IRE members elect seven to Board in 2024 elections, approve six amendments

In the 2024 elections, IRE members elected seven journalists to the Board of Directors. Members present at the IRE24 membership meeting held Saturday, June 22, also approved six amendments to the IRE Articles of Incorporation on voice votes.

Two incumbents — Kate Howard of Reveal and Mark Greenblatt of Arizona State University — along with five newcomers — Alejandra Cancino of Injustice Watch; Mary Hudetz of ProPublica; Andrew Lehren of The City University of New York; Marina Villeneuve of Salon; Paroma Soni of Politico — were elected to two-year terms for the IRE Board of Directors in election results announced Saturday, June 22, 2024. IRE members also elected two members of the Contest Committee, which judges the IRE Awards. Voting was conducted in person and virtually.

The board will meet to elect new officers.

New members of the Contest Committee are Daniel Connolly of Law360 and independent journalist Mark Lagerkvist.

Full election results for the Board of Directors:

Full election results for the Contest Committee:

As part of the membership meeting at IRE24, there was also a voice vote on each of six proposed amendments to the IRE Articles of Incorporation. The full text of each amendment is included below the voting results:

Amendment #1: To expand who can become a “Retired” member of IRE (Section 5.01)

• Previous language: The Retired class shall be limited to persons who formerly belonged to the Professional and or Academic class but have retired from their occupation.
• Approved language: The “Retired” class shall be limited to persons who have retired from journalism and are no longer working full-time.

Amendment #2: To expand who can apply to be an “Associate” member of IRE (Section 5.01)

• Previous language: “Associate” membership will be available to former Professional or Academic members who are not retired, individuals engaged part-time in reporting or editing, plus individuals recognized by the Board of Directors for their contributions to this corporation to the field of investigative reporting and editing.
• Approved language: “Associate” membership will be available to former IRE Members who are not retired; to individuals engaged part-time in news gathering, presentation and/or production; or to individuals recognized by the organization for their contributions to the field of investigative journalism.

Amendment #3: To allow recent college graduates to temporarily remain student members (Section 5.01)

• Previous language: The Corporation shall recognize as “Student” members those college students pursuing a degree, who subscribe to the Corporation, in order to be entitled to receive the benefits of its educational activities. 
• Approved language: The “Student” class shall be limited to college students pursuing a degree and recent graduates who are not yet working.

Amendment #4: Technical/grammatical changes to Section 5.01

• Overall previous language: Section 5.01. Classes of Membership. The Corporation shall have five classes of membership. The classes of membership shall be entitled “Professional”, “Academic”, “Retired”, “Associate” and “Student” respectively. The Professional class shall be limited to persons substantially engaged in news gathering, presentation or production. The Academic class shall be limited to persons engaged full-time in research or teaching in the field of journalism. The Retired class shall be limited to persons who formerly belonged to the Professional and or Academic class but have retired from their occupation. “Associate” membership will be available to former Professional or Academic members who are not retired, individuals engaged part-time in reporting or editing, plus individuals recognized by the Board of Directors for their contributions to this corporation to the field of investigative reporting and editing. The Corporation shall recognize as “Student” members those college students pursuing a degree, who subscribe to the Corporation, in order to be entitled to receive the benefits of its educational activities. Associate members shall not be eligible for the voting rights which are reserved to the other classes of members. (Amendments adopted 6/7/08, 3/6/15)
• Overall approved language: Section 5.01. Classes of Membership. The Corporation shall have five classes of membership. The classes of membership shall be entitled “Professional,” “Academic”, “Retired”, “Associate” and “Student” respectively. The “Professional” class shall be limited to persons substantially engaged in news gathering, presentation and/or production. The “Academic” class shall be limited to persons engaged full-time in research and/or teaching in the field of journalism. The “Retired” class shall be limited to persons who have retired from journalism and are no longer working full-time. The “Student” class shall be limited to college students pursuing a degree and recent graduates who are not yet working. “Associate” membership will be available to former IRE Members who are not retired; to individuals engaged part-time in news gathering, presentation and/or production; or to individuals recognized by the organization for their contributions to the field of investigative journalism. Associate members shall not be eligible for the voting rights, which are reserved to the other classes of members. The Board of Directors may further define each of these classes. (Amendments adopted 6/7/08, 3/6/15, 6/22/24)

Amendment #5: To remove gendered language (Section 2.03)

• Previous language: No member of the Corporation shall have or receive any earnings from the Corporation, except a member who is an officer, director, or employee of the Corporation, in which event he may receive fair and reasonable compensation for his services as an officer, director, or employee: and a member may also receive payments of principal and interest at a rate not exceeding six percent (6%) per annum on funds loaned or advanced by him to the Corporation.
• Approved language: No member of the Corporation shall have or receive any earnings from the Corporation, except a member who is an officer, director, or employee of the Corporation, in which event they may receive fair and reasonable compensation for their services as an officer, director, or employee: and a member may also receive payments of principal and interest at a rate not exceeding six percent (6%) per annum on funds loaned or advanced by them to the Corporation.

Amendment #6: To clarify that members can vote on Articles amendments virtually (Section 10.10)

• Previous language: The Corporation reserves the right to amend, alter, change or repeal any provisions contained in the Articles of Incorporation in any amendment hereto, in any manner now or hereafter prescribed or permitted by the Act or any amendment thereto; upon two-thirds vote of the Members after majority adoption by the Board of Directors of a resolution submitting such amendment of the articles to the membership at an annual or special meeting by written notice given to Members
• Approved language: The Corporation reserves the right to amend, alter, change or repeal any provisions contained in the Articles of Incorporation in any amendment hereto, in any manner now or hereafter prescribed or permitted by the Act or any amendment thereto; after majority adoption by the Board of Directors of a resolution submitting such amendment of the articles to the membership, upon two-thirds vote of the Members in attendance, in-person or virtually at an annual or special meeting by written notice given to Members.