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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 try to apply investigative techniques to every story I write, 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 currently cover health care, science and energy for the Indianapolis Business Journal. I previously worked at the Chicago Tribune and The Indianapolis Star.

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 2013, and have been a contest screener four 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.


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