Sign up for Friday, Saturday Broadcast Show & Tell slots

Sign-ups are open for Broadcast Show & Tell. These sessions allow you to share your investigations with colleagues from around the country. Veteran broadcasters will moderate each session. Each slot runs for 10 minutes and includes a 5-minute break. All of the sessions will take place in Salon 14-15.

For the first time this year we're offering online sign-ups. As of 6/27, Friday and Saturday sign-ups are open. Sign up for a Friday spot here. Sign up for a Saturday spot here.

Visit the Broadcast Show & Tell page for more information.

 

 

 

 

Starting today you can submit panel ideas for IRE by Design, a set of seven Saturday sessions that are designed by attendees.

Here's the idea: Even with more than 150 sessions, we often hear from attendees who wish we'd had just one more session on a topic we missed. So this year, we saved some space in the program to try and rectify that. On Saturday afternoon, we've set aside five panel sessions and both hands-on rooms, and we're asking you to design the programming.

How to propose a session: Create an account on this page (same portal used for the CAR Conference Lightning Talks). This platform does not use your IRE login information. Once you've registered, submit a suggested session title and description. In the description field please indicate if your session is a panel or a hands-on class, and include the names of speakers. When you're done, hit "Create."

How to vote on a session: Go to this page and view the suggested IRE by Design sessions. Vote for your favorites.

 

Questions? Email IRE web editor Sarah Hutchins at sarah@ire.org.

Welcome! Please see below changes to the schedule and other notes. For the most up-to-date schedule and description information, be sure to visit the conference website or app.

 

SCHEDULE CHANGES

New dates and times are listed below

Rapid data publishing with Caspio

Thursday, 1:30 p.m., Nob Hill D

 

SPEAKER CHANGES

THURSDAY

Mapping sea surges: A model for hyperlocal reporting on climate impact (Sponsored by New America Media)
9-10 a.m., Salon 7
Speakers: Laura Flynn, NPR; Barbara Grady, Oakland Local; Jesse Liang, KTSF-San Francisco; Ngoc Nguyen, New America Media; Sandy Close, New America Media (moderator)

 

Data-driven ethics: Tricky questions buried in the numbers

9 -10 a.m., Salon 12-13

Eva Patterson of Equal Justice Society has been added to the session.

 

On the beat: Education

10:10-11:10 a.m., Salon 10-11

Terri Langford of The Texas Tribune, replaces Mc Nelly Torres of NBC6 South Florida.

 

The power of the crowd: Sourcing investigations through audience engagement

11:20 a.m.-12:20 p.m., Salon 1-3

Brandon Questar, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting, replaces Jacquee Petchel, Arizona State University.

 

The Kingmakers: Tracking money and influence in politics

2:30-3:30 p.m., Salon 12-13

Christopher Schnaars will no longer be on the panel

 

Finding stories in Medicare’s vast data trove is moving from Thursday at 3:40 p.m. to Friday at 4:45 p.m. in Salon 4-6.

 

Raising the roof: Investigating housing

4:50-5:50 p.m., Salon 4-6

Nancy Amons, WSMV-Nashville, will replace David Cay Johnston as the moderator

 

INN and public media: The new and growing alliance

5-6 p.m., Golden Gate B

David Weir, KQED Public Radio, replaces Jo Anne Wallace.

 

FRIDAY

IRE’s mentoring program networking breakfast has moved from Club Room to Golden Gate A, located on the B2 level. It begins at 7:45 a.m.

 

Investigating human rights in the Americas
8:50- 9:50 a.m., Salon 10-11
Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times, has been added to the panel.

 

The get: Tracking down newsmakers like Edward Snowden
8:50-9:50 a.m. – Salon 8
Josh Meyer, Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, has been added to the session

 

The latest tools from Sunlight Labs
11:10 a.m. – 12:10 p.m., Nob Hill AB
Added: Nancy Watzman, Sunlight Foundation.

