IRE News
2008 IRE Award winners announced
Investigations that exposed local government corruption from New Orleans to Detroit, human-rights abuses by the federal government and international organized crime are among the work honored in the 2008 Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards. This year’s top prize, the IRE Medal, was given to WWL-New Orleans for its dogged rolling investigation of a city-run housing…
Read MoreMore bilingual workshops expected
The success of a bilingual Better Watchdog Workshop in El Paso, Texas, may lead to additional workshops in Spanish later this year or in 2010. Highlights from the El Paso workshop are available on the IRE On the Road blog. If you have ideas about content, trainers or venues for additional bilingual workshops, please e-mail…
Read MoreMap campers get rolling
Journalists who attended IRE and NICAR’s Mapping Boot Camp in January have wasted little time in putting their new skills to work. In early February, after a 3.0-magnitude earthquake rattled northern New Jersey, Bob Rebach of The Record in Bergen County, N.J., used GIS to map the locations of the region’s earthquakes since 1990. Rebach,…
Read MoreIt’s back: FAA enforcement actions
After several years of negotiations, the NICAR Database Library has updated its copy of the FAA Enforcement Information System. This useful database documents cases where airlines, airports and pilots are accused of breaking FAA Regulations — examples include drug-test failures and alcohol abuse on the job. Only two months into 2009, there have already been…
Read MoreIRE customized training sparks swift changes
Leaders of the Santa Fe New Mexican are moving quickly to build on three days of custom IRE training for their newsroom. Among their follow-up plans: an intranet for their newsroom and additional spreadsheet training for the staff. Read the full report in the new ‘IRE On the Road’ blog by training directors Jaimi Dowdell…
Read MoreMembership help for troubled times
In these difficult times, IRE is making a special offer to our members: If your membership renewal has come due and you are out of work, we will provide you with a complimentary one-year renewal so that you can continue to use IRE’s resources and services. This offer is retroactive for all of those who…
Read MoreThe CAR conference is quickly approaching. Register TODAY!
Gain the skills you need to become an essential part of any newsroom at the 2009 Computer-Assisted Reporting Conference in Indianapolis on March 19-22. Register today as early bird registration ends on March 6. From the beginner to advanced CAR specialist, you’ll sharpen your skills in data analysis, Web programming and reporting on dozens of…
Read MoreInvestigative reporting offers hope amid economic tides
By Phil Williams, IRE Board Member If you read the industry news about the challenges facing journalism today, it’s easy to get discouraged. Positions on investigative teams — in some cases, whole teams — are being cut. Entire news organizations are closing their doors. The list of talented journalists looking for work grows every week.…
Read MoreIRE Board supports early Obama FOIA policy
President Barack Obama has wasted no time in taking a strong stand in favor of openness and transparency in the federal government. “All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA and to usher in a new era of open government,” President…
Read More2008 Philip Meyer Journalism Award winners announced
Three major investigative reports that used social science research methods as key parts of their probes were named today as winners of the 2008 Philip Meyer Journalism Award. Scripps Howard News Service took top honors for “Saving Babies: Exposing Sudden Infant Death.” Reporters Thomas Hargrove, Lee Bowman and Lisa Hoffman found administrative inconsistencies in the…
Read More