The early bird deadline for 
The 2025 Freelance Fellowship Recipients
A bill designed to improve the way the federal government handles an increasing load of FOIA requests – a bill that had gained bipartisan support – could be dying after a senator blocked the legislation. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2014 would “create a pathway for the federal government to modernize the administration of FOIA”…
Read MoreA tip from a source prompted the NBC Bay Area team to launch a major investigation into Sysco Corporation, the world’s largest food distributor. Using a wide variety of cameras and surveillance techniques, the station exposed the company’s dangerous practice of storing fresh food in unrefrigerated storage sheds. The food was then delivered to restaurants, hotels,…
Read MoreThanks to everyone who voted for the 2015 CAR Conference T-shirt. We had such a close race for first place that we’ve decided to hold a second round of voting limited to the four shirts that received the most votes. You have until Sunday, December 14 to vote for your favorite design. FINALISTS Entry 4: …
Read MoreHeading to NICAR 2015? Consider coming early for Tapestry, the data storytelling conference. Tapestry is a one-day, invitation-only conference that brings together journalists, academics and designers to discuss the evolving field of data storytelling. This year’s event includes keynotes by Hannah Fairfield of the New York Times, Kim Rees of Periscopic: Do Good With Data, and Michael…
Read MoreHave a question for IRE? Now’s the time to have it answered with the Journal’s new feature “Ask IRE.” This is your organization. Ask about anything from policies to resources to ethical dilemmas. It will be featured in the upcoming Journal issue. Send us your questions by the end of the day Friday, December 5.…
Read MoreIRE is working in partnership with the Pew Research Center to survey investigative journalists – including many IRE members – about challenges and concerns surrounding electronic surveillance, digital privacy and protections for investigative journalism in the U.S. today. The survey is confidential, and selected participants will receive an invitation via email. Findings will be available…
Read MoreParticipants at the Jacksonville Watchdog Workshop. (Photo courtesy of Tracey Eaton) Couldn’t make it to one of our Watchdog Workshops this year? We recorded audio from many of our panels and, thanks to a generous grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, have made it available for download online. We have recordings from…
Read MoreThe Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) database has just been updated in the NICAR Data Library. Loan application records for 2013 are now available. What’s in it? This Act requires all banks, savings and loans, savings banks and credit unions with assets of more than $33 million and offices in metropolitan areas to report mortgage…
Read MoreJustin Elliott of ProPublica Justin Elliott, Jesse Eisinger and Laura Sullivan turned a vague tip about the American Red Cross’ inefficiency into a powerful report about the organization’s failings after Hurricane Isaac and Superstorm Sandy. The joint project between ProPublica and NPR revealed that hundreds of millions of dollars pouring in from donors in 2012…
Read MoreA decision by the student newspaper at the University of Oklahoma to join its staffer’s lawsuit against the school caused officials to reverse course on their original decision to withhold parking ticket citations. OU Daily staff member Joey Stipek had filed the suit in May 2013 after his open records requests for parking tickets was…
Read More