John Russell

Some people say judging news contests is a thankless job. I disagree. Every time I judge a contest, I learn, I get inspired, I feel better for the future of journalism. 

I’m a longtime IRE member and have tried to apply investigative techniques to every story I have written, from breaking news to long-term projects. I strongly believe that every journalist should be an investigative journalist, from backgrounding sources to analyzing data and filing open-records requests. 

I retired in January after 40 years in journalism. Most recently, I covered health care, science and energy for the Indianapolis Business Journal. I previously worked at The Chicago Tribune, Indianapolis Star and Akron Beacon Journal. 

I am past president of the Indiana chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and have won more than 50 national and statewide awards in the past decade, often using skills I have picked up at IRE conferences, boot camps and workshops. 

In 2011, I was named Indiana Journalist of the Year for a series of stories exposing corruption and improper influence between officials at Duke Energy and the state utility regulators. My stories resulted in four high-level people resigning or getting fired, and consumers getting $300 million in savings on a $3 billion project. 

Other investigative projects I have worked on resulted in Indianapolis Airport Authority cancelling a proposed $500 million real-estate project after I reported the developer had almost no experience and had declared bankruptcy twice; and the pet medicine industry tightening up its ethical code after I reported veterinarians on the payroll of drug makers. 

I previously served on the IRE contest committee in 2024, and have been a contest screener five times in recent years, including twice as lead screener. It would be a privilege to serve on this important committee again. I appreciate your support.