The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. Add to that more than 3,000 tipsheets from our national conferences on how to cover specific beats or do specific stories and you have a resource that no reporter or editor should be without. These stories and tipsheets 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. Logged-in members can view the tipsheets free online:
Search results for "credit" ...
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Now is TIFIA's Time
Expanding popular federal credit assistance program will encourage infrastructure investment and enhance the effectiveness of available transportation funding.
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Who Is John Doe -- And How To Get The Paper On Him
Useful links for investigating individuals in areas such as living history, credit history, licensing, past or current incarceration, current occupation, etc. http://www.reporter.org/desktop/tips/johndoe.htm
Tags: person; search; credit; history; incarceration; occupation
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Uncovering Financial Traps
Tiernen addresses the financial traps that are arising the the second wave of the financial crisis. He includes information on such traps as: foreclosure services; debt settlement; subprime credit cards; payday loans; uninsured overseas savings accounts; reverse mortgages and much more.
Tags: foreclosure services; debt settlement; subprime credit cards; payday loans; uninsured overseas savings accounts; reverse mortgages; consumer credit; consumer affairs; consumer fraud
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Credit and Debt Investiagations
This tipsheet details important information when covering credit and debt investigations. Included topics: bankruptcy; medical debt; microfinance.
Tags: credit; debt; business; microfinance; bankruptcy; medical debt; medical bankruptcy;
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Consumer Investiagtions for Tough Times
This incredibly extensive tipsheet is a must-have guide to consumer investigations during the economic downturn. From quick-hits to long-form investigations, they've included it here. The tipsheet goes on to detail other information on doing your investigation - from parsing out tips to details on testing. The last several pages are a list of resources (websites and phone lists) for covering the consumer beat.
Tags: consumer investigation; better business bureau; debt consolidation; subprime mortgage scams; contractors; lottery; foreclosure; unemployment; credit counseling; consumer affairs
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Ways to Trace Every Business
Campbell walks through the steps to investigate a business, outlining the paper trail that all businesses must create - from a business license to Uniform Commercial Code filings to liquor licenses. Litigation filings also provide a wealth of information about businesses.
Tags: backgrounding business; licenses; trademark; articles of incorporation; UCC; Uniform Commercial Code filing; credit reports; mortgages; liens; professional license; litigation; courts; EDGAR; Securities and Exchange Commission; SEC; Federal Trade Commission; FTC; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority; FINRA
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What's next in housing? CAR for real estate
Grotto explores the potential for CAR stories in the midst of the current housing crisis. Suggests looking at the redevelopment of public and low income housing. He talks about the new strategy of mixed-income developments in Chicago. Grotto details where to go for housing data. Grotto lists key documents when doing housing stories: master ground lease; restrictive covenants; leasehold mortgages; quick claim deeds; regulatory and operating agreements.
Tags: public housing; low-income housting tax credit; LIHTC; HOME block grants; recorder of deeds;
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Covering Private Companies
Roush offers very comprehensive, detailed advice about covering private companies. He discusses some places to find informaton, including the Secretary of State, the courts, and UCC codes. Roush also discusses covering non-profits and financial institutions. Finally, he includes a long list of web resources that are helpful for the business beat.
Tags: beat reporting; business; corporations; public records; banks; credit unions; small business administration; consumers
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Dissecting Profits and Non-Profits
This tipsheet offers sources to use when investigating both publicly traded companies and non-profits. Most of the sources are online, and include the Security and Exchange Commission, Dun and Bradstreet credit reports and Guidestar.
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Finding and Cultivating Sources and Using Documents
This tipsheet begins with some basic guidelines for finding and using documents, such as view documents over time to see how they compare to previous records. Then, McGraw lists two whole pages of his favorite documents, such as flight logs, raw documents, building permits, state franchise tax reports and even gasoline credit card receipts.
Tags: searching; backgrounding; research; documents; records; interviews