 

Sex crimes: Unraveling the facts about the offenders and the evidence

11:10 a.m.-12:10 p.m., Salon 12-13

Karisa King, Chicago Tribune, has been added to the session

 

Broadcast: Undercover on a budget

11:10 a.m. – 12:10 p.m., Golden Gate B

Joe Ellis, KXAN/NBC Austin, will replace Shawn Hoder

 

Investigating veterans

2:40-3:40 p.m., Salon 12-13

Michael Phillips, The Wall Street Journal, replaces David Philipps on the panel

 

Deep dive: Student investigations

3:50-4:35 p.m., Salon 10-11

Kristin Gilger, Arizona State University, replaces Jacquee Petchel.

 

Deep dive: Broadcast

3:50-4:35 p.m., Golden Gate B

Sandra Barry, KMGH-Denver, has been added to the session.

 

Finding stories in Medicare’s vast data trove

The panel was moved from Thursday to Friday from 4:35-6:15 p.m. in Salon 4-6.

 

Showcase: They’re watching you: Investigating the surveillance society and protecting your work from prying eyes

4:45 – 6:15 p.m., Salon 8

Trevor Timm, Freedom of the Press Foundation, has been added to the session.

 

SATURDAY

Friendly fire: Investigating do-gooders and crowd pleasers

3:40-4:40 p.m., Salon 1-3

Bobby Calvan, Heartland Project and Mc Nelly Torres, NBC6 South Florida, have been added to the session. Sara Ganim will not be in attendance.

 

NEW EXHIBITOR

Investigative Mechanics, Inc.

 

NEW SUPPORTER

The Fund for Investigative Journalism

The 2014 IRE Conference is underway in San Francisco. We've got record turnout, with more than 1,500 journalists registered.

 Below are a few bits of information to help you prepare for this great conference! Check back regularly for the latest up-to-date information about panels, speakers and special events at the conference.

Hotel Information

The conference is taking place at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, 780 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA.  

Registration

Conference registration opens Wednesday at 3 p.m. and will re-open Thursday morning at 7:30 a.m. Registration remains open Friday and Saturday on the lower B2 level of the hotel.

Weather

San Francisco weather will be in the mid 60s this week. See San Francisco’s full weather report thanks to weather.com. 

Complimentary wireless Internet during the conference

Complimentary wireless Internet will be offered in the meeting space for attendees during the IRE conference. Signs will be posted near the registration desk with the wireless access code. In addition, attendees staying at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, The Palace or the San Francisco Courtyard Downtown in the IRE block will receive complimentary Internet in their guest rooms.

Have a question or need help in a session

Room monitors will be stationed in the hallways during sessions and will be happy to answer your questions.  Additionally, if you need something, email IREhelp@ire.org and IRE staff will respond as quickly as possible.

 

Recent updates and events you don’t want to miss:

IRE Board Meeting

2 p.m., Thursday, June 26 in Pacific C

This meeting is open to all IRE members. 

 

Brown bag: Uncovering fraud - Inside the mind of a hardcore criminal

12:45 p.m., Thursday, June 26 in Salon 1-3

Grab your lunch and join a convicted felon for lessons in business. Sam Antar, the Former Crazy Eddie CFO and former CPA will share his story and offer tips and techniques for spotting fraud. Beverages will be provided.

 

Welcome reception (Sponsored by Esri and KQED Public Radio)

6 p.m., Thursday, June 26 in Salon 8

Meet up with friends you have not seen since last year and welcome new attendees. Each attendee will receive one drink ticket for beer, wine, soda or bottled water. 

 

Media lawyers brown bag

12:30 p.m., Friday, June 27 in Salon 1-3

Does your investigation contain complex legal questions? Unsure of how to proceed? Bring your lunch and your questions for a personal discussion with some prominent media law experts that will be presenting throughout the 2014 IRE Conference. We'll provide drinks and dessert.

 

Closing Reception

7:30 p.m., Saturday, June 28 in Salon 8

Enjoy one last evening of catching up with friends, speakers, and colleagues.   Appetizers will be served and a cash bar will be available.

