If you fill out the "Forgot Password" form but don't get an email to reset your password within 5-10 minutes, please email logistics@ire.org for assistance.
(Dec. 4, 2024) — IRE is now accepting applications for the NICAR25 mentorship program!
Our annual data journalism conference is taking place March 6-9, 2025 in Minneapolis. If you're joining us for the conference and are hoping to get (or give) one-on-one guidance, you can sign up for the mentorship program by filling out this form.
IRE will match mentors with mentees and arrange for them to meet at a breakfast during the conference. The NICAR25 mentorship breakfast will be on Friday, March 7, from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m.
This is a popular program and space is limited, so be sure to apply now! The deadline to apply is Friday, Feb. 7. If the slots are filled before then, your application will be added to a waitlist. Please also note that you must register for the conference by Monday, Feb. 10, to participate.
IRE is looking for a passionate, high-energy individual who enjoys working with others to join our training team, dedicated to fulfilling our core mission of helping journalists improve their investigative and data skills.
Trainers organize and conduct both in-person and online training in programs such as data journalism bootcamps, online mini bootcamps, customized newsroom training, and regional workshops. The trainer will also help plan and execute our in-person and virtual national conferences and develop clear and useful training materials in investigative and data journalism. The trainer also has the opportunity to create new curricula to meet changing industry needs.
IRE seeks someone with:
IRE offers:
Location: Remote, with convenient access to an airport
Salary Range: $68,000-$74,000, depending on experience
Apply by August 23, 2024, here.
Benefit Eligibility
This position is eligible for University benefits. As part of your total compensation, the University offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental and vision plans, retirement, paid time off, short- and long-term disability, paid parental leave, paid caregiver leave, and educational fee discounts for all four UM System campuses. For additional information on University benefits, please visit the Faculty & Staff Benefits website at https://www.umsystem.edu/totalrewards/benefits.
Values Commitment
We value the uniqueness of every individual and strive to ensure each person’s success. Contributions from individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives promote intellectual pluralism and enable us to achieve the excellence that we seek in learning, research and engagement. This commitment makes our university a better place to work, learn and innovate. In your application materials, please discuss your experiences and expertise that support these values and enrich our missions of teaching, research, and engagement.
Equal Employment Opportunity
The University of Missouri System is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Equal Opportunity is and shall be provided for all employees and applicants for employment on the basis of their demonstrated ability and competence without unlawful discrimination on the basis of their race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable state or federal law. This policy applies to all employment decisions including, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, training, promotions, pay practices, benefits, disciplinary actions and terminations. For more information, visit https://www.umsystem.edu/ums/hr/eeo or call the Director of Employee and Labor Relations at 573-882-2146.
To request ADA accommodations, please call the Director of Accessibility and ADA at 573-884-7278.
If you have questions, please contact IRE Director of Content Lauren Grandestaff by email (lauren@ire.org).
Have you always wanted to know more about how IRE works — and how you can help? Now is your chance.
IRE is seeking volunteers for its committees, which work on a wide range of important tasks, from recommending speakers for conferences and brainstorming ways to better serve members to increasing diversity in the organization and improving the website.
To serve, you just need to be a member of IRE and have a passion for helping your colleagues.
If you're interested, please fill out this Google form by Friday, July 19.
The IRE Board is making it a priority to bring in new voices and new perspectives. One of the best ways to ensure your voice is heard is to serve on a committee, where the decision-making process begins. We need you!
Committee descriptions are below. Typically, the President appoints the committee chair, and the chair works with the president to select the committee members, with input from the executive director. Appointees serve for one year.
If you'd like more information, we'll be hosting an informal Q&A at our monthly Board Office Hours on Tuesday, July 16, at 12 p.m. Eastern Time. It's free; you just need to register here in advance to join the Q&A webinar.
If you have questions, please contact IRE President Brian M. Rosenthal at president@ire.org
IRE Committees for 2024-25
IRE Task Forces for 2024-25
In addition to the nine standing committees, there will be three active task forces. These groups are temporary and exist for specific purposes:
IRE Executive Director Diana Fuentes and IRE Board President Brian M. Rosenthal will lead the annual membership meeting for all IRE members in Marquis Center at the Anaheim Marriott on Saturday, June 22, at 5:30 p.m. PDT. As part of the meeting, there will be votes on several proposed amendments to the IRE Articles of Incorporation.
