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 "tourists" ...
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One-Ticket Town
Orlando's economy is based on tourism. The theme parks, the shops, everything about Orlando is there for tourist purposes. The Sentinel takes a look at the pros and cons of such a tourism dependent economy.
Tags: tourism; Orlando; economy; theme parks; amusement parks
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The Super: L.A. Superintendent Roy Romer may be the most talented man ever to run a big-city school district. He's also bound to fail. There's a lesson in that.
Article talks about the challenges facing Roy Romer, former three-term democratic governor of Colorado, when he took over as superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). According to the story, "Romer had no constituency and no more knowledge of L.A. than a tourist. But he had the itch. 'I'm a challenge junkie,' he said. 'This is the hardest job in America.'
Tags: superintendent; Los Angeles; Los Angeles Unified School District; LAUSD; democratic governor; Colorado; Washington; Roy Romer; L.A.; schools; school district; classroom; administration; school reform
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Strip-Searched
An investigation by WAGA-TV revealed that "a north Georgia sheriff, in one of the state's most popular tourist areas, routinely strip-searched every person brought into his jail, violating the Fourth Amendment rights of thousands of local citizens and tourists. (WAGA-TV) found people strip-searched who hadn't even committed a crime or committed minor traffic violations ranging from no proof of insurance to an improper mudflap."
Tags: Georgia; sheriff; strip-searches; illegal searches; Fourth Amendment; crime; county sheriff; traffic violations; jail; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT.
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Mexico's Dirty Little Secret
KNXV-TV found that "thousands of Mexican children are being raped and molested every year at the hands of American tourists. Very little is being done to stop it." It was "discovered that men from the United States are one of the largest groups of tourists traveling with the express purpose of engaging in sex with minors."
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; Mexico; children; sexual abuse; pedophilia; sex tourism; rape; Puerto Vallarta; international crime; Casa Alianza
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Feed 5: Best of Show and Tell
1) Jennifer Kraus (WTVF-Nashville) This story exposes problems at the Nashville office of international charity "Feed the Children." In a four-month investigation, WTVF-TV's undercover cameras caught the charity's staff loading up their personal cars with donated items and taking the items home. 2) Deborah Sherman (WFXT - Boston) Costa Rican trips for child sex. Actually spoke with girls who used to get paid by American tourists for sex. Focuses on one area man charged with this crime. 3) Anna Werner, David Raziq (KHOU-Houston) KHOU-TV reports that "You're in physical pain. You need help. So you go to your doctor expecting needed relief and comfort. But what if in the process of treating you, you realize this healer's touch has become 'sexual?' That's what dozens of Houston women claimed happened to them when they were referred to a local health professional, a professional they claimed used their trust to molest and even rape them. His name is Shin Higashiura and he claimed to be a Master of Shiatsu, also known as acupressure, a Japanese massage therapy that promises health benefits...." 4) Jilda Unruh (WCCO-Minneapolis) An investigation reveals that automatic door sensors can't detect certain colors. The doors often close on elderly people, causing them harm. 5) Tom Merriman/Jeff Harris (WEWS-Cleveland) The story investigates how state-trained lifeguards perform on state beaches as compared to privately trained lifeguards on private beaches. Follows both teams though a simulation. The state team fails horribly and never recovers the dummy planted for them to rescue. 6) Jim Schaefer; Shellee Smith (WXYZ-Detroit) WXYZ-TV discovered that the leaders of Highland Park, a poor city surrounded by Detroit, had virtually ignored a major problem in the 911 emergency response system while continuing to enjoy the relatively expensive perks of their jobs. While claiming there was no money in the budget to fix the problem, the mayor leased a brand-new Lincoln with city cash. Undercover video found citizens at risk, fire fighters in danger and no one helping. 7) Drew Griffin (KCBS-Los Angeles) "The Real ConAir" Investigation reveals department of corrections transporting convicts on commercial flights. Passengers are not told who's sitting beside them. Planes are forced to land because of disturbances during the flight. A girl is sexually assaulted by one of these convicts. 8) Robb Leer; Maria Tomasch (KSTP-Minneapolis) Inmates can change their names on the taxpayer's dime. 9) Jeremy Rogalski; Bill Dutton; Gerry Lanosga; Kathleen Johnston (WTHR-Indianapolis) WTHR-TV reports that "a source mentioned to us that numerous DUI cases were being dismissed because police witnesses fail to appear in court... After we crunched a slice of our county's criminal justice data ... We found thousands of DUI cases - nearly one in ten - thrown out because cops didn't show..." 10) Wes Williams; C.J. Ward (KPNX-Phoenix) Security guards with criminal records have a "License to Steal." 11) Tony Kovaleski; Matt Goldberg (KPRC-Houston) Ninety-eight guns were discovered in schools in 10 of Houston's largest school districts -- that works out to 5,864 students per gun. 12) Phil Williams; Chris Clark (WTVF-Nashville) WTVF-TV's investigation into the backgrounds of school teachers found more than three dozen convicted felons working in Metro Nashville-Davidson County schools. 