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 "support groups" ...
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Buying the Election
“Never Mind the Super PACs: How Big Business Is Buying the Election” investigates previously unreported ways that businesses have taken advantage of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, which overturned a century of campaign finance law and allowed corporations to spend directly on behalf of candidates. The piece debunks a common misperception that businesses have taken advantage of their new political spending powers primarily through so-called Super PACs. In fact, most Super PAC donations have come from extremely wealthy individuals, not corporations. The investigation shows how corporations have instead used a variety of 501(c) nonprofits, primarily 501(c)(6) “trade associations,” to direct substantial corporate money on federal elections. As one prominent advisor to GOP candidates as well as corporations points out, "many corporations will not risk running ads on their own," for fear of the reputational damage, but the trade groups make these ad buys nearly anonymous. In 2010, 501(c)(6) trade associations and 501(c)(4) issue-advocacy groups outspent Super PACs $141 million to $65 million. The investigation shows that the growth of trade association political spending has had a number of significant ramifications, such as increased leverage during beltway lobbying campaigns. Most troublingly, legal loopholes allow foreign interests to use trade associations to directly influence American elections. One of the most significant revelations in the piece was that the American Petroleum Institute, a trade association for the oil and gas industry, had funneled corporate cash to groups that had run hard-hitting campaign ads while being led in part by a lobbyist for the Saudi Arabian government, Tofiq Al-Gabsani. As an API board member, Al-Gabsani was part of the team that directed these efforts, which helped defeat candidates who supported legislation that would move American energy policy away from its focus on fossil fuels. Federal law prevents Al-Gabsani, as a foreign national, from leading a political action committee, or PAC. But nothing in the law stopped him from leading a trade group that made campaign expenditures just as a PAC would.
Tags: Elections; campaign finance; corporations; Super PACs
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Ready Money: The Baltimore City Foundation
The investigation of a private nonprofit group, which was formed to benefit city programs for the underprivileged, revealed a number of shocking facts. Some of them being, that a number of city officials used the group to pay for a few items for the mayor’s inauguration and to avoid competitive bidding for the design of the visitors center. Also, some of the donations went to support political initiatives, not those needing help. The foundation was unaware of the happenings because they were asking few questions from the city government.
Tags: city officials; needy; Finance Department; city clerk; Lenwood M. Ivey; funds; support; philanthropy; agency; tax-exempt; Mayor Sheila Dixon
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Stem Cell, Contraception Groups paid Huck
Financial disclosure statements from Mike Huckabee show he accepted thousands of dollars from public health groups advocating causes considered anathema to the conservative activists whose support he used to gain momentum for the 2008 Presidential candidacy.
Tags: Speaking fees; Novo Nordisk; Public Health Institute; Grant Makers in Health; GOP; morning-after pill;
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Weekend Warriors
An investigation on the ManKind Project, a national organization for men which has branches in Texas. Michael Scinto attended one of the weekend campouts and committed suicide a week later. It turns out that men were being stripped naked and blindfolded for walks, naked men would stand around hammering cooked chickens, and other unsettling acts.
Tags: support group; 12-step recoveryp; reprogram; MKP;
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One Small Lot, One Big Mess
Long Island development group Utopia Studios, Ltd. "proposed a major development for the southeastern Connecticut region," with their takeover of "one of the most vital pieces of property in the region" approved by Preston, Connecticut voters. Utopia promised "a $1.6 billion project with theme parks and movie studios and 22,000 new jobs" and thus gained a lot of political support. But the Day "discovered that the principle Utopia developer, Joseph Gentile, had been sued in conjunction with a condominium project in New York City." Reporter Paul Choiniere investigated further, and found that Gentile's dealings on that property were questionable.
Tags: developers; Utopia Studios, Ltd.; Joseph Gentile; condominiums; construction code violations; construction
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City Hall Hiring Scandal
The reporters revealed widespread political patronage in the administration of Mayor Richard J.Daley. Over six months they reported how city jobs and favors are routinely handed out to those who work for organizations that support Daley. The newspaper found that over 1200 people who belong to such groups also hold city jobs.
Tags: FOIA; patronage; cronyism; Hispanic Democratic Organization; 11th Ward Democratic Organization; Richard J. Daley; Democratic machine
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Pregnancy Warning
This investigation looked into problems associated with Cytotec, a stomach ulcer drug that is sometimes used during labor and delivery. But, the drug is not approved for use on pregnant women, and its use sometimes leads to birth defects.
Tags: drug companies; pharmaceuticals; internet; support groups; pregnancy; doctors; hospitals; FOIA
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Networks of Influence
This investigation revealed the communication industry has spent $1.1 billion since 1998 to obtain political influence--more than twice a much as the oil and gas industry spent. Money spent on supporting candidates, lobbying, junkets and the practice of government officials leaving their jobs to work for the industries they used to regulate were all scrutinized. While broadcasters usually spent and equal amount of money supporting republicans and democrats, Sinclair Broadcasting Group spent more than 95% on republicans only. Detailed graphs included make the story easy to understand.
Tags: On-line; FCC; Federal Communications Commission; telecommunications; broadcast; political influence; lobby; television; radio; junket; Telecommunications Act of 1996; General Electric; Sinclair; Time Warner
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Terrorist tentacles know no boundaries
The U.S. government believes that the Columbia, Missouri based Islamic African Relief Agency helped finance bin Laden and other terrorists. Federal agents seized the charity's office in October 2004. The Kansas City Star diagrammed the summary the U.S. Treasury created to support its allegations against the IARA. Some points include: at least eight connections between IARA and Osama bin Laden, his organizations or the Taliban; two connections to Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist organization whose suicide bombings ravaged life in Israel; connections to three other groups that long have been designated as terrorist organizations by federal authorities. The piece also contains a map of IARA funding worldwide in an attempt to track the money.
Tags: Islamic African Relief Agency; Osama bin Laden; Hamas; Taliban; Social Network Analysis; CAR
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With friends like these...A proliferation of powerful outside groups that raise money for city agencies are secretly privatizing public policy.
According to the article, "On April 29, 1997, a group of well-heeled developers, land-use lawyers, architects, and lobbyists gathered at the New Asia Restaurant in Chinatown. They had coughed up as much as $2,500 a table, which is about the going rate for a major political fundraiser. But this time the influential crowd had not come to support a candidate for mayor or to rub elbows with a powerful politician. The object of everyone's attention was a group of low-profile bureaucrats: the staff of the city Planning Department."
Tags: city agencies; money; fundraising; fundraisers; Planning department; Planning and Zoning; politics; lobbyists; finances