The early bird deadline for 
The 2025 Freelance Fellowship Recipients
“As gun control debates raged in Congress early this year, the National Rifle Association increased its federal government lobbying expenditures to record levels, new filings with the U.S. Senate indicate,” according to an investigation by The Center for Public Integrity.
Read More“Trusting your child with someone else is one of the hardest things that a parent has to do—and in the United States, it’s harder still, because American day care is a mess. About 8.2 million kids—about 40 percent of children under five—spend at least part of their week in the care of somebody other than a…
Read More“An American-Statesman analysis shows that, unlike Cole, other district attorneys, as well as judges and elected officials, have chosen to remain in office after their DWIs. In some cases, they have tried to separate their professional work from their personal mistakes. When Tarrant County state District Judge Elizabeth Berry was arrested for drinking and driving…
Read More“Even as more than 800,000 novelty helmets are sold in the U.S. every year, and as motorcycle crash deaths mount, federal regulators have never acted with urgency to crack down on the popular but flawed headgear. Proposals to limit sales of the novelty helmets have been delayed over and over again,” according to Fair Warning’s…
Read More“Murders by firearms have increased dramatically in the state since 2000, when there were 499 gun murders, according to data from Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Gun murders have since climbed 38 percent — with 691 murders committed with guns in 2011,” according to an investigation by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.
Read MoreBy Jonathan Ellis, Argus Leader Here’s a novel idea: If you take money from the federal government, the public should know how much you’re taking and for what. That basic premise is at the heart of the Argus Leader’s lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture. The paper filed suit in 2011 seeking to force…
Read MoreThe Center for Public Integrity reports that the U.S. Chemical Safety Board operates with a sluggish investigative pace and short attention span. A former board member told CPI that the agency is “grossly mismanaged.” “The number of board accident reports, case studies and safety bulletins has fallen precipitously since 2006,” according to an analysis by…
Read MoreIn 2012 IRE added a new fellowship in remembrance of longtime IRE member and supporter David Dietz. The fellowship honors his memory and legacy by helping a journalist who has demonstrated an interest in financial investigative journalism and who has fewer than 10 years professional experience. This fellowship covers IRE conference registration fees, provides $750 in…
Read MoreIn the wake of the budget reforms proposed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in 2011, known as Wisconsin Act 10, Eric Litke of the Gannett Wisconsin Media Investigative Team felt the public debate over salary was all rhetoric with little factual backing. In February, Litke tried to change the public dialog by publishing the salary data…
Read MoreProPublica reports that in 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced years’ worth of studies from a major drug research lab were potentially worthless. Those studies were part of the bases for about 100 drugs that made it to the U.S. market. According to ProPublica, the FDA let those drugs stay on pharmacy shelves…
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