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Supreme Court says Virginia can limit FOIA to state residents
The U.S. Supreme Court decided unanimously today that the state of Virginia had the power to restrict public records access to residents of that state. Virginia limits freedom of information requests to its own residents and certain media outlets. The case reached the court after Rhode Island resident Mark J. McBurney and California resident Roger…
Read MoreQuestionable investigations, little oversight in state hospital deaths
A Statesman analysis of deaths at state mental health hospitals reveals the deaths are rarely investigated outside the hospital, doctors are regularly cleared of improper care and deaths in state prisons get more scrutiny than those in state hospitals. Read the full investigation here.
Read MoreBattle Lines: Gangs of Toledo
“Police track known gang members in an electronic database and, although police won’t make public exact numbers, Lt. Ed Bombrys, who oversees the gang unit, said there are an estimated 2,000 gang members in Toledo. There are, he said, anywhere from 25 to 40 ‘big, major gangs.’ In 2012, gang-related homicides were down from 2011, said…
Read MoreFeds spend at least $890,000 on fees for empty accounts
“It is one of the oddest spending habits in Washington: This year, the government will spend at least $890,000 on service fees for bank accounts that are empty. At last count, Uncle Sam has 13,712 such accounts with a balance of zero. They are supposed to be closed. But nobody has done the paperwork yet. So even…
Read MoreDisabled students face dangerous discipline in Minnesota
“It happens thousands of times a year in Minnesota’s classrooms: Disabled students get punished for disruptive outbursts with severe forms of discipline — from forceful physical restraint to extended solitary confinement — that are either banned or more restricted in other states. State reports examined by the Star Tribune show that such discipline occurred nearly 22,000…
Read MoreAward-winning journalists and live performances as IRE Conference returns to Texas
We hope you’ve already made plans to join us at San Antonio’s Riverwalk on June 20-23 at #IRE13 where for the first time in seven years, Investigative Reporters and Editors will bring its amazing annual conference back to Texas. https://www.ire.org/conferences/ire-2013. The line-up already includes prominent Pulitzer-prize winners, like the bilingual bicultural team that brought you…
Read MoreState Department reverses position, makes comments on Keystone XL available to public
Reversing a position announced in March, the U.S. Department of State has stated it will make public the more than 800,000 comments submitted to date regarding the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. In March, John H. Cushman reported for InsideClimate News that the State Department would not make public the public comments it received during the drafting…
Read MoreSunlight Foundation ‘Churnalism’ tool tests journalism against press releases, Wikipedia
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.…
Read MoreCampus Coverage student wins Betty Gage Holland Award
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…
Read MoreBehind the Story: Orange County Register reporter stays patient and follows the money trail
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…
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