 

IRE Conference App

Don’t forget to download the conference app before you leave for the conference. Have the latest schedule at your fingertips throughout the conference, check speaker bios, plan your own schedule, and keep up-to-date with any panel changes that happen.  New this year, you can opt-in to network with other attendees and complete session/panel evaluations directly from the app. 

Internet is not required for the app to work once it’s downloaded, however, it is necessary to receive any updates that are sent out.  Complimentary Internet will be available in the meeting space throughout the conference. The app is available for iOS, Android, Blackberry and web-enabled devices.  Download today

 

Conference Addendums

Be sure to check the conference app (daily updates icon) or your email each day, where you will receive the conference addendum with any last minute changes. Paper copies will also be available at the registration desk each morning.

 

Conference Evaluations

New this year for attendees using the conference app – you can complete the session/class evaluation directly from the app.  Click on the session you are attending, you will see the description and speakers of that session, directly below that is a link to the panel/class feedback form.  A few short questions later and you are done. 

This feedback is valuable to IRE as we plan future conferences. Each day you complete a session evaluation you’ll be entered into the daily evaluation drawing for a $10 bar/restaurant credit.  The more evaluations you complete, the more times you are entered.  In addition, we’ll be sending out evaluations via email each day as we’ve done at previous conferences or complete the evaluations in the app via the Survey Monkey icon. You’ll be entered into the drawing as long as you provide your name and email address.  Drawings will take place at the end of each day and the winner will be notified. 

 

Broadcast Show & Tell and One-on-One sign-up

Show & Tell sessions allow you to share your investigations with colleagues from around the country. Veteran broadcasters will moderate each session. Each slot runs for 10 minutes and includes a 5-minute break. Friday sign-ups open at 7 a.m. Thursday, and Saturday sign-ups open at 7 a.m. Friday. For more information on the new online sign-up process, go here. All sessions will take place in Salon 14-15.

Also, sign up for one-on-one broadcast mentoring with Poynter’s Al Tompkins. Sessions will last 45 minutes and take place Thursday and Friday. You can sign up or put your name on the waiting list here.

 

IRE by Design sign up

Even with more than 150 sessions, we often hear from attendees who wish we'd had just one more session on a topic we missed. So this year, we saved some space in the program to try and rectify that. On Saturday afternoon, we've set aside five panel sessions and both hands-on rooms, and we're asking you to design the programming.

You can go online and propose a panel – topic and speakers. Your fellow attendees will vote for the sessions they want to see, and we'll hold the top vote-getters on Saturday afternoon. More information how proposing, voting on sessions is available here.

 

Twitter/Student blog

Be sure to use #IRE14 during the conference. Stop by the registration desk to see tweets live on the announcement monitor along with blog posts from the conference. The blog will be embedded on the main conference page and in the conference app.

 

Thank you to our regional committee, volunteer speakers and generous sponsors for your support.  We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco.

 

The 2014 IRE Conference app is now available through Guidebook!

We encourage you to download our mobile guide to enhance your experience at the 2014 IRE Conference. You'll be able to plan your day with a personalized schedule and browse exhibitors, maps and general show info.

The app is compatible with iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches and Android devices. Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry users can access the same information via our mobile site at m.guidebook.com.

To get the guide, choose one of the methods below:

• Download 'Guidebook' from the Apple App Store or the Android Marketplace, tap download guides, search for "2014 IRE Conference."
• Enter your cell phone number on this webpage to get a text message with a link to download Guidebook.

The guide can be found in the "Download Guides" section of the application by searching for "2014 IRE Conference".

 

Investigative Reporters and Editors is proud to announce the finalists for its 2014 Golden Padlock Award celebrating the most secretive government agency or individual in the United States. 

