The early bird deadline for 
The 2025 Freelance Fellowship Recipients
The experiences of the three Capitol Hill aides-turned-lobbyists — traced through interviews with political operatives and a review of public records — illustrate in new detail the gaping holes in rules governing Washington’s revolving door. Federal ethics rules are intended to limit lobbying by former senior officials within one year after they leave the government.…
Read MoreWisconsin officials have nearly quadrupled the number of offenders released from state custody after they were committed as sexually violent persons. The risks to residents are reasonable, officials say, because the state’s treatment programs are working and new data suggest these offenders are less likely to reoffend than previously thought. The story is the first…
Read MoreWest Virginia Department of Environmental Protection officials never reviewed two key pollution-prevention plans for the Freedom Industries tank farm before the Jan. 9 chemical leak that contaminated drinking water for 300,000 residents, according to interviews and documents obtained under the state’s public-records law.
Read MoreMississippi is one of three states where more students with a learning disability graduate with an alternate diploma than a regular one. That poses a serious problem for many students leaving the state’s special education programs. According to the Hechinger Report, many colleges and employers don’t recognize the alternative diplomas. “As a result, thousands of…
Read MoreThe 4th Judicial Circuit, which consists of Duval, Clay and Nassau counties, dramatically leads the state in the number of juveniles incarcerated through a method called direct commitment. That’s usually a plea deal reached between a juvenile’s lawyer and the prosecutor. When juveniles agree to plea deals, they are often incarcerated without the chance to…
Read MoreTrying to get your boss to send you to the upcoming CAR Conference in Baltimore? Try these suggestions, courtesty of your colleagues on the NICAR listserv. “Our competitors will have people there, and they will ultimately use the skills they learn to publish stories we wish we had.” – Matthew Doig, Newsday “If your bosses have ever…
Read MoreIt took the Honolulu-based Civil Beat almost one year and $935 to get access to files on three discharged police officers. The records, which were heavily redacted, provide new insight into the case of an officer accused of raping a woman on the hood of his patrol car. The officer’s case “illustrates how difficult it…
Read MoreAttorneys for an inmate accused of murdering a federal correctional officer cited a Citizens’ Voice investigation into the case as they laid the groundwork Wednesday to spare him from the death penalty. For a December story the paper obtained closely guarded prison documents that showed a stark shift in the way the inmate Jessie Con-ui was disciplined. Treatement ranged from…
Read MoreBy Ron Campbell The NICAR conference is like the NICAR list on steroids. If you don’t get that reference, let me explain. I’m on the West Coast. I have posted a highly technical question on the NICAR list at 6 p.m. on a Friday and received a detailed, precise, accurate answer from a colleague on the East Coast — remember, this…
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