IRE Conference Blog
Investigating trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border
By Kolten Parker and Perla Arellano Keeping a low profile and scavenging online court records are vital when covering drug trafficking across the United States-Mexico border. San Antonio Express-News reporter Jason Buch, Knight International Journalism Fellow Jorge Luis Sierra and Belo Corp. border bureau chief Angela Kocherga discussed tools and strategies they utilize to investigate illegal…
Read MoreOnline data and tools for environmental investigations
By Gwen Girsdansky Lisa Song of InsideClimate News, Ingrid Lobet of the Houston Chronicle, David Sheppard of the San Antonio Express-News and Jim Morris of the Center for Public Integrity gave suggestions for online resources available for investigating environmental issues on Thursday at the IRE Conference. Lobet mentioned a good tactic is thinking about what…
Read MoreInvestigating in the aftermath of natural and man-made a disasters
By Gwen Girsdansky Reporters and editors from The Oklahoman, Newsday, CBS News and WFAA shared their secrets for covering disasters Friday at the 2013 IRE Conference. Paul Monies of The Oklahoman recommended having a “go bag” ready before a disaster strikes. Fill it with items like a full change of clothes for after a night…
Read MoreThe great divide: Investigating income inequality
By Gwen Girsdansky IRE Board President David Cay Johnston and Paul Overberg from USA Today spoke about how to investigate income inequality on Friday at the IRE Conference. When researching trends, the speakers recommended looking at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, bank deposits (which are available for every bank branch in the United States), the…
Read MoreGetting access to information inside prisons
By Perla Arellano There are many stories behind prison bars. Prison gangs, medical care, autopsy records, and flawed prison programs are just a few of the ideas offered at a panel sponsored by Criminal Justice Journalists. But getting access to the information inside prisons to build the story at some times may seem impossible. …
Read MoreDay one of the IRE Conference, in pictures
Day one of the IRE Conference featured the best apps for mobile reporting, the year overview in computer-assited reporting, updates on multiple Knight Foundation funded projects including CensusReporter, everyday databases, a series of training sessions by the Investigative News Network and much more. The Board of Directors held a meeting and attendees gathered at an…
Read MoreThe power of social media: Geolocation for news
By Perla Arellano Look for a key word. Look for a date. Click search. You might just have found a source. Thursday’s “The power of social media: Geolocation for news” session, with Glenn Anderson from BBC, Mark Luckie from Twitter, Jennifer Peck from Banjo, and Doug Haddix of Ohio State Univesity as moderator, focused on…
Read MoreTracking guns and the criminal justice system
By Jordan Gass-Poore’ Investigative journalists shared their under-the-gun experiences with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Thursday during the panel “Criminal justice: Guns” at this year’s IRE Conference in San Antonio. Ted Crest with the nonprofit organization Criminal Justice Journalists moderated the panel and provided national-level story ideas that reporters might…
Read MoreInvestigating political shenanigans
By Kolten Parker Manny Garcia, of El Nuevo Herald, speaks during a panel entitled Investigating political shenanigans. Photo: Travis Hartman Journalists eager to scoop political scandals should get out of the office and state house and into the bar. A panel of three reporters with experience exposing political shenanigans shared advice and downplayed the notion…
Read MoreIn the name of charity: Investigating nonprofits
By Gwen Girsdansky Investigating a nonprofit often boils down to checking whether it is keeping its promises. What was the original mission statement when the nonprofit submitted its required tax form (known as the 990) to the Internal Revenue Service? Kendall Taggart from The Center for Investigative Reporting and Kris Hundley from the Tampa Bay…
Read More