IRE News
How to break through the secrecy surrounding the death penalty
Journalists from four states recently joined IRE to discuss coverage of the death penalty and execution secrecy. Ziva Branstetter, Chris McDaniel, Brian Haas and Della Hasselle shared reporting tips, story ideas and more during the 45-minute Google+ Hangout. Here are four tips from the chat: When you look into lethal injection practices, don’t stop at…
Read MoreWatch live: Google Hangout on execution secrecy
Today starting at 12 p.m. CDT we’ll be talking about how to investigate the death penalty and shed light on secrecy surrounding lethal injection practices. To watch the broadcast and submit questions, click here. You can also tweet us questions at @IRE_NICAR using the hashtag #IREHangout. We’ll be joined by four journalists who have been covering executions: Ziva…
Read MoreJoin us Wednesday for a Google Hangout on execution secrecy
Tune in Wednesday at 12 p.m. CDT to discuss coverage of the death penalty and the secrecy surrounding lethal injection procedures. We’ll be joined by four journalists who have been investigating executions: Ziva Branstetter, enterprise editor at the Tulsa World and one of the witnesses to the botched Oklahoma execution of Clayton Lockett. You can follow…
Read MoreSeven members elected to IRE Board of Directors
IRE members elected seven new directors to the IRE board on Saturday evening at the organization’s annual conference in San Francisco. The newly elected members are: Sarah Cohen, The New York Times; Andrew Donohue, The Center for Investigative Reporting; Ellen Gabler, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Jill Riepenhoff, The Columbus Dispatch; Nicole Vap, KUSA-TV in Denver;…
Read MoreU.S. Navy, Missouri and Oklahoma governors win Golden Padlock Award
Investigative Reporters and Editors has named the U.S. Navy and the governors of Oklahoma and Missouri as winners of its second-annual Golden Padlock Award recognizing the most secretive U.S. agency or individual. The U.S. Navy FOIA office was named a winner for blocking access to records about a deadly shooting rampage in Washington, D.C. that…
Read MoreKnight grant supports DocumentCloud improvements, sustainability
DocumentCloud, a free, open source tool used by hundreds of newsrooms to analyze and publish documents, will improve its offerings and develop a plan toward sustainability with $1.4 million in new support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The two-year support will focus on strengthening the future of DocumentCloud and introducing enhancements…
Read MoreFinalists announced for 2014 Golden Padlock award
Investigative Reporters and Editors is proud to announce the finalists for its 2014 Golden Padlock Award celebrating the most secretive government agency or individual in the United States. “The spirit of secrecy is alive and well across the United States at all levels of government,” said IRE president David Cay Johnston. “Efforts to hold power…
Read MoreOnline voting begins this afternoon in Board of Directors election
Starting today IRE members can vote online for the IRE Board of Directors. Ballots will be sent to the primary e-mail as listed in your membership profile. We expect voting to open around 4 p.m. (Central). So far 13 people have declared candidacy; seven of the board’s 13 seats are up for election this year. To…
Read MoreBehind the Story: How KSHB-Kansas City uncovered a trail of dirty deeds
Video by Ryan Kath and John Woods, KSHB KSHB-Kansas City’s year-long investigation into a widespread real estate fraud scheme started simple – with a tip from an observant neighbor. But when reporter Ryan Kath started looking into the housing documents, he spotted a bigger problem. Someone had been stealing homes by forging signature of both the living…
Read MoreLearn to write code, build a web scraper at our September workshop
IRE and the University of Missouri Journalism School are offering a special workshop Sept. 4-7 that will introduce the basics of newsroom programming by teaching how to build one of the simplest but most useful tools in a data journalist’s toolbox: a web scraper designed to automate the downloading of data. The workshop will also…
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