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By Mark Horvit IRE Executive Director IRE’s Ethnic Media Watchdog Workshop series stopped in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 17-18. Journalists from media throughout the area gathered at American University’s School of Communication for sessions including tracking federal stimulus spending, covering immigration issues and winning open records fights, in addition to computer-assisted reporting training. Several new…
Read MoreAnalysis of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) database made available to ABCNews.com showed that “a notorious drug kingpin, a convicted arms trafficker and several other individuals linked to aviation-connected crimes continue to hold FAA pilots licenses,” according to a report by Eric Longabardi and Joseph Rhee. The findings raise questions in the efforts of the…
Read MoreThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is opening an investigation of possible lead contamination in an Atlanta neighborhood after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution unearthed old documents showing that a lead smelter spewed lead dust over the area for decades. Old smelting industry directories, property records and mothballed regulatory files were used to identify the old Evans Metal…
Read MoreA review of Pennsylvania environmental records by Christopher Baxter of The Morning Call (Allentown, Penn.) found eight years of stop-and-go enforcement by the Department of Environmental Protection that allowed a steel coating plant to continue operating despite violating dozens of environmental regulations.
Read MoreNew York Times reporter David Gonzalez shares his secrets to great neighborhood beat reporting. For better stories and better sourcing, your time is best spent walking the streets of your coverage area.
Read MoreWith a little legislative know-how, even a novice reporter can distinguish between complex political positions between lobbyists, interests groups and politicians, according to veteran reporter Brian Joseph from the Orange County Register. It’s all about knowing where your state government records such routine information.
Read MoreAndy Hall, executive director and reporter for the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, shares his thoughts on the art of the interview. He points out that a purposive or changing setting can elicit key details on your interview subject. Hall was a panelist at a recent Better Watchdog Workshop in Madison, Wis.
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