Watchdog Journalism training from IRE

A crucial duty of a journalist is to serve the public interest by acting as a watchdog on government and business. This duty has become all the more important at a time when governments are restricting the flow of information. At such times, broadcast and print journalists must redouble their efforts to use freedom-of-information laws to obtain public documents and help the public appreciate the value of such laws.

For Reporters and Editors

The Watchdog Workshop series brings affordable training to cities around the U.S. Use the schedule below to find a session near you, or contact IRE if you're interested in bringing one to your area. IRE's staff teams up with veteran journalists to lead the training.

  • Unleashing the Watchdogs Workshops

    IRE and the American Society of Newspaper Editors are presenting a series of regional seminars for midlevel editors on how to conceive of, manage and produce watchdog journalism on a daily, beat and long-term basis.

    The Unleashing the Watchdogs workshops will feature top editors and trainers who have years of experience in producing investigative and enterprise work, especially from beats. The workshops also will cover the guiding of reporters in the effective use of the Internet, open records laws, computer-assisted reporting and anonymous sources.

    Better Watchdogs

    A Better Watchdog Workshop is intended to help those journalists at small-to medium-sized news organizations — and those in bureaus of larger organizations — learn the investigative skills to produce enterprising and informative stories that keep government and business accountable.

    2 workshops in 1

    Combined Watchdog Workshop sessions offer specialized tracks for reporters and editors, based on the Better Watchdog and Unleashing the Watchdog programs, plus shared sessions on investigative essentials.

Click on cities to see registration information and details on upcoming workshops:
Sept. 19 - 21, 2008: Investigating Health Care: A Better Watchdog Workshop, Los Angeles, Calif.
September 27-28, 2008: Better Watchdog/Unleashing the Watchdog, Wichita, Kan.


Ethnic Media Watchdog Workshops

This workshop for journalists working for ethnic news organizations will cover how to do investigative and enterprise journalism quickly and effectively. Some of the best practitioners in the profession will show you how to find documents, databases and sources for topics such as education, immigration, homeland security, criminal justice, labor, and local government.

The workshop will enable journalists to learn how to write penetrating stories from their investigative and public service efforts. IRE will post links to these stories on the workshop Web site to inspire journalists in other newsrooms to do these kinds of public service stories.

The program was created in 2007 by Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc., (IRE) with funding by the McCormick Tribune Foundation and in collaboration with New America Media.

Click on cities to see registration information and details on upcoming workshops:
There are none scheduled at this time.

Upcoming Watchdog Workshops

Sept. 19 - 21, 2008: Los Angeles, Calif.
September 27-28, 2008: Wichita, Kan.

See all IRE and NICAR training

Sponsors

IRE thanks the following sponsors for supporting our Watchdog program: