On the Road
Behind the Story: Firefighters disabling the city’s budget
Photo credit:Elie Gardner/Post-Dispatch Social media can be an individual’s nightmare and a reporter’s goldmine. In “Disability pensions allow some firefighters to collect while working elsewhere,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s reporters used an array of investigative tools to publicize a mismanaged disability pension system that is eating away the city’s funds. But even when firefighters are capable…
Read MoreBehind the Story: Investigating questionable police work when documents are redacted
One of the redacted documents California Watch received. In California Watch’s series Broken Shield, Ryan Gabrielson uncovered abuse and unknown injury cases at developmental centers that weren’t reported to the local police or district attorneys’ offices. Despite a number of condemning reports and a decreasing patient population, the number of abuse and unknown injury cases…
Read MoreIn Mexico City, IRE brings together top transnational journalists
by Lise Olsen Twenty leading journalists gathered in Mexico City on Feb. 18 to exchange information and discuss ways that Investigative Reporters & Editors can continue helping reporters who, under pressure and often at great personal risk, continue to do investigative reporting on transnational (U.S. – Mexico) topics such as cartel violence, wasteful government spending, political…
Read MoreSelden Ring Award winner to speak at Spokane workshop
Photo credit: USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism Congratulations to Michael J. Berens and Ken Armstrong of The Seattle Times, for receiving the 2012 Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting, for their series “Methadone and the Politics of Pain.” Berens will be speaking at IRE’s Watchdog Workshop this weekend in Spokane, Wash. Berens and…
Read MoreIRE trains journalists in Bangladesh
Surviving rickshaw “bumper cars” and helping local journalists gain data analysis tools were all in a week’s work for IRE Executive Director Mark Horvit and Training Director Jaimi Dowdell, who recently returned from Dhaka, Bangladesh. “What was nice about the training was how quickly a lot of the journalists seemed to see the value of…
Read MoreBehind the Story: Doctors caught cheating on the way to the top
Memorizing test questions and passing them on to future test takers is considered cheating by most people. However, for many radiologists, attempting to become board certified, it is simply a technique used to study. CNN’s “Exclusive: Doctors cheated on exams” takes a close look: “From my understanding, I would say nationwide from my friends…
Read MoreBehind the Story: 10 years in, safety concerns still plague nuclear waste site
In “Problems plague cleanup at Hanford nuclear waste site,” USA Today’s Peter Eisler takes on 56 million gallons of radioactive waste and finds he isn’t the only one who has a few things to learn. After 10 years of developing the “first-of-its-kind” nuclear waste treatment plant, the Department of Energy and its contractors still don’t…
Read MoreShare, interact with data easier with a PANDA in your newsroom
Developers will demo a beta version of the newsroom appliance at the 2012 CAR Conference. Tucked away on reporters’ computers are dozens of details that could benefit news coverage, if only other journalists knew where to look. Newsrooms are swimming in data. Journalistic organizations big and small continue to collect data from local, state and federal governments, and…
Read MoreBehind the Story: Tracking problem police officers in Florida
It was an unbelievable record for anyone, let alone a public employee. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that one Opa-Locka, Fla., officer had been: “Fired five times and arrested three, he was charged with stealing a car, trying to board an airplane with a loaded gun and driving with a suspended license.…(He) split a man’s lip…
Read MoreUsing documents to cover religious organizations
Covering religious organizations can be difficult, because it can be tough to get public documents. Kansas City Star reporter Judy Thomas, spoke at an IRE training session for McClatchy journalists and offers the following tips: Get to know your subjects inside out. Subscribe to newsletters, magazines and other publications of the organizations you cover. Get…
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