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How to survive your first CAR story
By Jennifer Johnson, The Grand Forks Herald Spreadsheet programs like Excel have always intimidated me. Sure, I dabbled in them a few times. I pulled up pre-formatted sheets and leafed through them. I used basic formulas and figured out percentages. And I also attended a two-day IRE training with fellow reporters at the Grand Forks…
Read MoreIRE Radio Podcast | Beyond Breaking News
When a story breaks, speed is key. But so are depth, context and accuracy. So how do you cover the news while simultaneously digging deeper? This week we’re talking about investigating breaking news. Our speakers will cover everything from identifying sources on the scene to developing a plan for watchdog coverage. Here’s the lineup: Scott…
Read MoreSubmit session, speaker ideas for NICAR15 in Atlanta
We’re gearing up for our annual data journalism conference March 5-8 in Atlanta and want your input to make this the best NICAR yet. We’re accepting session and speaker ideas through September 12. Please submit your ideas using the link below. If you’d rather send them via email, please use confideas@ire.org. Thanks to all of you who’ve submitted ideas and…
Read MoreMark your calendar for the IRE Chicago Meetup next month
The IRE Chicago Meetup crew is partnering with the Chicago Headline Club for its next happy hour. The Chicago Headline Club holds Burger Nights every month, and the next one is Sept. 12 at The Billy Goat (430 N. Michigan Ave). So, bring a colleague to introduce to the Investigative Reporters and Editors community and…
Read MoreDo police have to release the name of the officer involved in the Ferguson, Mo. shooting?
We’ve been getting a lot of questions about the Ferguson, Missouri police department’s decision not to release the name of the officer involved in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Mike Brown. To get some legal answers, we turned to professor Sandy Davidson, who teaches communications law at the Missouri School of Journalism. Here’s what you…
Read MoreCuomo administration policy allows state to delete emails of government employees
According to WNYC, “New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration — which the governor pledged would be the most transparent in state history — has quietly adopted policies that allow it to purge the emails of tens of thousands of state employees, cutting off a key avenue for understanding and investigating state government.” “Last year,…
Read MoreAUDIO: The FERPA exception every reporter should know
Sexual assault cases are never easy to cover, and when a university is involved, the challenges become even greater. Victims are sometimes reluctant to talk. Administrators often refuse to do interviews, citing FERPA. But that doesn’t mean these cases are impossible to cover. At the IRE Conference in San Francisco this summer Walt Bogdanich of…
Read MoreIRE Radio Podcast | Building chemistry in your newsroom
A good reporter-editor relationship can make or break your investigative project. This week is all about building chemistry in the newsroom. Here’s the lineup: Alexandra Zayas and Chris Davis of the Tampa Bay Times talk about working together on the 2012 series “In God’s Name.” Alison Young and John Hillkirk of USA TODAY walk through…
Read MoreBehind the Story: High-stakes testing in Norwegian schools subject to corruption
By Shazia Sarwar A series of investigative reports by Verdens Gang (VG) in 2013 exposed that principals at all primary and secondary schools in Oslo, Norway’s capital, were given personal incentives and salary benefits in secret working contracts and on the basis of student results on national tests. The investigation found a significant correlation between…
Read MoreA Canadian journalist reflects on the IRE Conference
By Stanley Tromp, IRE member and independent journalist If anyone thinks that investigative reporting is a sunset profession, this idea was obliterated for me after I attended the Investigative Reporters and Editors’ superlative conference in San Francisco in late June. There, some of the toughest and sharpest investigative reporters in the United States shared their…
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