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 "entertainment" ...
-
Forced to Fight
The original story documents how a remote facility for foster children with developmental disabilities forced to fight each other for the staff's entertainment, then rewarded the winners with snacks. The subsequent stories exposed a history of abuse and neglect at the facility.
Tags: neglect; foster care; developmental disabilities; Dystar Residential
-
The Killing Fields
An investigation on murders of women with records of prostitution reviewed hundreds of homicide records and unclassified deaths, showing that more than eighty percent of the murders remain unsolved.
Tags: sex trade; strangling; hooker; trick; DNA; cold case; slaying; brothel; adult entertainment; red light district;
-
God's Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission to Save America
"Since 2000, America's most ambitious young evangelicals have been making their way to Patrick Henry College, a small Christian school just outside the nation's capital. God's Harvard grooms these students to be the elite of tomorrow, dispatching them to the front lines of politics, entertainment and science to wage the battle to take back a godless nation." The book's aim was "to capture this nerve center of the evangelical movement at a moment of maximum influence and also of crisis, as it struggles to avoid the temptations of modern life and still remake the world in its own image."
Tags: God's Harvard; evangelical movement; Roe V. Wade; gay rights; lawyers; politics; immoral; godless nation
-
Downtown After Dark
"The series looked at the downtown bar scene and its effects on many different areas of the city. A lot of time and energy is used among many different groups of people to make sure revelers stay safe and drink responsibly."
Tags: nightlife; bar scene; downtown; entertainment; econmics; dining revenue; policemen; intoxication
-
To Catch a Predator: A Sting Gone Bad
"This story examined what can go wrong when the news media and police get a little too close. It detailed what went on behind the scenes of a sexual predator sting operation when the Murphy, Texas police department made a deal to team up with Dateline NBC and the Internet vigilante group Perverted Justice. The deal allowed Dateline NBC to record all aspects of the sting while allowing members of Perverted Justice, hired by Dateline NBC, to actually set up and run the operation. Prosecutors had strongly recommended against such an agreement... Despite the warning, the sting took place and resulted in the suicide of a prominent man and criminal charges being dropped against 23 alleged sexual predators due to flawed evidence."
Tags: sexual predator; law; entertainment; Dateline; police; Perverted Justice
-
BMF: Hip-Hop's Shadowy Empire
The Atlanta-based Black Mafia Family "were hip-hop royalty without a hit." Investigators asserted that the BMF was actually one of the "more elaborate drug-trafficking enterprises in the country." The entertainment industry and the criminal underworld came together in the BMF, which the police finally cracked when a high-placed member broke the code of silence. In summer 2005, the organization's crimes began to escalate until it was tied to more violent acts, and the investigators "made their move." This story links the BMF to six unsolved murders, as well as to music figures like Sean "P. Diddy" Combs", Bobby Brown and Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin.
Tags: Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory; Black Mafia Family; cocaine; murder; crime organization; hip-hop music
-
Rebels on the Backlot: Six Maverick Directors and How They Conquered the Hollywood Studio System
This book grew out of Waxman's Hollywood coverage for the Washington Post. It examines a new, young generation of Hollywood directors in the 1990s. The book explores how the new artists adapt to the money-driven culture of Hollywood, and how the change affects their personal stake in the movie industry.
Tags: movies; entertainment; Hollywood; film; directors; actors
-
Health care influence at the Rhode Island General Assembly
This series of stories raised a number of ethical concerns involving state legislators. The stories detailed how the president of the senate made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling Blue Cross Insurance to CVS pharmacy employees, while as a legislator he used his position to kill pharmacy choice legislation. Other stories showed how another senator worked as a "consultant" for health care concerns and how the national drugstore industry entertained state legislators from around the country at luxury resorts. Following the newspaper's reports, the senate president and the head of Blue Cross resigned, while the state police and the FBI began an investigation.
Tags: politics; health care industry; pharmaceutical industry; drugstores; ethics; corporate influence; lobbying; special interests
-
Money Players
This story deals with NFL players paying a hefty price for allowing people to manage their money. U.S. News examined more than 20 investment deals involving current and former NFL players and found many victims. In exclusive interviews with the magazine, the players described how they were allegedly defrauded. An example includes Buffalo Bills cornerback Antoine Winfield, who was bilked of $1.35 million by a close friend and financial adviser. Other examples illuminate the sometimes tawdry world of player recruitment.
Tags: investment adviser; Tampa Bay Buccaneers; NFL players; Securities and Exchange Commission; investment deals; defraud; Buffalo Bills; Donald Lukens; player recruitment; FBI; money laundering; National Football League Players Association; Cincinnati Bengals; Los Angeles Rams; Carolina Panthers; St. Louis Rams; Baltimore Ravens; San Diego Chargers; Global Sports and Entertainment; Denver Broncos; National Association of Securities Dealers
-
Well Connected
This is a series of stories on media ownership in hometowns of each of the five FCC commissioners. The articles cover information including profiles of the 44 largest telecommunication companies in America, profit information, stock holdings of directors and salaries of top officials. The stories uncover the amounts being spent on FCC officials on travel and entertainment. It also shows how the FCC relies on data provided by the private industry while making decisions that are supposed to be in the public interest.
Tags: Federal Communications Commission; Media Ownership; Telecommunications