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 "investigator bias" ...
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DOE wants Yucca
The Las Vegas Sun investigates a Department of Energy study that says Nevada's Yucca Mountains are a suitable site for a one-of-a-kind dumping ground for nuclear power plant waste. The Sun discovered that the DOE has a strong bias toward building the repository in Nevada, "regardless of scientific findings."
Tags: Department of Energy; Yucca Mountains; DOE; nuclear power; repository; dump
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Closed Ranks? The Color of Commandos
The San Diego Union-Tribune investigates the integration of the U.S. military's most elite forces, the Army Green Berets, Navy SEALs and Air Force Commandos. While most of the military is successfully integrated -- one in three soldiers is of a minority -- the members of elite forces are mainly white. About one in eight elite soldiers are minorities. Crawley discovered that this racial disparity is due to cultural and historical biases and a perception of racism among the members of these elite units.
Tags: military; Army; Navy; Marines; Air Force; racism; integration; inequality; race; Green Berets; Navy SEALs; Air Force Commandos; stealth; secrecy; politics; war; bombs; combat
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Uncovered Losses: Life Insurers' Race Bias In Decades Past Affects Policyholders Even Now; MetLife, for One, Remedied Some but Not All Effects Of Inequality to Blacks; A Curious List of Risky Jobs
The Wall Street Journal reveals that MetLife Insurance Company's past discriminatory policies have not been entirely remedied. Before 1959, MetLife gave preferential treatment to whites; whites received better policies than blacks. (Salesmen, in fact, were not allowed the offer black customers the best policies MetLife had to offer.) MetLife claims to have discontinued its discrimination, however, many of the companies' older, black clients still have inferior policies. For example, when the company converted into a publicly held institution in 2000, it had to give out stock to its policyholders. Many of the companies older, black customers received less stock than white customers who had purchased similar coverage for the same amount at the same time. The Wall Street Journal reveals that MetLife is being investigated by agencies from all 50 states, focusing on the current effects of its past practices.
Tags: MetLife; racisim; discrimination; insurance; bias; black; African-American; life-insurance; policy; investigation
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Iowa blacks imprisoned at high rate, State to Examine justice for blacks
A Des Moines Register investigation revealed that "at least 1 in 12 black Iowans is in prison, on parole or probation -- a ratio that surpasses most others across the United States... The ratio for whites is 1 in 110."
Tags: racial bias differences sentencing criminal justice system
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Death Row Justice Derailed: The Failure of the Death Penalty in Illinois
A Chicago Tribune investigation of all 285 death penalty cases in Illinois since capital punishment was reinstated revealed "a system so riddled with faulty evidence, unscrupulous trial tactics and legal incompetence that justice has been forsaken." Among the investigation's findings: "at least 33 times, a defendant sentenced to die was represented by an attorney who had been disbarred or suspended" and "at least 35 times, a defendant sentenced to die was black and the jury that determined guilt or sentencing was all white."
Tags: courts; death row; Illinois; misconduct capital punishment racism criminal justice system DNA evidence bias unprofessional incompetence jailhouse informants police torture forced confessions appeals
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Well-Off Blacks Denied Mortgages
The Detroit News investigates the lending practices of area banks. The results show that a racial bias exists among many financial institutions causing blacks to receive far fewer loans than whites. The investigation also reveals that although well-off blacks are often denied mortgages, poor whites are refused loans nearly twice as often as poor blacks.
Tags: discrimination; minorities
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No title (id: 14003)
Education Week investigates basic-skills tests for school teachers and administrators. African Americans and other minorities who have a tough time passing them claim the test is biased. (May 8, 1996)
Tags: Hill Taking on the test 6 Discrimination Racism CBEST 6 pgs.
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No title (id: 13846)
With the first of the baby boomers now entering their fifties, Money decided to take a tough look at the problems older employees face in the workplace. A three-month investigation demonstrated that age bias remains pervasive three decades after Congress enacted the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to protect workers 40 and older. Even more surprising Money reports, is that the problem may be getting worse. (July, 1996)
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No title (id: 13795)
The State investigates South Carolina's church fires and discovers: most church arsons were thrill crimes committed by young males with slight racial bias; at least two South Carolina churches were burned as part of a conspiracy within the Ku Klux Klan; and thrill crimes and Klan activities have long been tolerated by a mainstream population that confuses its love for Confederate history with a tolerance for an extreme minority of racist extremists. (Jan. to Dec., 1996)
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No title (id: 12589)
The Virginian-Pilot investigation finds that the Norfolk area locks up half the kids incarcerated in Virginia's jails for teens, but has only a third of the population. The story indentified the causes as tough local judges, a greater mix of car theft and assault among the youths and a bias in the system against poor and black kids, both of which are concentrated in Southeastern Virginia. (Dec. 31, 1995)
Tags: Arney Olsen CAR Kid criminals Contest entry Crime Criminal justice 6 pgs.