The early bird deadline for 
The 2025 Freelance Fellowship Recipients
A welder’s torch may have sparked a fire that caused $10 million in damage at the world’s largest high-security research lab, still under construction at Fort Detrick, according to a report prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Read MoreTrinity is part of a heartbreaking surge in babies born dependent on drugs because of their mothers’ addictions — which continues to escalate unabated despite Kentucky’s crackdown on prescription-drug abuse. The state has seen hospitalizations for drug-dependent newborns soar nearly 30 fold in a little more than a decade — from 28 in 2000 to…
Read MoreMiami Herald Innocents Lost | The Miami Herald Fraternal twins Tariji and Tavont’ae Gordon joined a sad procession of children who died, often violently, after the Florida Department of Children & Families had been warned, often repeatedly, that they or their siblings could be in danger. The children were not just casualties of bad parenting,…
Read MoreTo celebrate Sunshine Week we’ll be sharing exclusive audio, tipsheets and reporting on FOIA battles and open government. Newspapers across the country kicked off the week with stories analyzing FOIA responses and violations. Here’s a look at some of the coverage: Few cited for open government violations | Gannett Wisconsin Media Investigative Team Public officials…
Read MoreNow current through 2013, the National Bridge Inventory database can help you assess the soundness of bridges in your area. Journalists can use the data to investigate bridges by identifying those with structural problems, or that haven’t been recently inspected. Other key fields include average daily traffic and overall sufficiency rating. The records represent information…
Read MoreFollowing a report by the Center for Investigative Reporting, the City Council of Richmond, Calif. voted to give residents of the Hacienda public housing complex vouchers to move into private housing. Tim Jones, executive director of the Richmond Housing Authority, called the bulding uninhabitable, and dozens of residents have complained of health problems due to…
Read MoreNASA officials say they’re working to resolve “widespread” errors in travel disclosures dating back to at least 2009, according to a report from Scripps News. Problems range from lax oversight – some NASA travelers booked upgrades costing thousands of dollars – to missing or error-riddled reports. The federal agency is required each year to disclose all upgraded…
Read MoreBy Hannah Schmidt Journalists Denise Malan, Ben Poston and Tim Wheeler all used data to create stories on hazardous materials and the environment. The three discussed state and national databases that track pollution and hazardous waste at the NICAR Conference in Baltimore. NICAR offers a hazardous waste database. Malan described how to use it and what…
Read MoreDo you have reporters or editors on your staff who would benefit from training to help them produce enterprise and investigative stories? Thanks to a grant from Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, the Society for Professional Journalists is working with Investigative Reporters and Editors and the New England Center for Investigative Reporting to offer two-day Watchdog Reporting Workshops for journalists from your region. …
Read MoreA reporter from The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass. caught city employees burning reams of public records, all without approval from the state. Old purchase orders, payroll records and utility bills, along with a handful of other documents, went up in smoke. The city’s public works commissioner “emphasized that all of the records burned in…
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