IRE News
Introducing ninth beat book: Investigating Religion
IRE is proud to offer the ninth title in the beat book series, Investigating Religion: An Investigative Reporter’s Guide by Debra L. Mason and Amy B. White. Investigating Religion includes chapters on what public records you can request, finding sources and knowing which are credible and best practices on the religion beat. To order a copy, click here.…
Read MoreApply now for agribusiness reporting workshop
Navajo boys plow a corn field on the Navajo Reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico, date unknown. Photo from the National Archives and Records Administration. IRE and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting are seeking applicants for an all-expenses paid workshop on how to cover agribusiness in the Midwest. The workshop, held from May 30 to June…
Read MorePost-CAR Conference sale in NICAR data library
Fresh out of CAR 2013 and itching for data to work with? The NICAR database libarary is offering discounts on popular federal databases to help you get started. The data library updates databases on a variety of topics. You can explore our data by searching for a specific database, or looking for data by topic…
Read MoreCovering the repurchase market and shadow banking
Veteran journalist Mary Fricker has put together a guide for the Reynolds Business Journalism Center on how to cover the repurchase market and shadow banking, which she says is “inherently unstable. It triggered the financial crisis in 2007 and 2008. It’s a key reason that our recovery is weak. Yet in 2008, when the financial…
Read MoreIRE welcomes new Google Journalism Fellow
IRE is gaining a new summer fellow as part of the first ever Google Journalism Fellowship. Nicole Pasulka of New York University will spend 8 weeks with IRE, as well as a week with Google and a week with the Knight Foundation. Pasulka is currently getting an M.A. in journalism at NYU in the Literary Reportage program.…
Read MoreLast week to apply for free Total Newsroom Training
Time is running out for your chance to get free investigative training for your newsroom. The deadline to apply for Total Newsroom Training from IRE is by the end of the day on Friday, Feb. 22. TNT is meant to reach organizations that are hungry for customized investigative training but can’t afford it. Training is…
Read MoreSeven IRE members honored with Polk awards
Seven IRE members were among winners of the 64th annual George Polk Awards in Journalism, announced today by Long Island University. The annual George Polk Awards in Journalism were established in 1949 by Long Island University to commemorate George Polk, a CBS Correspondent murdered in 1948 while reporting on the civil war in Greece. The…
Read MoreThis Valentine’s Day, background your date using public records
Don’t let love get in the way of investigating. The old saying in journalism goes something like “if your mother says she loves you, check it out,” and if that’s true for your mother then it’s certainly true for your Valentine’s Day date. So let’s begin our walk through of how to make use of…
Read MoreBehind the Story: How the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel learned about an ATF sting gone wrong
Credit: Lou Saldivar, Journal Sentinel Graphics Editor John Diedrich and Raquel Rutledge of the Journal Sentinel had an opportunity to gain rare insight into an undercover government operation in 2012. Their watchdog reporting on the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ sting operation in Milwaukee revealed the operation may have done more harm…
Read MoreBehind the Story: Tackling the unusual, problematic ‘contract for deed’ housing deal
Minneapolis Star Tribune photoRon Folger of Minneapolis lost his rental license last year city and began selling properties to low-income families on a plan known as a contract-for-deed transaction. In January, Jeffrey Meitrodt, Investigations Editor at the Star Tribune, reported on problematic contract-for-deed sales of homes in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. The sales are frequently used…
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