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Seven IRE members honored with Polk awards

February 18, 2013 | Comments Off on Seven 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…

This Valentine’s Day, background your date using public records

February 14, 2013 | Comments Off on This 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…

Behind the Story: How the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel learned about an ATF sting gone wrong

February 13, 2013 | Comments Off on Behind 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…

Behind the Story: Tackling the unusual, problematic ‘contract for deed’ housing deal

February 7, 2013 | Comments Off on Behind 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…

Eight newsrooms awarded grants for data projects

February 1, 2013 | Comments Off on Eight newsrooms awarded grants for data projects

IRE is pleased to announce that eight newsrooms will be awarded grants thanks to the $50,000 donation from Google Ideas. The grants will support data-driven investigations by providing journalists with access to data, new tools and necessary training.  The fund’s two broad priorities were to support specific investigative projects and to better equip news organizations…

Behind the Story: Questionable border patrol shootings

January 30, 2013 | Comments Off on Behind the Story: Questionable border patrol shootings

In December, Tim Steller, a reporter and now columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, reported on the increasing number of shootings occurring between Border Patrol and illegal immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border.  The victims in some cases appear to have been unarmed.  This fact and the lack of transparency in the investigations has cast doubt…

Money trail for Sandy begins as Congress approves $51 billion in disaster aid

January 29, 2013 | Comments Off on Money trail for Sandy begins as Congress approves $51 billion in disaster aid

On Monday Congress approved $51 billion in disaster aid for victims of Hurricane Sandy, three months after the storm that killed more than 130 people and caused billions in damage to the Atlantic coast. Follow the money with IRE’s coverage page, Hurricane Sandy: Covering the Aftermath The spending was heavily debated and at a time sparked bipartisan…

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