These six proposed amendments, which are summarized directly below and listed in full at the end of this post, are designed to make IRE more inclusive, more accessible and more relevant, particularly amid industry upheaval:
The IRE Board has unanimously approved all of these amendments. In order to be enacted, they must also be approved by 2/3 of IRE Members present at a membership meeting.
In-person voting will initially be conducted by a show of hands; if it is unclear whether a proposal passes or fails, paper ballots will be used. In addition, for the first time, members who cannot attend in-person may register to attend and vote virtually using an online poll. Only eligible professional, academic, retiree and student members may vote.
If you have any questions, or if you would like to share feedback before the meeting, please contact the IRE Board at board@ire.org.
Here are the proposed amendments, in full:
Sign-ups are closed for the mentorship networking program at IRE24 in Anaheim!
If you’ll be joining us for the conference, you can sign up by filling out this form. If you can’t make it to Anaheim this year but still want to find a mentor, please check out the IRE page at JournalismMentors.com, where you can set up a time to meet virtually with an IRE member mentor.
IRE will match mentors with mentees and arrange for them to meet at a breakfast during the conference. The IRE24 mentorship breakfast will be held from 7:30 - 8:45 a.m. on Friday, June 21, at the conference hotel.
Space is limited in this popular program, and the deadline to apply is midnight CT on Sunday, June 2. If the slots are filled before then, your application will be added to a waitlist.
Please also note that you must register for the conference by June 3 to participate.
The Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) and Investigative Reporters and Editors are collaborating on a webinar series that combines the organizations’ expertise in health reporting and data and investigative journalism.
"Follow the Money: The Business of Health Care" is an in-depth, hands-on webinar series that will equip journalists with the tools they need to tell the story of the big business of health care. The series is free for all journalists, thanks to the generous support of the NIHCM Foundation.
"For the first time in the history of our two organizations, IRE and AHJC are working together to help journalists across the country better cover this critical issue," said IRE Executive Director Diana Fuentes. "Collaboration is essential in today’s journalism world. Together, IRE and AHCJ will provide journalists with tools they need to reach their local communities."
In March, the first of four webinars will explore where to find financial data for hospitals and other health care businesses. The following webinars will explore how to investigate health care pricing and medical debt, and the nuances of private health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid.
"We're thrilled to partner with IRE on this comprehensive webinar series that will benefit journalists looking to dig into the money side of health care," said AHCJ Executive Director Kelsey Ryan. "By bringing together our joint expertise, we’re certain journalists will take away valuable tips and story ideas they can use right away."
Mark your calendars for the first webinar of the series, "Using HospitalFinances.org and other tools to tell money stories," 1-2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 27. The session will be led by longtime AHCJ member Karl Stark, Director of Content/Editor in Residence at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.
Register here!
Looking ahead, the free webinar series continues throughout the coming months, with more details and registration coming soon:
Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting. IRE was formed to create a forum in which journalists throughout the world could help each other by sharing story ideas, newsgathering techniques and news sources. IRE provides members access to thousands of reporting tipsheets and other materials through its Resource Center and hosts conferences and specialized training across the country.
The Association of Health Care Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing public understanding of health care issues. With about 1,500 members across the U.S. and around the globe, its mission is to improve the quality, accuracy and visibility of health care reporting, writing and editing. The association and its sister organization, the Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism provide training, resources and support for journalists, including health journalism fellowships, webinars, networking and conferences.
The IRE Board of Directors will consider changes to the organization’s Code of Bylaws relating to the executive committee election procedures at its next meeting at 10 a.m. ET on February 23, 2024, which will be held virtually.
Section 6.03. Annual Meeting. The annual meeting of the Board of Directors for the election of officers, and for the transaction of such other business as may properly come before the meeting, shall be held either conjointly with, or immediately after adjournment of, the annual meeting of the Members of the Corporation, when the latter is held as specified in Section 5.04 of the Bylaws. No notice shall be necessary for the holding of the annual meeting of the Board of Directors. If the annual meeting is not held as above provided, the election of officers may be held at any subsequent meeting of the Board as adjourned or specially called. (Amendment adopted 2/13/81.)
Section 7.01. Number, Qualification, and Term. Beginning with the officers elected at the June 2006 meeting of the Board of Directors of the Corporation, the executive committee of the Board of directors shall consist of five Directors, including the president, vice-president, treasurer and secretary. The remaining member of the Executive Committee shall be a director elected by a majority vote of the Board. The president shall be chairman of the Executive Committee. The members of the Executive Committee shall hold office until the next annual meeting of the Board of Directors of the Corporation successors are elected. The immediate past president – to the extent possible – shall serve in an advisory role to the board. (Amendment adopted 2/13/81; a second amendment adopted 9/9/04.)
