Investigations that exposed local government corruption from New Orleans to Detroit, human-rights abuses by the federal government and international organized crime are among the work honored in the 2008 Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards. This year’s top prize, the IRE Medal, was given to WWL-New Orleans for its dogged rolling investigation of a city-run housing nonprofit that falsely claimed to have fixed homes in desperate need of repair after Hurricane Katrina and the contractors who pocketed the money without doing the work. Through compelling storytelling, the station tackled a serious issue that had received little attention and did so ... Read more ...

The success of a bilingual Better Watchdog Workshop in El Paso, Texas, may lead to additional workshops in Spanish later this year or in 2010. Highlights from the El Paso workshop are available on the IRE On the Road blog. If you have ideas about content, trainers or venues for additional bilingual workshops, please e-mail the IRE International Task Force (international@ire.org) or Executive Director Mark Horvit (mhorvit@ire.org).