“The spirit of secrecy is alive and well across the United States at all levels of government,” said IRE president David Cay Johnston. “Efforts to hold power to account on everything from the misconduct of judges to executions to a high-profile massacre have been undermined by public servants highly skilled in the art of information suppression. We’re pleased to acknowledge their efforts.” 

The nominees are:

The US Navy FOIA office for blocking access to records about a deadly shooting rampage in Washington, D.C. that killed 12 people.

After the September 2013 massacre at the US Navy’s Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., the Navy circled the wagons, especially when WRC-TV reporter Scott MacFarlane submitted FOIA requests for images, videos and security-related memos. The Navy not only blocked the request but Navy FOIA officer Robin Patterson, in an internal memo, detailed an elaborate plan to stymie MacFarlane’s request and others. The memo, which was accidentally released to MacFarlane, triggered an onslaught of media coverage, a written apology to MacFarlane by a Navy supervisor, a lawsuit against the Navy FOIA office and an internal Navy review of the agency’s FOIA procedures. But to this day, the Navy has still not responded to MacFarlane’s FOIA despite numerous requests.

The Department of Justice National Security Division for secrecy bordering on comedy.

What happens when you allow a federal agency carte-blanche power to decide what should and shouldn’t be disclosed as a matter of national security? You get this absurdity from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division: The agency refused to release a document whose secrets are so sensitive that they are on public display at the National Archives. The “TOP SECRET” document in question whose release could threaten “grave harm” to national security? The text of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The DOJ receives its second straight Golden Padlock acknowledgment for excellence in undermining the public’s right to know following up on last year’s Hall of Shame award for the “Orwellian practice of monitoring journalists’ phone records in pursuit of whistleblowers.” 

The VIA Metropolitan Transit system of San Antonio for limiting public access to video incidents recorded on its buses.

After local television station WOAI had reported videos showing VIA bus drivers texting while driving and accidents caused by defective wheel chair lifts, VIA Public Information Coordinator Stephen Andy Scheidt informed WOAI investigative reporter Jaie Avila last October that the public would henceforth have to blindly request all incident reports – “an average of 265 reports per month” – which would first be reviewed by VIA “to determine if any redactions need to be made, and then each page containing the redacted information would need to be printed, redacted, and scanned.”

The West Virginia judicial investigation commission for undermining public access to state judges disciplinary records.

Shining a spotlight on judges is never easy. But in West Virginia, the fight for transparency has gone all the way up to the state Supreme Court. When journalist Lawrence Smith saw a video of a family law judge loudly berating a defendant in his courtroom, the reporter filed a formal request for complaints against that judge, and over two dozen others. The West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission, responsible for investigating judicial misconduct, refused the request. And in legal submissions, the judges association in West Virginia claimed it would interfere with judicial independence and integrity.

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin and Missouri Governor Jay Nixon for secrecy around state executions.

After Missouri announced last year it was making the state's execution drug supplier a legally protected secret, officials began redacting all identifying information in response to freedom of information requests. When journalists eventually learned the name of the hidden supplier, they reported the company was not licensed in the state, had been cited in the past by regulatory agencies and was paid thousands of dollars for its services in cash deliveries by a high-ranking state official. Rather than embracing greater openness and transparency following the revelations, the state again shrouded its new, unknown execution drug supplier in secrecy where it remains today. In April, following a botched execution in Oklahoma, journalists were stonewalled by a law preventing the public from learning the name of the physician overseeing the execution, the supplier of the drugs and the credentials of the medical professional who may have improperly inserted a failed IV line. Under the law, details that could explain the gruesome last minutes of the inmate's life and seek accountability remain hidden from public knowledge.  

The winner will be announced at IRE’s national conference in San Francisco June 28. A representative from the winning agency will be invited to receive the honor. 

CONTACT:

Robert Cribb, IRE Board Member

rcribb@thestar.ca

416-869-4411 

 

Mark Horvit, IRE Executive Director

mark@ire.org

573-882-1984

A USA TODAY investigation shows repeated instances in which small aircraft crashes, deaths and injuries were caused by defective parts and dangerous designs, casting doubt on the government's official rulings and revealing the inner workings of an industry hit so hard by legal claims that it sought and won liability protection from Congress.

