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 "public records" ...
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Broadcast: The Paper Chase
A guide for broadcasters on how to navigate through endless stacks of government documents and forms, in order to find the real story.
Tags: FOIA; Freedom of Information; Public Records; Government Documents;
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Evaluating State Open Records Laws and Practices
Use Ginley's Powerpoint to check up on your state's open records law and how they match up to others.
Tags: open records; public access
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The FOIA Maze: Tips for getting the records you need
Donald offers his years of wisdom to help navigate the FOIA maze with great tips and reminders. Follow his instruction and you should get just what you need.
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Anatomy of an Investigation
Use these tips when investigating safety issues involving construction sites and buildings that are already in use.
Tags: construction; school safety; oversight; public records; mismanagement; documents
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PIECES OF THE PAST Building your stories from archives and historical documents
If you're covering any topic that touches government, business, or influential people, you may be missing out on a piece of the story if you aren't using archives and historical documents. Neff provides useful tips on how to utilize these.
Tags: archives; history; public records; Worldcat
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Investigating Public School Construction
Holland gives tips on how to use public records, confidential sources and computer-assisted reporting to expose reckless spending and shoddy construction in your public school's construction.
Tags: construction; school safety; oversight; public records
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Public Records Act
Tipsheet on profiling the Public Records Act and ways in which journalists can garner information.
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Data Ideas for Congressional Coverage
Thorough tips and advice on how and where to look for information regarding congressmen in areas such as staff members, salaries, owned properties, received donations, etc.
Tags: congress; senate; congressman; senator; fec; legistorm; opensecrets; legislative bills; sopr; senate office of public records
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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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Mississippi Public Records Request
This is a sample form for a Mississippi Public Records Request
Tags: public records; Mississippi