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Mississippi Ethics Commission rules in favor of records request for text messages
The city of Tupelo, Miss. violated open-records laws by not providing the Daily Journal with text messages it requested last year. The paper had requested the texts from the mayor’s personal cell phone over the course of three days last October, when a city official resigned, the Journal wrote. The Mississippi Ethics Commission all agreed…
Read MoreA star player accused, and a flawed rape investigation
Yet another university community has been accused of denying justice to a female sexual assault victim in order to protect a star male athlete. The New York Times today chronicled the shortcomings of an investigation by Tallahassee police into a reported sexual assault in which Florida State University quarterback Jameis Winston was the alleged assailant. Police failed…
Read MoreA weekend of Watchdog Workshops
IRE traveled to Los Angeles, Tucson and Laramie last weekend for a trio of Watchdog Workshops. Attendees shared their tips and ideas on Twitter. Our Los Angeles workshop at USC featured IRE trainer Jaimi Dowdell, independent journalist Ronald Campbell, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter/assistant editor Ellen Gabler, NBC Bay Area reporter Jenna Susko, and Los Angeles Times legal counsel Jeff Glasser. —…
Read MoreInvestigating the mental health system? We’ve got tips from a pro.
Tasked with reporting on mental health? Take a few minutes to listen to tips from Meg Kissinger of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Kissinger attended a recent Watchdog Workshop to talk about her series of award-winning stories investigating caregivers. “We found people living in squalor,” Kissinger said. “It really upset people.” So how did she find…
Read MoreTurboTax Maker Linked to Campaign Against Free Tax Filing
ProPublica recently reported that lobbyists for Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, reached out to community leaders and officials persuading them that pre-filled tax returns would essentially hurt low-income Americans. What community leaders and officials failed to realize was that the pre-filled tax returns, already endorsed by President Obama and President Reagan, would use information that…
Read MoreIowa state senator’s National Guard service not the only reason she missed votes
United States Senate candidate and state senator Joni Ernst has cited her National Guard duty to rebuff criticism for missing more than half of the votes in the Iowa Senate this year. In a WHO-TV interview posted on April 7, the Red Oak Republican acknowledged that National Guard service wasn’t the only reason she’s missed…
Read MoreIRE members recognized in 2014 Pulitzer Prizes
Several members of Investigative Reporters and Editors were among journalists recognized in the 2014 Pulitzer Prizes on Monday. The Washington Post and The Guardian US won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for their work exposing secret surveillance by the National Security Agency. Several IRE members contributed to the reporting. Chris Hamby of The Center…
Read MoreMECA ticket perk has a bonus: free use of private suite
MECA board members used more than 270 free tickets to concerts and sporting events over the past 15 months, sometimes taking four or more guests to the organization’s private suite. Officials with the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority say the access is crucial for board members, who need to know the ins and outs of…
Read MoreInmate suicides bring attention to South Carolina’s treatment of mentally ill prisoners
A class-action lawsuit could soon change the way an estimated 3,500 inmates with severe mental illnesses are treated in South Carolina’s prison system. The case exposed numerous stories of mentally ill inmates being gassed, locked in solitary confinement for years at a time, denied effective treatment and caged naked, alone and cold in makeshift crisis…
Read MoreSan Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge rusting in vital areas
Some of the most vulnerable and integral cable sections and rods on the new $6.5 billion Bay Bridge are rusting. A Sacramento Bee investigation found corroded cable strands and anchor rods inside supposedly sealed chambers that protect attachments for the main suspension span cable to the bridge deck girders. Experts said if corrosion worsens, it…
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