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Analysis 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…
Read MoreFinancial Update
This has been a tough financial year for IRE, as it has been for our industry. We wanted to take this opportunity to update membership on some financial issues, and update some budgetary information we published last year. We are operating at a deficit, for the second year in a row. IRE has financial reserves…
Read MoreCivilian contractors must fight for care from insurers
“Civilian workers who suffered devastating injuries while supporting the U.S. war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan have come home to a grinding battle for basic medical care, artificial limbs, psychological counseling and other services,” according to a joint investigation by ABC News, the Los Angeles Times and ProPublica. The report says serious claims are routinely…
Read MoreStreetlight outages plague Detroit
The Detroit Free Press looked into the on-going problem of streetlight outages in the city. “The Free Press spent three nights in March driving more than 200 miles of city streets examining the state of some of Detroit’s 88,000 lights, at least 9,000 of which are out.” Response to reports of outages are met with…
Read MoreAdditional arrests pending in Bailey murder
Additional arrests are pending in the murder of Chauncey Bailey according to reports from the San Francisco Chronicle and The Chauncey Bailey Project. As part of a plea agreement, Devaughndre Broussard is expected to testify before a grand jury next week that he was ordered to kill Bailey by former Your Black Muslim Bakery leader…
Read MoreBootcamper: how to use flood aid data
In this free-read article from Uplink, Gregg Hennigan of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids explains how he used FEMA data and Microsoft Excel spreadsheet tricks to examine the flood aid flowing into eastern Iowa last year. Hennigan, a local government reporter, completed the story after attending and IRE and NICAR computer-assisted reporting boot camp. –…
Read MorePlease help IRE obtain a Challenge Fund for Journalism Grant
UPDATE: With the support of dedicated IRE members and others who believe in the importance of investigative journalism, we passed our $75,000 goal. Sincere thanks! IRE gives journalists the skills and tools that enable them to fulfill their watchdog role, and your contribution will assist in continuing these efforts. IRE is a dynamic force in…
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