The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Paintings" ...
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For-Profit-College Business Model Breeds Exploitative Marketing Tactics
In the first radio piece: Interviews with former recruiters, faculty, administrators and students of a small group of for-profit colleges in Minnesota paint a picture of schools that are exploiting unsophisticated students for their financial-aid money. Analysis points to a high-enrollment, high-dropout business model that earns the company millions but provides questionable return on taxpayer investment. In the second radio piece: Political differences at the federal level make it unclear how much the government will regulate for-profit colleges. At the Minnesota state level, the leading official for higher-ed says his agency doesn’t have the resources to go after problem colleges – and isn’t sure whether beefing up enforcement would be the best use of higher-education funding.
Tags: Non-profit colleges; financial aid; business models; for-profit colleges
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Platts: The Ugly Side of the U.S. Oil and Gas Boom
There is a nasty and ugly side to the oil and natural gas boom that the U.S. has enjoyed in recent years — a side that involves allegations of fraud, breach of contract and taking advantage of poor or unsophisticated landowners, among other things. This story is significant because these incidents are seldom reported, as the landowners, energy companies and other stakeholders have little to gain and a lot to lose by talking to journalists. But I managed to pull back the curtain on these little-known conflicts by piecing together court files and by interviewing key players, including a woman who could have been sued for “commercial defamation” for talking to me. Through these hard-to-get interviews and court documents, my story paints a colorful and sometimes disturbing portrait of the growing number of conflicts between landowners and the oil and natural gas companies that drill on their lands.
Tags: Oil; gas; natural resources; fraud; drill
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MOMA's Problematic Provenances
In January 2010, the heirs of the German artist George Grosz lost a lawsuit against the Musuem of Modern Art. Their claim for three paintings was rejected on the grounds that the statue of limitations had run out before the suit was filed. But many observers experienced in the field of Holocaust-era art restitution believed that if the judge had considered the facts instead of ruling on a technicality, the verdict would have been different.
Tags: Art; George Grosz
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Warhol Inc., The Brillo-Box Scandal
Even though he died more than two decades ago, Andy Warhol’s images are still in high demand. The prices for his paintings rank among some of the highest and his fame shows no signs of diminishing. Furthermore, the amount of products with his imagery continues to expand and his brand is becoming one of the most powerful in the world. The second part of this story, describes the Brillo box scandal. This scandal deals with Warhol’s Brillo boxes design being reproduced and sold as originals.
Tags: Andy Warhol; Brillo boxes; Brand; artist; Collectors; Work; Art; Paintings
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Unraveling the Mystery of the "Dead City"
A painting by Egon Schiele titled "Dead City" belonged to Fritz Grunbaum and his wife before they died in the Holocaust. A quarter of a century later the struggle for recovering art raided by the Nazis still lasts as heirs try to reclaim the work.
Tags: Austria; WWII; Leopold Museum; Eberhard Kornfeld; Otto Kallir; Vienna; seizure;
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Selling You
An investigation of the door-to-door magazine subscription business. The article paints a picture of an industry where major publishers profit from the exploitation of young adults who are often trying to escape troubled homes or are fugitives themselves. They travel across the country, often lying to customers in order to sell magazine subscriptions. It's a lifestyle filled with drugs and crime, proving dangerous and sometimes fatal for both the sales agents and the people who answer the door.
Tags: magazine subscriptions; scam; exploitation; door-to-door sales; fraud; publishing
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City Adrift: New Orleans Before and After Katrina
This book takes readers on "a journey from the time the storm hit on Aug. 29, 2005 through its aftermath, as well as the progress of the city's efforts to rebuild and what the future might hold. Through interviews with homeowners and health officials, first responders and politicians, as well as firsthand experience, this unique collection of voices paints a detailed portrait of what happened, what went wrong and why, and on a broader scale, examines how local and federal officials prepare for and react to such catastrophic events whether a killer hurricane, terrorist attack or potential pandemic flu."
Tags: hurricane Katrina; federal officials; local officials; homeowners; catastrophic events; storms; progress of New Orleans; aftermath
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Toxic Trinkets
After national coverage of toy recalls in the United States, KVOA wanted to localize the story. Using an X-ray gun to examine toys, they found some with lead content over 600 parts per million. They then took all the toys back and did lab testing. "By using lab testing, the entire toy's paint is scraped off and dissolved in acid- then an overall reading is obtained." This resulted in some toys having different lead levels. They found that for some toys, certain parts had over the 600 ppm, but overall the toy was under the amount.
Tags: consumer reports; consumer safety; toy recall; lead content; health; children; lab testing; testing; Consumer Product Safety Commission; Gabrielle Giffords
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Dirty Little Secrets
The Toronto Star filed "freedom of information request to municipal and provincial government offices requesting data on inspections, serious occurrences, infection control, food safety, licensing...and enforcement actions by the ministry...and every public complaint against a daycare" over the past three years. "Together, the records painted a portrait of licensed childcare never before seen."
Tags: childcare; Canada; legal cases; daycare; licensing; FOIA
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Lead's dangerous legacy
In March 2006 the Ohio Supreme Court ordered the Cincinnati Department of Health make public its records on landlords who hadn't removed poisonous lead paint from their properties. The records showed that 300 homes and apartments were tainted. Since 2002, at least 570 kids had been poisoned and yet the health department had done "little to make landlords clean up the properties."
Tags: lead; lead paint; Department of Health; Ohio Supreme Court; homes; apartments; lead poisoning; landlord neglect