The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Welcome to IRE
Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting. IRE was formed to create a forum in which journalists throughout the world could help each other by sharing story ideas, newsgathering techniques and news sources.
IRE provides members access to thousands of reporting tipsheets and other materials through its Resource Center and hosts conferences and specialized training across the country. Programs of IRE include the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR), a collaboration between IRE and the Missouri School of Journalism.
IRE News
2025 IRE Awards now open!
It's that time of year again! The 2025 IRE Awards are now open! We're excited to announce a few new categories this year as well as a brand new contest platform.
IRE heads to New York City
Join us for a special Watchdog Workshop in New York City at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, January 23-24, 2026.
You'll hear from award-winning speakers and some of the top investigative and data reporters in the country. Sessions will cover breaking news investigations, getting grants for your next big story and beat reporting how-to panels for business, health care and environmental journalism.
A current IRE membership is required. Seating is limited -- don't miss your chance to snag a seat before it's too late!
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…
There’s more pressure than ever to rise above the competition.
IRE can help you enhance your daily reporting with resources and member benefits you won’t find anywhere else.