13) Chris Halsne; Kim Albro; Dave Weed (KWTV-Oklahoma City) Voters handed Oklahoma City Schools a 93 million dollar bond in 1993 to improve schools. The money is now gone, but many projects remain unfinished. KWTV-TV's investigation found millions of dollars in waste, fraud and mismanagement. 14) Laure Quinlivan; Jeff Keene; Ken Fulk; Mark Shafer; Scott Diener; Stuart Zanger (WCPO-Cincinnati) WCPO-TV's investigation "... to monitor County officials as they began spending nearly a billion dollars of taxpayer money... earmarked to build two, new sports stadiums for our city's professional sports teams, the Bengals and Red. As (the) investigation enters its third year, work on the first stadium is two-thirds complete and ground will soon break on the second. Already, our investigation has revealed broken promises, manipulation of numbers in official reports, political cronyism in contract awards, creation of 'pass-through' companies and other questionable and possibly illegal activities...." 15) Jim Barry; John Campbell; Sam Zeff; Jennifer Snell; Denise Haley; Brad Naw (WTXF-Philadelphia) After transit union strike crippled Philadelphia's bus and subway service for forty days, WTXF-TV investigated the region's transportation agency - Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. SEPTA is one of the largest and most expensive transit systems in the county. This investigation exposed a widespread culture of laziness and dishonest work habits that was allowing hundreds of buses with potentially dangerous problems out onto the street each day. 16)Darcy Spears; Kim Kruger (KVBC-Las Vegas) "Taken for a Ride". Taxi drivers getting kickbacks for taking clients to certain bars/stripclubs.
Tags: TAPE; Investigative reporting; computer-assisted reporting; IRE; FOI; CAR; no transcripts
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Staten Island Ferry, parts 1,2,3
A WPIX-TV investigation finds that the six-mile ferry trip across New York harbor, which is free of charge, may be a dangerous way to travel. "The seven-ferry system is the busiest in the world," the story reveals, but is no longer required to abide by the many basic safety standards. The main findings are that the ferryboats have quite insufficient life raft capacity for the thousands of passengers, life jackets have not been inspected for years, and "a major ferry accident is possible with disastrous results."
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; FOIA; ferry incidents reports; United States Coast Guard; computer-assisted reporting (CAR); commuters; tourists
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Lost In America
CBS News 60 Minutes explores "how the politics of immigration policy made it remarkably easy for members of terror cells to enter the United States on temporary visas as tourists or students and simply disappear into American society." The report reveals that nearly half of the seven million illegal immigrants in the United States entered the country on temporary visas and never left. Although in 1996 the Congress passed a bill that mandated that the INS set up a computerized entry-exit system to track aliens entering and leaving the country, its implementation failed as a result of "business concerns" voiced by border cities' chambers of commerce.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; terrorism; Sept. 11; INS; border patrols; World Trade Center; Pentagon; temporary visas; international students; aliens; Muslims
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Tourist Scams
With the help of a travel safety expert and some hidden cameras, ABC News 20/20 went on vacation in Italy to find out how people are typically pickpocketed or scammed out of money by people on the street. The story shows the most common methods of pickpocketing, and gives advice on how to avoid becoming a victim.
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Tuxedo Junction
Discover tells the story of Dee Boersma, a penguin specialist who is determined to help penguins in Patagonia. The story looks at the Magellanic Penguin Project, one of the world's largest studies of avian life. The report provides insight on penguins' living habits, and refutes some of the tourists' wrong perceptions about the aquatic birds. "Boersma's research and public opinion have convinced oil companies to alter their tankers' routes - and even to help fund her satellite-tracking research," Discover reports.
Tags: environment; wildlife; birds; Magellanics; Wildlife Conservation Society; migration; oil; Punta Tombo; South America; Patagonia
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Show of Hands: In Drive to Unionize, Casino Dealers Defy A Las Vegas Tradition. Their Old Bosses Took Care Of Them; Then, Sin City Became a Corporate Town. Less 'Juice' and Fewer 'Tokes'
Dealers in Vegas are making moves to unionize as their once-key position at casinos erodes under new corporate management. But in a town where housekeepers and waitresses are union members, casino executives are dead-set against a dealers' organization. They say they need the flexibility to rearrange dealers during gamblers' streaks. Dealers find that tips ('tokes') are taxed more, wages have not kept up with the cost of living, pensions are paltry, based on $5.15 hourly wages, young and attractive new dealers are given prime slots and better tables than senior dealers, fewer big stake games occur as Vegas turns into a mecca for tourists on buses, and changes in ownership have cost dealers their seniority.
Tags: casinos; AFL-CIO; Teamsters; union; labor; Mob; Organized Crime; perks; tips; the Strip; consolidation