The early bird deadline for 
The 2025 Freelance Fellowship Recipients
Paul Foutch and Will Deener of The Dallas Morning News used state securities board data to show that four firms in the Dallas-Fort Worth brokerage industry have brokers with extensive regulatory records. The investigation used NASD data (the industry’s self-regulatory body, formerly known as the National Association of Securities Dealers) obtained from the Texas State…
Read MoreBrian Charlton and Don Jordan of The State News at Michigan State University analyzed noise and party violations from 2004 and 2005, including 1,025 noise, 41 unlawful party and two nuisance party violations, and found student neighborhoods were saturated with violations. The most ticketed areas were student apartment complexes, a finding that surprised police who…
Read MoreByron Acohido and Jon Swartz of the USA Today used court records and interviews with regulators, security experts and independent investigators to illustrate the mindset of the growing fraternity of hackers and cyberthieves born after 1985. “They also provide a glimpse of Cybercrime Inc.’s most versatile and profitable tool.” The arrests of three young men…
Read MorePatrick Danner and Dan Christensen of The Miami Herald investigated more than 100 cases kept hidden on a secret docket in Broward since 2001 and found that three Broward Circuit Court judges failed to follow the law by “sealing” cases — closing off all the information in them — without giving public notice or showing…
Read MoreJulia Sommerfeld and Michael J. Berens of The Seattle Times used state records to show that Seattle’s Health Department has dismissed — without any investigation — 461 sexual-misconduct complaints against health-care professionals in the past decade, or nearly one-third of the 1,494 complaints received. “These complaints include counselors accused of molesting clients, nurses suspected of…
Read MoreJean Guccione and William Lobdell of the Los Angeles Times analyzed church records to show that 11 priests were left out of the 2004 “Report to the People of God” even after parishioners raised concerns about inappropriate behavior with children. “Seven of these 11 cases were not detailed in the People of God report. The…
Read MoreKen Ward Jr. of The Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette found that Sago Mine officials knew of a buildup of explosive methane behind mine seals where a Jan. 2 blast is believed to have occurred, in a two-day series of stories about the explosion. Twelve miners died in the explosion, making it the worst coal mining disaster…
Read MoreMatt Reed and John McCarthy of Florida Today examined university records to show that every day in Florida, state university professors work as consultants, expert witnesses and researchers-for-hire, earning thousands in fees. Most often, those faculty members work in their roles as public employees, sponsored by grants from corporations, local governments or trade groups. “But…
Read MorePaul Watson of the Los Angeles Times found stolen computer drives containing classified military assessments of enemy targets, names of corrupt Afghan officials and descriptions of American defenses were on sale in the local bazaar no more than 200 yards from the main gate of the U.S. base in Bagram, Afghanistan. “Shop owners at the…
Read MoreAsjylyn Loder of the St. Petersburg Times used local and state documents to show that Hernando County’s public works facility served as a toxic dumping ground for years, and “instead of cleaning up the site, the county continued polluting. Instead of cracking down on the county’s ineffective cleanup, the state allowed delay after delay.” Despite…
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