Feature
Probing the ethics of controversial brain research
By Audrey Carleton, Bruce Gil, Emily Nadal and Zachary Smith The four of us met in a classroom in midtown Manhattan in the fall of 2021 — donning masks during the throes of the pandemic. Then final-semester graduate students at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, we…
Read MoreNew survey reveals state of investigative journalism
By Gerry Lanosga, Indiana University, and Brant Houston, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Continued expansion in the nonprofit sector, a diversifying investigative workforce, and growing pessimism about the future of journalism are among the main takeaways from a broad national survey of IRE members conducted in 2023. Our survey of membership — made possible through the…
Read MoreThe sun is setting on government transparency in Florida – and secrecy creep is affecting the rest of the US, too
By David Cuillier, Brechner Freedom of Information Project Florida, the “Sunshine State,” once known as a beacon of government transparency, is growing ever darker, and the clouds are spreading throughout the United States. From March 16-22, 2025, the nation celebrates the 20th anniversary of national Sunshine Week, which originated in Florida, historically home to the…
Read MoreSunshine Week calls attention to darkening skies over college campuses
By Amy Kristin Sanders, The Pennsylvania State University University employees engaged in sexual misconduct. Administrators misappropriating public funds. Scientists paid by industry groups to obtain desirable research outcomes. Wealthy donors influencing the admissions process. Open records laws have helped journalists and watchdog groups uncover these types of wrongdoing at universities around the country — but…
Read MoreSecrecy gives the government control. FOIA can restore the power imbalance
By Lauren Harper, Freedom of the Press Foundation Excessive government secrecy takes many forms, including denying or ignoring FOIA requests and deleting data from websites. These tactics prevent the public from meaningfully participating in self-government in every area secrecy touches, from domestic policy discussions on climate change, to foreign policy debates around international aid. Sunshine…
Read MoreStates of denial
By Megan Rhyne, Virginia Coalition for Open Government As the director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government – a 29-year-old nonpartisan, nonprofit devoted to helping the public navigate the ins and outs of access to state and local government records and meetings – I’m often asked which state has the best open records or…
Read MoreThe quest for diversity evolves
By Francisco Vara-Orta, IRE & NICAR When I think about the future of diversity, belonging, equity and inclusion in the journalism industry in these uncertain times, I remind myself it’s nothing new to those who have studied and been a part of this work that has been going on for more than seven decades. DBEI…
Read MoreFinding myself in news
By Amanda Morris, The Washington Post Growing up, I did not have friends who wore hearing aids like me. As a mainstreamed kid — who went to regular public school with hearing people instead of going to a deaf school — my only frame of reference for my experiences was my older brother Brett, who…
Read MoreReporting on inequality
By Jennifer LaFleur, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism Imagine a broad group of people regularly excluded from social, governmental and employment activities because systemic and structural barriers keep them out. A pretty important story, right? Yet it’s one that too often goes uncovered. For investigative reporters, it’s an opportunity to do data-driven stories that…
Read MoreTom Koch’s vision for public health
By Doug Meigs, IRE & NICAR Journalist and scholar Tom Koch built his career writing at the intersection of public health and social justice. Now, the longtime IRE member is helping a new generation of public health reporters and journalists working with disabilities. Koch himself has low vision, and he had to fight for fair…
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