Wide-ranging defects have persisted for years as manufacturers covered up problems, lied to federal regulators and failed to remedy known malfunctions, USA TODAY found. Some defective parts remained in use for decades — and some are still in use — because manufacturers refused to acknowledge or recall the suspect parts or issued a limited recall that left dangerous components in hundreds of aircraft. The manufacturers involved paid hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements that received little or no public attention until now.

To see all of the content, visit the project landing page.

This was originally published on the ProPublica Nerd Blog.

By Ryann Grochowski Jones, ProPublica

I think I’m a decent arbiter of people’s appreciation of data. I worked at IRE’s data library as a grad student and I’ve attended four consecutive NICAR conferences. At ProPublica, I work with complex data sets every day. I help run our data store, so I can see how excited data-savvy reporters can get when working with great data sets.  So you’ll forgive me if I viewed attending Health Datapalooza with a small bit of skepticism.  Surely, I thought, a bunch of healthcare nerds could never match the enthusiasm and bordering-on-obsessiveness of news nerds when it comes to data.

My assumption was quite off-the-mark. Health Datapalooza, despite (or maybe because of) its ridiculous name, was incredibly awesome and useful. I found many open-data compatriots among the 2,500 attendees – and very few of them were journalists. Instead, they were patient advocates, doctors and nurses, health policy wonks, insurance adjusters and app designers. The conference sessions taught me about upcoming data releases and new statistical analysis techniques; even better, I left with a crazy number of story ideas.

In a session on statistical correlation, Dr. Sujata Bhatia, a biomedical engineer at Harvard, brought up a fascinating issue: The Affordable Care Act will add millions of new people to insurance rolls and thereby change the make-up of the patient population that forms the baseline of many healthcare studies. Will those studies’ conclusions need to be revisited? Dr. Bhatia and others are still attempting to find the answer.

I also found out that Fitbits and Jawbones are already outdated – health-data capturing will soon involve tiny microchips that stick to your skin like a band-aid. I watched some super-smart app developers at work during the “Code-a-Palooza” live judging. I even learned that Florence Nightingale was one of the first people to design a health data visualization.

Palooza speakers (they really missed out on a opportunity by not calling them ‘headliners’) included surgeon/journalist Atul Gawande, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park, U.K. Secretary of Health Jeremy Hunt and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius in the last few days of her job. Hunt’s keynote was especially fascinating – he discussed the U.K.’s efforts to reduce patient harm in hospitals, a story ProPublica’s been following for some time.

Like any conference, the real value was in the networking. I was introduced to Amy Gleason, who came up with an app to help manage care of her chronically ill daughter. I finally met the ebullient Fred Trotter (I’m convinced he’s the only rival to my colleague Charlie Ornstein when it comes to a passion for health data). I also got to meet some folks from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and ResDAC in person – I’m usually bugging them for help over the phone or via e-mail.

And we even won a “Health Data Liberators” award.

For more takeaways from Health Datapalooza, I recommend this blog post from MedCity News.

 

Ryann Grochowski Jones is a data reporter at ProPublica. Previously, she was a data reporter for Investigative Newsource/KPBS in San Diego, Calif. She received her master’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, where she was a data librarian for Investigative Reporters and Editors/National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting. Ryann started her career as a municipal beat reporter for her hometown newspaper in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

$40-billion missile defense system proves unreliable | Los Angeles Times

The Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, or GMD, was supposed to protect Americans against a chilling new threat from "rogue states" such as North Korea and Iran. But a decade after it was declared operational, and after $40 billion in spending, the missile shield cannot be relied on, even in carefully scripted tests that are much less challenging than an actual attack would be, a Los Angeles Times investigation has found.

The Missile Defense Agency has conducted 16 tests of the system's ability to intercept a mock enemy warhead. It has failed in eight of them, government records show.

