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Tip leads to police corruption probe
Tony Kennedy and Paul McEnroe of the Star Tribune in Minneapolis wrote a four-part narrative investigation, “The Informant,” to chronicle a public corruption probe of Minneapolis police. Federal agents and the Minneapolis Police Department launched the investigation in late 2006 after an informant’s tip alleging that police officers were providing gang leaders with confidential police…
Read MoreCAR training: Stealing story ideas is fine
Editor’s note: Brandon Stahl of the Duluth News-Tribune attended an IRE Regional Boot Camp at the University of Minnesota Oct. 6-10, 2008. He recently published his first CAR-driven story, which was about home assessments. Read below to find out how he got the story. (IRE and the City University of New York will be hosting…
Read MoreTracking pharmaceuticals in waterways inadequate
Jeff Donn, Martha Mendoza and Justin Pritchard of The Associated Press report that, “U.S. manufacturers, including major drugmakers, have legally released at least 271 million pounds of pharmaceuticals into waterways that often provide drinking water — contamination the federal government has consistently overlooked.” The scant tracking by the federal government of pharmaceuticals released into waterways…
Read MoreFDA wants states to monitor their own inspectors
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants states to assess their own inspection programs, even after Georgia’s failed to prevent a salmonella outbreak traced to a Blakely peanut plant, exposing broad gaps in the nation’s food safety system,” according to an article by Alan Judd of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Food safety experts question the efficacy…
Read MoreJunk-mail contests exploit consumers
Abigail Goldman of the Las Vegas Sun explored the prevalence of direct-mail contests and sweepstakes that make big claims but use small type to disclose the odds of winning. According to the article, “These halfhearted disclosures make the contests perfectly legal and perfectly manipulative, at least according to consumer advocates, who argue that the schemes…
Read MoreReporting uncovers Taser abuse by Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The investigation is about the use of Tasers by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the national police force with a storied history that does most of the front-line policing in the Western provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. In the latest installment, we analyzed the 2008 data that we compiled from information from the force’s…
Read MoreAnalysis finds out-of-state travel expenses after Penn. governor ban
We found Pennsylvania state employees spent more than $1.3 million on out-of-state travel last year after the governor banned such travel. How did you get started? (tip, editor assignment, etc.)This was simply a case of the reporter doing a public records check to see whether the travel ban was being followed. Based on past stories…
Read MoreInvestigation questions police killing
The Washington Post‘s Cheryl Thompson investigated one of the most controversial police shootings Washington, D.C., has had in decades. A chain of police missteps and oversights invite questions about the killing of 14-year-old DeOnté Rawlings. Thompson ultimately found a more ambiguous picture than the police, who cleared the two off-duty officers of any wrongdoing.
Read MoreLenders push for inflated appraisals
A Center for Public Integrity investigation found that for years lenders have pressured appraisers to inflate home values to obtain higher mortgages. The article by Joe Eaton states, “In addition, the Center has obtained copies of lenders’ ‘blacklists’ containing the names of thousands of appraisers; some appraisers say lenders used those lists to exclude those…
Read MoreUpcoming Watchdog Workshops
Next weekend IRE is holding a watchdog workshop in Detroit, Mich., in conjunction with the National Association of Black Journalists and the Detroit NABJ Chapter. Training is Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26 at Wayne State University. On-site registrations will be accepted the day of the event. View the schedule. IRE is also hosting…
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