For the past several months, we at inewsource have been reporting on San Diego's North County Transit District, a public transportation agency that is going through a bit of turmoil -- to put it politely.

The district has been aggressive in its response to our stories. It’s sent out dozens of tweets calling us "just plain wrong," published "fact" sheets and sent us retraction demands. We take these seriously, and as we all know, they take substantial time and money (read: lawyers) to address.

The taxing experience got me thinking.

When we were set to publish a new story ...

The Investigative News Network (INN) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) have teamed up to offer dedicated data-analysis services to INN's membership of more than 80 nonprofit investigative news organizations.

Denise Malan, formerly investigative/data editor at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, will join INN/IRE next week in the new director of data services position at the IRE Data Library. She will be formally introduced to INN and IRE members at IRE’s annual conference in San Antonio on June 20.

Malan will focus primarily on obtaining and analyzing data sets that can be used by INN members; the ...

A chemical plant explosion in Geismar, La. has injured more than 30 people and killed at least one, according to Louisiana State Police. It's the first major explosion since the fertilizer plant in West, Texas, killed 15 people. When a major plant explosion happens, how do you figure out what went wrong? Journalists have been asking that question and getting answers in Texas, some of which might be helpful for reporters starting to gather the facts in Louisiana. IRE compiled some of those stories, some IRE resources and some helpful databases for investigating after an industrial explosion.

Learning from ...

A joint investigation by The Center for Investigative Reporting, the Tampa Bay Times and CNN identified America's 50 worst charities -- organizations that plead for financial support and lie to donors about where their money goes, taking multiple salaries and secretly paying themselves or their friends through consulting fees and fundraising contracts.

Reporters Kris Hundley and Kendall Taggart spent more than a year reviewing documents and building a one-of-a-kind database of the country's worst charitable organizations.

Find out more about what they found and how they found it as they join IRE in a live Google Hangout tomorrow. Tune ...

Does your investigation contain complex legal questions? Unsure of how to proceed? During the Media Lawyers brown bag, between noon and 1 p.m. on Friday, June 21, bring your lunch and your questions for a personal discussion with some prominent media law experts that will be presenting throughout the 2013 IRE Conference. We'll provide drinks and dessert. This session features the following attorneys:

• Steve Chung is an attorney for NBCUniversal where serves as the lead lawyer for the NBC Owned Television Stations group and the TODAY Show and supervises the legal production work for syndicated talk shows. Steve ...

Since its launch four years ago, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism has distinguished itself as a vital public-interest voice, producing original, hard-hitting reporting that has been published in more than 230 news outlets reaching more than 25 million people.

 It is an extraordinary accomplishment for a small, non-profit newsroom created to revitalize in-depth reporting in the state, enrich public debate and better inform citizens at a time when investigative reporting faces ever increasing economic challenges.

 A surprise move this week by the Wisconsin legislature to remove the Center from its offices at the University of Wisconsin and ban any ...

Later this month, Alex Stuckey will receive an IRE award for her story “Drug Under the Rug,” an investigation into the Athens County Ohio law enforcement agencies' failure to report property that was seized and forfeited after drug busts.  Her four month investigation of the missing reports occurred while she was a student reporter for The Post at Ohio University.  Her investigation eventually revealed that 69 percent of 670 agencies in Ohio had broken the law by failing to report police property seizures.  Stuckey is being honored, according to judges’ comments, for showing “remarkable determination by a single student journalist ...

The deadline is today at 7 p.m. CT to get the early registration rate for the 2013 IRE Conference. Join us from June 20-23 in San Antonio, and you'll find panels full of this year's Pulitzer and IRE award winners, new tools for investigative journalism, tips for investigating on your beat and much more. Early registration ends on June 5. You can also register on site, but the rate goes up.

Dozens of this year's major award winners will speak at the conference, including several Pulitzer Prize winners, duPont winners and IRE Medal winners:

• Reporters from ...

The conference offers an opportunity for in-depth, one-on-one coaching on investigative reporting. These private sessions allow attendees to seek advice on challenging stories or follow-up ideas. 

You must have registered for the conference and have signed up for a mentor by June 5.

IRE pairs those who signed up with a mentor, and contact information is provided to both mentors and those who want to be mentored. Mentors and mentees can then agree on a time and place to meet at the conference.

These sessions are not for job seekers; they are designed for teaching and sharing information. Mentees should ...

• Surveillance - Learning from the pros
  What can private investigators teach investigative reporters about legal, ethical and effective surveillance techniques? What are the similarities and differences in surveillance by a private investigator and an investigative reporter? Bring ...