The early bird deadline for 
The 2025 Freelance Fellowship Recipients
Brendan J. Lyons of the Times Union in Albany, N.Y., obtained documents from an internal investigation revealing parole managers had incorrectly allowed convicted felons to remain free and commit new crimes. Despite these findings, the state agency’s leaders took no action against those found responsible for parole errors and instead pursued charges against the people…
Read MoreJoshua Benton of The Dallas Morning News used court records to show that Elizabeth Albanese, who recently stepped down as leader of the Press Club of Dallas, has a criminal record under the name Lisa Albanese centered on allegations of theft. Former co-workers described a history of spinning lies. She also has a record of…
Read MoreAs school sports leaders prepare to discuss new rules regarding booster club spending, Eric D. Williams of The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash., used data analysis to help demonstrate how money influences a school’s ability to produce winning teams and state champions. The newspaper surveyed state title winners from Class 3A and 4A schools from…
Read MoreMark Flatten of the East Valley Tribune in Phoenix completed a series on Jim Rhodes who has become in the most influential developer in Arizona’s East Valley. In December of 2006, he purchased over 1,000 acres of state trust land. The $58.6 million purchase gave him the right to “master-plan 7,700 acres in the area…
Read MoreMc Nelly Torres of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that nearly 2,500 restaurants in South Florida were cited for critical violations by state inspectors between July 2006 and January 2007. Since 1997, there has been a 66 percent increase in the number of confirmed food-borne illnesses tied to restaurants. “In December, the state issued disciplinary…
Read MoreJohn Froonjian of The Press in Atlantic City, N.J., dug into insurance contracts in the Pleasantville school district to uncover a web of insider deals and millions wasted in a struggling district that gets two-thirds of its funding from the state. The Press found that in Pleasantville, school board contracts, political fundraising and private jobs…
Read MoreDan Horn of The Cincinnati Enquirer analyzed the 6th Circuit court’s death-penalty decisions since 2000 to show that 6th Circuit judges consistently voted along partisan lines, and that “a federal death-penalty appeal can be a game of chance.” A review of every 6th circuit death penalty decision since 2000 found that judges appointed by Republican…
Read MoreBurt Hubbard and Nancy Mitchell of Rocky Mountain News found that about a fourth of school-age children ages 5 to 17 in Denver don’t attend the city’s public schools. Analyzing data from Denver Public Schools, suburban school districts, private schools and the U.S. Census Bureau, the study found that an estimated 15,700 students bypassed Denver…
Read MoreA story by Paul Shukovsky, Tracy Johnson and Daniel Lathrop of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports on a profound shift in the FBI’s mission. Due to a shift in focus to national security following 9/11, the FBI has failed to pursue thousands of white-collar crimes. “Five-and-a-half years later, the White House and the Justice Department have…
Read MoreIn a quick-hit investigation, Corey G. Johnson of the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer, uncovered a history of sanitation violations in the Methodist University student cafeteria. “Since Sodexho opened the Green and Gold Cafe in October 2002, 19 inspection reports have pointed to recurring improper sanitation of food contact surfaces and the need to use approved cleaning…
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