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 "transcripts" ...
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Bad to the Bone
When four executives of a medical-device company called Synthes went to jail for illegally marketing a bone cement—five patients had died after it was injected into their spines—Mina Kimes knew there had to be a compelling saga behind a case that had generated little coverage beyond local news articles. So she began digging, first with FOIA requests for never-before-published government documents, and then assembling hundreds of pages of court transcripts and internal company e-mails and reports. She used that foundation to begin the harder challenge: persuading Synthes employees, many of them terrified by the criminal case and the company’s intimidating chairman, to talk to her. With six months of grueling, old-fashioned reporting, Kimes succeeded, and “Bad to the Bone” is the masterful result. Not only did she persuade more than 20 current and former company employees to speak, but she also revealed a story whose disturbing breadth far exceeded the case presented in court. Her tour de force reporting raises profound new questions about the culpability of a key figure who wasn’t charged: Hansjörg Wyss, the reclusive and controlling Swiss founder and chairman—one of the richest people in the world—who made crucial decisions about how to sell the bone cement. This is a classic tale of corporate malfeasance: Warned by the government not to sell its bone cement for use in the spine, Synthes ignored the admonition despite clear evidence of lethal danger—a pig had died within seconds when the cement was tested on it—and encouraged surgeons to use the cement on people, five of whom died soon afterward. But “Bad to the Bone” isn’t just an exposé. It opens a window into a broader issue: how the medical system actually runs. Readers see how salespeople with no medical training advise surgeons—inside the OR during operations—on how to use their devices. They experience the tale of one surgeon who continues using the cement even after two of his patients died. Oh, and what sort of justice does Synthes itself receive? Wyss sells it, for $20 billion, to health care giant Johnson & Johnson, which praises Synthes’s “culture” and “values.” Corporate crime. Death on the operating room table. Secret e-mails. Surgeons on the edge. An imperious multibillionaire CEO. It’s a mesmerizing article, and Kimes’s reporting takes readers on a deeply unsettling journey that ensures they’ll never look at the medical system the same way again.
Tags: Medical devices; bone cement; Synthes
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In Jennifer's Room
In August 2006, caregivers at the Sonoma Developmental Center found dark blue bruises shaped like handprints covering the breasts of a patient. Jennifer accused a staff member of molestation and her injuries appeared to be evidence of sexual abuse. Big projects often have smaller narratives within them that can be developed into standalone features that draw readers into the larger story. Clearly Jennifer’s story was one of those. Presenting this story in video format was particularly challenging because Jennifer and her mother did not want to be identified. We chose a graphic narrative approach, with a voice actor reading the transcript of the mother’s interview. The artist consulted photographs and diagrams of the Sonoma Developmental Center to ensure that the drawings were accurate.
Tags: Sexual abuse; crime; molestation
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A Damaged District
For more than a year, Zahira Torres overcame obstacle after obstacle to document one of the worst school cheating scandals in the nation's history. Where other cheating scandals involved altering accountability tests, the El Paso Independent School District gamed the state and federal accountability systems by targeting Mexican immigrant students. In a number of cases, district officials refused to enroll students or pushed out students already enrolled -- denying countless students their constitutional right to an education. In other cases, they arbitrarily reclassified grade levels or altered transcripts, all in an attempt to keep students out of the testing pool. Torres' reporting sparked numerous results. The superintendent who masterminded the scheme went to federal prison. The state education agency removed the school board. And when Torres' reporting documented that the state was aware of details of the cheating in 2010 and cleared the district anyway, the new education commissioner ordered an independent investigation of how the agency missed the cheating.
Tags: schools; scandals; education; school board
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"Arpaio Investigation"
An investigation by KPHO-TV found that Sheriff Joe Arpaio often used his popularity as a means to "retaliate" when claims were made against him. The retaliation was often in the form of "SWAT raids" or "full-blown criminal investigations." Some of his victims included the mayor of Phoenix, Supreme Court judges and local police chiefs. KPHO found the FBI was also investigating the sheriff for "abuse of power."
Tags: Joe Arpaio; Mesa Police Chief; Mesa City Hall; Sheriff Arpaio; Department of Justice; Maricopa County
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CIA Secret Prison in Lithuania
A CIA secret prison was uncovered in Lithuania in a stable that was once used for a riding academy. ABC news aired video of the prison and revealed the cooperation of the Lithuanian Secret Service and "US front companies."
Tags: Lithuanian; government; Secret Service; torture; detainee detention
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Biggest Nonprofit Fraud of our Time
Sandy Frost uncovers a network of prostitution, human trafficking and child sex tourism in the secret Masonic subgroup, the Royal Order of Jesters (ROJ). Frost found that Jester groups paid for prostitution rooms and the society was linked to Richard Schair, a former fishing tour operator who brought North American into the Amazon for sex with minor, Indigenous girls.
Tags: Richard Schair; Royal Order of Jesters; Jesters; Mason; Sandy Frost; prostitution; child abuse; human trafficking; sex;
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Guilty Until Proven Innocent
"A new Florida law allows people who are innocent of crimes to receive $50,000 for each year they wrongfully spent in prison."
Tags: conviction; James Joseph Richardson; court ruling; Arcadia; case; overturn;
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Who's Watching Your Kids
Several lifeguards hired by the City of Memphis to work its pools were convicted criminals. The city hadn't conducted pre-employment background checks on "temporary employees" prior to 2007.
Tags: criminal past; felony; firearm; endangerment; job application; swimming pool; recreation;
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Military Gangs
This story reveals the growing problem of military gangs in the U.S. Armed Forces. It focuses on a soldier who died after being beaten to death by fellow gang members in Germany.
Tags: Gangster Disciples; Marine Corps; Criminal Investigative Unit;
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Lost Ambulances
"Many people think GPS will lead people in the right direction, including 911 operators. One operator made a critical mistake not taking down directions and assuming the county's 911 mapping system would lead the ambulance in the right direction. What she didn't know is more than 40 RV and trailer parks did not show up in that mapping system."
Tags: Lee County EMS; response time; maps; EMT;