central University of Venezuela The lack of information in one country does not mean that the information does not exist. Many times, stories connect with different parts of the world, and searching in other countries could improve the findings. Persons and companies…
Read MoreNICAR Q&A with Joanna Lin
Joanna Lin Joanna Lin is a data reporter for The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR). Previously, Joanna helped launch FairWarning, a nonprofit online publication covering safety, health, and related issues of corporate and government accountability. She reported for the Los Angeles Daily Journal and Los Angeles Times, where she covered breaking news, religion and legal…
Read MoreBeyond narco tunnels and border security: Tips and techniques for investigating stories along the U.S.–Mexico border
**This article appeared in the 2015 1st Quarter IRE Journal** By Celeste González de Bustamante, Border Journalism Network Geopolitical borders and the communities that thrive among them are unique places where cultures can be both connected and contested at the same time. Borderlanders, those who live on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border region, share…
Read MoreGetting on a boat this summer?
It’s officially summer and people are spending a lot of time in the water. If you’re looking for a good story, one place to look is the boating accidents dataset in the NICAR data library. It’s been recently updated to include 2014 and is free for IRE members. Kept by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Recreational…
Read MoreIRE Radio Podcast | Biking While Black
When Tampa Bay Times reporters Alexandra Zayas and Kameel Stanley got their hands on state and local data about bike tickets, they found some sobering statistics. Tampa police were stopping bicyclists at an alarming rate. And eight out of 10 of the bicyclists ticketed were black. It’s a great story, and even if your coverage…
Read MoreWatch James Risen deliver the keynote address at IRE 2015
James Risen delivered the keynote address at the 2015 IRE Conference in Philadelphia. Risen is an investigative reporter for the New York Times, based in Washington. He was the winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting and was a member of the New York Times reporting team that won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize…
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