We'd like to thank everyone who helped make IRE's membership drive a success and announce the winners in the drawing. More than 440 people joined IRE, renewed expired memberships or signed on for another year during October. We also received several thousand dollars in donations, made by those of you who chose to offer additional support when you joined or renewed. Much of this success was due to the many members who volunteered to recruit and who held informational sessions in their newsrooms or on their campuses.  IRE is only as strong as its membership, and we are ... Read more ...

Today is the anniversary of the murder of El Diario de Juarez’ top crime reporter Armando "Choco" Rodriguez. At noon, his fellow journalists in Ciudad Juarez, who have attempted to continue his work in documenting the relentless violence in the largest US-Mexico border city, are gathering to remember him on the Plaza of the Journalist. They seek to remember him and to remind people that no one has been arrested for the slaying. Rodriguez was killed while sitting in a car outside his home as he prepared to take his 8-year-old daughter to school. In 2008, Rodriguez' work in documenting ... Read more ...

Great investigative work is often done in the days, or even hours, following a breaking news event. The IRE Awards have often honored such work, and now we are pleased to introduce a new category dedicated to such efforts. The Breaking News Investigations category spotlights outstanding investigative work done following a news event or development, across all media platforms. "We think this will help recognize the investigative work involved in covering breaking news," said Cheryl Phillips, chair of the IRE contest committee. "Very often, investigative reporting skills are key to producing important journalism on deadline and in the hours and ... Read more ...

IRE has compiled some resources that may assist in covering the fatal shootings that occured today at Ft. Hood in Texas.  If you have other resources that could be of help to your fellow reporters, please feel free to contact us, and we can add it to the list.  (Email the IRE Resource Center, rescntr@ire.org.) Tipsheets 2360: Janet Lundblad's tipsheet lists resources that are helpful in tracking down people in the military - from books to websites. She also provides a few tips doing this sort of investigation, such as using social security numbers from personnel records to ... Read more ...