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 "government contracts" ...
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Getting intimate with government data to produce hard-hitting stories
Torres gives advice on how to dig into government data to leverage stories covering areas such as government budgets, contracts, payroll, campaign contributions, and elections.
Tags: government data; data; federal government; public records
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Iraq: Exposing Truths About the War
This tipsheet goes into great detail about how to find story ideas from the FedBizOpps website, which lists many federal contracts. The author explains how to find contracts for Iraq, and then where to look for details (like the dollar amount of the contract) that will turn into interesting stories. The author also lists several other useful websites for covering the Iraq war, as well as advice for embedded reporters.
Tags: Iraq; federal contracts; federal government; internet searching; sources; military
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Using Data and Documents to Investigate Schools
This tipsheet lists and explains 27 sources of data and documents that will help turn an education beat into a watchdog beat. The tipsheet includes sources for charter schools' information, school violence, test scores, administrative contracts, and safety issues.
Tags: schools; education; school board; state government; local government; sources; beat reporting
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Crunching Contracts: A Rough Guide for Dissecting Data from the Military Mines
This guide is meant to help reporters and researchers navigate their way through the reams of government contracting data made available online or through vendors such as the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR). Fabey includes a lot of screen shots to illustrate his instructions.
Tags: defense; contracts; data anlysis; federal government; military; SQL
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CAR for Money and Politics
The authors list and describe sources for data to use in stories about money and politics. Some of the sources are place to find concrete records, such as the Federal Election Commission and the IRS. Other sources include organizations that have already compiled the records into searchable databases, like the Center for Public Integrity and OMB watch.
Tags: lobbyists; campaign contributions; politics; government documents; government contracts; government spending; sources; internet research
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Local Contracting
Keeping governments accountable about their contracts is important. Keating outlines what to look for when checking up on government contract grants and how to use CAR to support your story.
Tags: contrats; government; state government; city government; federal government; no bid; database; city officials; grants
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Local Contracting
Keating offers a list of things to look for when investigating local contracts. He also discusses where to find and how to analyze contract data.
Tags: contracts; government spending; business; industry; data analysis; public records
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Follow the Money: Blazing the Business Paper Trail
Campbell's tipsheet explains the various forms and records that businesses must fill out in order to establish themselves and do operate. He discusses how to find this information, validate it and seek out the stories hidden in all the paperwork. His advice is very detailed and covers all sorts of angles to approach a business investigation.
Tags: business; corporations; taxes; professional licenses; government contracts; stock offerings; banks; money; finance
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Info merchants and influence peddlers: tracking lobbyists, consultants and fund-raisers
Wilkinson and Drew's tipsheet focuses on obtaining campaign finance records in Ohio, but they also address federal campaign finance records, and their principles can be applied to other states, as well. They also advise on how to effectively pursue FOI requests.
Tags: campaign finance; public records; open records; FOI; politics; lobbying; lobbyists; 527; government contracting; political contributions; state government; federal government
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The High Price of Homeland Security Contracting
This tipsheet provides insight on how to begin covering government contracting. It focuses on the federal government, but also gives general ideas and tips for reporters as well.
Tags: government; federal contracts; federal government; federal funds