As prescribed in the bylaws, IRE members will have at least 30 days before the meeting to submit comments about the proposed change. Any comments or questions may be submitted via board@ire.org. Please submit your feedback by February 21.
January 17, 2024
“Still Loading,” The Markup investigation, which exposed vast disparities in internet service quality from four major providers, earned the first place prize in the 2023 Philip Meyer Journalism Award.
The Meyer Award recognizes the best uses of social science research methods in journalism. It is named for Philip Meyer, the author of “Precision Journalism,” who pioneered the use of empirical methods to empower better journalism. Read more about Meyer and his legacy here.
Bloomberg News earned the second place award for “Power Plays,” a project that exposed how large U.K. power companies manipulated the country’s feckless energy system to reap profits. Third place goes to a collaboration between Lighthouse Reports, WIRED, Vers Beton and Open Rotterdam for “Inside the Suspicion Machine,” a series that traced the deployment of predictive AI in European welfare systems.
The judges have also given two special citations in the 2023 Philip Meyer Journalism Award:
The winners will be honored at the 2024 NICAR Conference, March 7-10 in Baltimore. The award is administered by the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting, a joint program of Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Missouri School of Journalism.
First place: “Still Loading,” The Markup
Leon Yin, Aaron Sankin, Joel Eastwood, Gabriel Hongsdusit, Paroma Soni, Jeremy Singer-Vine, Evelyn Larrubia, Sisi Wei
Judges’ comments: For The Markup’s “Still Loading,” reporters gathered and analyzed 800,000 internet service offers from telecom giants in dozens of cities, finding they routinely offered the worst deals to households in lower-income, less white and historically redlined neighborhoods. The reporters adapted methods from an academic study to identify internet offers by address and then used Census data and historical maps to tell a powerful story about a critical social injustice. The judges applaud the team for their resourcefulness, robust validation process and, along with their partner Big Local News, commitment to sharing their bespoke mapping tool with the public.
Second place: “Power Plays,” Bloomberg News
Gavin Finch, Todd Gillespie, Jason Grotto, Sam Dodge, Alex Campbell
Judges’ comments: For “Power Plays,” Bloomberg News analyzed millions of records obtained through a national data portal and additional records on renewable energy subsidies. The team’s reporting exposed methods that large U.K. power companies used to manipulate the country’s energy system for profit, saddling customers with extra costs. This took place during an energy crisis that caused havoc, including forcing elderly people and low-income families into warming shelters. The judges commend the stories for shining an important spotlight on companies that usually avoid scrutiny despite their impact on people’s everyday lives.
Third place: “Inside the Suspicion Machine,” Lighthouse Reports, WIRED, Vers Beton, Open Rotterdam
Gabriel Geiger, Eva Constantaras, Justin-Casimir Braun, Evaline Schot, Dhruv Mehrotra, Saskia Klaassen, Romy van Dijk, Matthew Burgess, Morgan Meaker, Kyle Thomas, Daniel Howden, Andrew Couts, James Temperton, Eeva Liukku, David Davidson, Danielle Carrick, Htet Aung, Alyssa Walker, Raagul Nagendran, Hari Moorthy, Ishita Tiwari, Lily Boyce, Sascha Meijer, and Roelof van der Meer
Judges’ comments: In “Inside the Suspicion Machine,” Lighthouse Reports, WIRED, Vers Beton and Open Rotterdam gained rare access to the algorithms used to choose subjects for welfare fraud investigations. After nearly one and a half years of negotiation, the reporters obtained the underlying computer code used to flag Rotterdam’s residents, which could cut them off from services and even target them for raids. By studying and testing the risk scoring algorithm, they learned that it did only marginally better than random chance, and targeted people based on their native language, gender and even how they dressed. From there, the reporters followed two archetypes, as typified by more than 300 characteristics, to show audiences the arbitrary, and at times prejudiced, logic of the system. The judges remarked on how rarely news organizations gain access to these often proprietary lines of code, and how important they are to holding governments accountable for their actions.
