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Lawyers have continuing legal education. Doctors have continuing medical education. What do journalists have? IRE! While the underlying ethic of investigative journalism does not change, technology and the media are changing faster than ever. So stick with us. We will help each other. IRE is holding a membership drive throughout April, and everyone who either…
The Sunlight Foundation released a new “journalistic accountability” tool today, wryly named “Churnalism“. It tells you if an author was “churning” out somebody else’s material by checking journalistic text against a database of press releases. To the dismay of plagiarists and lazy reporters alike, it even checks against Wikipedia. The site provides a few examples.…
Investigative Reporters & Editors salutes Linsdey Hobbs of Otterbein University in Ohio, recipient of the eighth annual Betty Gage Holland Award recognizing excellence in college journalism. Hobbs and the student newspaper at Otterbein, The Tan & Cardinal, were honored for their continued coverage of increased secrecy surrounding campus crime in 2012. After Otterbein’s campus security…
Melody Petersen of The Orange County Register has two pieces of advice to offer reporters: stay patient and follow the money trail. Petersen investigated school bonds in Orange County after realizing schools were opting for expensive agreements that would push costs onto taxpayers decades after the initial bond was distributed. She found that school districts…
In 2012 IRE added a new fellowship in remembrance of longtime IRE member and supporter David Dietz. The fellowship honors his memory and legacy by helping a journalist who has demonstrated an interest in financial investigative journalism and who has fewer than 10 years professional experience. This fellowship covers IRE conference registration fees, provides $750 in…
In the wake of the budget reforms proposed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in 2011, known as Wisconsin Act 10, Eric Litke of the Gannett Wisconsin Media Investigative Team felt the public debate over salary was all rhetoric with little factual backing. In February, Litke tried to change the public dialog by publishing the salary data…
Now that it’s just warm enough to get in a boat, the NICAR database library has updated the Coast Guard’s U.S. Recreational Boat Accident Database. WHAT’S IN IT?The updated data has accident reports from 1995 through 2011. Accidents involving vessel damage of more than $2,000 or disappearance of a person under circumstances that indicate death…