 

Nebraska prison doors open too soon | Omaha World-Herald

The examination of prison records revealed that Nebraska Department of Correctional Services officials had released or were set to release dozens of prisoners years before their sentences were supposed to end.

All told, state officials had carved at least 750 years off the collective sentences of more than 200 of the state’s worst criminals. The problem: The department was using a formula that doesn’t square with how sentences should be calculated.

After The World-Herald revealed its findings Friday to Corrections Director Michael Kenney, he immediately directed staff to recalculate the sentences. He said he had been unaware of the problem.

 

Friends want probe of 77-year-old's death after arrest | Springfield News-Leader

Branson residents are questioning why city police arrested a 77-year-old man with health problems on an Arkansas bad check warrant from 1996 and held him in jail for five days.

Shortly after his release from Taney County Jail, Evans E. Ray was found dead in his home. It's unclear how long he was deceased in the home before he was found.

 

Uncertified teachers in NY state classrooms | Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, N.Y.)

The New York State Education Department’s most recent list of teachers whose credentials do not match their teaching assignments includes 4,280 assignments in more than 1,100 schools across the state, a Central New York Media Group review of state education records found.

While employing an unqualified teacher is a misdemeanor in New York, the state Education Department does almost nothing to crack down on instances where districts sidestep certification rules. The Education Department notifies school districts of instances where teachers may lack proper credentials, but its involvement ends there. Some school districts take action to fix the problem, and others do not.

 

Secret Summit: 24 hours with the Koch brothers | inewsource.org

Last weekend and into today, the billionaire Koch brothers and supporters converged on the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point. This columned, luxury compound, little more than an hour north of San Diego, has 400 rooms, a spa, a golf course, a private beach and six restaurants. Staff confirmed the entire hotel — including food and beverage service — had been bought out for a special event.

An event so secret it had a code name on the schedule: “T&R Sales Meeting.”

Hotel guests who weren’t part of the conference — including two inewsource reporters who stayed the night Friday — were escorted out of the hotel by security on Saturday afternoon.

 

Kids with no vaccinations clustered in some schools | The Columbus Dispatch

Some Ohio schools might as well have a target painted on the side of the building as far as public-health experts are concerned.

In some schools in the state, as many as 1 in 3 incoming kindergartners and newly enrolled older students have parents who oppose vaccines, according to a Dispatch analysis of schools’ immunization counts.

 

Bottom line is more than meets the eyes | The Virginian-Pilot

In one of the most recent releases, Medicare published data about payments to physicians and for outpatient services.

Dr. Alan Wagner’s name stuck out.

According to the records, in 2012, he collected upward of $6 million from the government insurance for seniors, the second-highest amount among nearly 20,000 physicians and other individual providers listed in Virginia. Only a Richmond-based radiologist specializing in minimally invasive procedures ranked higher, receiving $8.2 million from Medicare.

 

St. Clair County doles out more than $3.3 million in settlements behind closed doors | News-Democrat (Belleville, IL)

More than $3.3 million in legal settlements have been approved behind closed doors in St. Clair County in the past 10 years -- possibly in violation of the state's Sunshine laws.

The settlements range from $900,000 to a teenage boy allegedly sexually abused at the county's Juvenile Detention Center to $1,000 to a person claiming injuries when placed under arrest by sheriff's deputies. The county admits no wrongdoing as part of the settlements. County officials released the settlements to the News-Democrat following a request through the Freedom of Information Act.

"More than $3.3 million in legal settlements have been approved behind closed doors in St. Clair County in the past 10 years -- possibly in violation of the state's Sunshine laws.

The settlements range from $900,000 to a teenage boy allegedly sexually abused at the county's Juvenile Detention Center to $1,000 to a person claiming injuries when placed under arrest by sheriff's deputies. The county admits no wrongdoing as part of the settlements. County officials released the settlements to the News-Democrat following a request through the Freedom of Information Act."

Read the full story from the Belleville News-Democrat here.