Special citation: “Putin and Orbán's Media Masquerade: Projecting Unity and Tension in the EU,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Current Time Digital and Szabad Európa
Judges’ comments: "Putin and Orbán's Media Masquerade" is a timely investigation that used textual analysis, such as topic clusterization, to show how Russian and Hungarian propaganda have been interwoven since the war in Ukraine began, and how Hungary supported Russia's invasion. The visualizations were particularly helpful in displaying the analysis of data from 15,000 headlines from the propaganda machines of both countries. The project should inspire other journalists to investigate shared propaganda and disinformation between political parties and countries.
Special citation: “Unhoused and Undercounted,” The Center for Public Integrity in partnership with The Seattle Times, Street Sense Media and WAMU/DCist
Judges’ comments: “Unhoused and Undercounted” told the story of the roughly 300,000 children and youth in the United States who are entitled to rights reserved for homeless students, but are going unidentified by school districts that have the legal obligation to help them. This collective oversight results in the students, disproportionately Black and Latino, lacking the critical support they need to stay in school, graduate and obtain referrals for health care and housing: In short, basic civil rights. Due to its nationwide approach, this analysis broke new ground by measuring the gap between identified and actual homelessness within school districts across the United States. The judges noted the data was also made available to local newsrooms, which was key to the project’s success in telling a story that holds educators to account for failing to serve their most vulnerable students.
The Meyer Award honors Philip Meyer, professor emeritus and former Knight Chair of Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Meyer is the author of “Precision Journalism,” the influential 1973 book that encouraged journalists to incorporate social science methods in the pursuit of better journalism. As a reporter, he also pioneered the use of survey research for Knight-Ridder newspapers while exploring the causes of race riots in the 1960s.
The judges for the 2023 Philip Meyer Journalism Award were:
The Philip Meyer Journalism Award follows the rules of the IRE Awards to avoid conflicts of interest. Work that included any significant role by a Meyer Award contest judge may not be entered in the contest. This often represents a significant sacrifice on the part of the individual — and sometimes an entire newsroom. The IRE membership appreciates this devotion to the values of the organization.
IRE works to foster excellence in investigative journalism, which is essential to a free society. Founded in 1975, IRE has more than 4,500 members worldwide. Headquartered at the Missouri School of Journalism, IRE provides training, resources and a community of support to investigative journalists; promotes high professional standards; and protects the rights of investigative journalists. The National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting was founded by the Missouri School of Journalism in 1989 and became a collaboration between the school and IRE in 1994.
Contact:
Signups are now open for the mentorship networking program at NICAR24 in Baltimore.
If you’ll be joining us for the conference, you can sign up by filling out this form. If you can’t make it to Baltimore this year but still want to find a mentor, please check out the IRE page at JournalismMentors.com, where you can set up a time to meet virtually with an IRE member mentor.
IRE will match mentors with mentees and arrange for them to meet at a breakfast during the conference. The NICAR24 mentorship breakfast will be held from 7:30 - 8:45 a.m. on Friday, March 8, at the conference hotel.
Space is limited in this popular program, and the deadline to apply is midnight CT on Monday, Feb. 5. If the slots are filled before then, your application will be added to a waitlist.
Please also note that you must register for the conference by Feb. 5 to participate.
Submissions are now open for Lightning Talks to be featured at #NICAR24 in Baltimore!
Lightning Talks, which take place on the Friday afternoon of the conference, are five-minute talks about a particular tool, skill or piece of advice learned from working on stories. The goal is to teach some practical tips in a fun and entertaining way.
The talks began in 2010 and quickly grew into one of the most popular sessions at IRE’s annual data journalism conference.
The pitch form is open until Feb. 5. After that, members will be able to vote for their favorite ideas, and the 10 talks with the most votes will earn slots at the conference in Baltimore.
All conference attendees can pitch ideas, and we especially encourage women, journalists of color, those from historically marginalized communities, and folks from smaller organizations to submit talks. (If you’ve given a talk in recent years, we encourage you to take a year off to allow for new voices.)
Pitching and voting will be anonymous. In years past, a pitch would be displayed alongside the person who submitted it. In 2019, we saw that anonymity encouraged a more diverse group of people to submit pitches and bring more focus to the content of the talk in the voting process.
What makes a good Lightning Talks pitch? In the spirit of IRE’s conferences, try to focus on teaching your fellow journalists practical skills. Think of something you wish you had known when you started a project or a particular tool that helped you overcome a challenge.
The talks don’t have to be in-depth or super-advanced — remember you’ll only have five minutes, and yes, you will be timed!
If you have questions about Lightning Talks or the submission process, please email conference@ire.org.
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