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 "computer-assisted reporting" ...
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"The Transportation Lobby"
The team at The Center for Public Integrity launch a database of transportation lobbyists and integrated that with an interactive map. Search by public/private sector, lobbying firm, or project.
Tags: transportation; bill; lobby; lobbyiests
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Murder Mysteries
Schripps Howard News Service has conducted the most complete accounting ever made of homicide victims in the United States. Aggressive use of state and local Freedom of Information laws allowed the wire service to assemble a database of 525,742 homicides, including records of 15,322 killings never reported to the FBI. The "Murder Mysteries" project calculated the homicide clearance rate for every police department in the U.S., prompting four departments to promise reforms. Scripps also developed an algorithm that identified 161 suspicious clusters of unsolved homicides involving women of similar age killed through similar means. Authorities in Gary, Ind., and Youngstown, Ohio, Launched new investigations into possible serial murder in their communities as a result of this project.
Tags: Murder; mystery; FBI; homicide; killings; serial killer; police department; investigation; FOI; algorithm; computer-assisted reporting;
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Florida's Insurance Nightmare
Six years after eight hurricanes ripped across Florida, state residents still struggle to recover from the storms' legacy - a wrecked property insurance market. Exorbitant premiums, the highest in the world, have soured the state's struggling economy, killed real estate sales and forced families from their homes. Homeowners were told that unless they paid even more, no insurance company would take their hurricane risk. The Herald-Tribune showed that is a lie. Floridians have been lied to about why there is a crisis, where their money is going, and whether they're even protected against storm losses. Public policy has been corrupted by fiction spun by the insurance industry and its supposed regulators. Billions of dollars desperately needed for the next disaster have been siphoned offshore. And millions of homeowners are left to entrust their financial security on a system rigged to extort profit. To expose the hidden truth of Florida's insurance crisis, St. John cultivated key sources deep within every aspect of the insurance industry and sought massive amounts of financial and policy data from multiple state and national entities. When it became obvious Florida's crisis was manipulated from afar, she traveled to Bermuda and Monte Carlo to discover the hidden players truly in charge.
Tags: home insurance; property insurance; Florida; hurricane; real estate; insurance premiums; homeowners; Bermuda; Monte Carlo; state regulators; anti-trust law; State Farm
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DUI Pilots: Warning Signs Ignored
KIRO-TV found that only a small fraction of the pilots caught for abusing alcohol or drugs were actually being monitored by federal regulators. The reporter discovered with computed assisted reporting how easy it is for these pilots to manipulate the system and avoid detection.
Tags: airplanes; DUI; drunk-driving; regulation; pilots
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Washington Mardi Gras, Pay to Party
Local public officials and employees attend D.C. Mardi Gras festivities each year at taxpayer expense. Is it all work or play? Reporters found local government spent more than $80,000 for the festivities in 2009.
Tags: Mardi Gras; taxpayer; government; city; finance; money; D.C.; Mystick Krewe; civil servants
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Could Sandy Hill Have Been Saved?
This series looked at why fire-and-rescue workers were unable to save a woman trapped inside her home even though she was on the phone with a dispatcher giving directions to her upstairs bedroom. The reporting found that volunteers who responded that night did not use thermal imaging equipment that could have helped them find the victim, Sandy Hill; that they did not place a ladder at either of the windows in her bedroom; that they were slow to ventilate the house and remove the smoke that killed her; and that they did not question people who had escaped the house about her location. Additional reporting exposed systemic weaknesses in Spotsylvania's fire-and-rescue services, which rely on self-governing volunteer departments and a smaller number of career personnel hired and directed by the county. These weaknesses include a poorly structured chain of command, lack of communication, insufficient training for man volunteers, and a failure to enforce existing regulations due in large part to friction between the career and volunteer units.
Tags: Firefighters; Fire Department; asphyxiation; volunteer; equipment; protocol; Spotsylvania; fire-and-rescue; training; regulation
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A Question of Values
The series revealed rampant problems within the powerful county boards in Ohio that make sure property values set by the country are fair. Findings from the series include board members routinely skipping workdays, decisions being made without public hearings, and tax breaks given to friends of board members.
Tags: city government; county boards; corruption; property taxes; ethics
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Treasury Luxury Travel
The Oregonian's investigation spotlighted an obscure corner of state government where Wall Street practices became business as usual, where a set of high-paid employees were granted special exemptions to operate outside the scope of state gift and ethics laws, and functioned with little internal or public oversight. The newspaper revealed that state investment officers charged with monitoring more than $50 billion in state pension investments routinely travel in luxury, paid for by taxpayers and the Wall Street investment managers they are supposed to be overseeing. They stay at high-end resorts and five-star hotels, eat at celebrated restaurants and fly first class. The tab is often picked up by investment firms managing Oregon's investments, who are competing for hundreds of millions of dollars in fees that the pension fund pays annually. The state treasury didn't monitor that travel. It kept no record of the expenses or gratuities provided its employees. And it ignored the potential conflicts of interest.
Tags: State Government; Corruption; Finance; Wall Street; Exemption; Business; Gift and Ethics Law; Travel; State Treasury; State Employees
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"Hey, Green Spender"
Aldhous and McKenna analyzed data from two available databases to determine whether or not "environmentally conscious" purchasing and investment choices can create a "green economy." The reporters found that consumers are generally confused about a company's "green credentials" and the consequent environmental cost. The results from the investigation encourage companies to fully disclose "their environmental impacts."
Tags: Earthsense; Trucost; environmental impact; eco-friendly; Whole Foods; Viacom; TreeHugger