Privacy Policy

Terms of use

This site is published by Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE), a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization located at 141 Neff Annex, Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, MO 65211. Contents of this site, including all site and section names, logos, other graphics, organized listings, presentation strategies, interface design and other design elements, are covered by trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual and trade property rights, held jointly or separately by IRE and the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR). All rights are reserved. Contributing writers also may hold rights to some material.

Material on this site may not be copied, mirrored, cataloged, displayed simultaneously with another site in part or in whole, nor may any of its sub-programs be accessed from any page without the express written consent of the appropriate rights holder. Use of this site contractually obliges each user to these terms. News media may use portions of the content of this site and refer to its contents with appropriate credit given to Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. 

Acceptance of Privacy Policy

By using the website, you signify your acceptance of this privacy policy. If you do not agree to the terms of this privacy policy, please do not use the website.Your continued use of the website following the posting of changes to this privacy policy will mean that you accept those changes.

Privacy policy

Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) respects the privacy of visitors to our site. Please read this privacy policy carefully so that you understand our privacy practices. If you have questions about the policy, please contact us at info@ire.org.

Collection and use of personal information

We collect your personal information to fulfil our contractual obligations, our statutory obligations and/or the legitimate interests of IRE and for other purposes for which IRE has a lawful basis under applicable privacy laws. We collect the following personal information from you:

• Contact Information such as name, email address, mailing address, phone number and affiliation (e.g. employer or university).
• Order information such as event registrations and purchases of IRE books and other resources.

Children’s Privacy Protection

Children should always get permission from their parents before sending any information about themselves such as their names, e-mail addresses and phone numbers over the Internet, to us or to anyone else. We won't knowingly allow anyone under 13 to provide us any personally identifying information. 

Log files and cookies

We use IP addresses to analyze trends, administer the site, track user visits to our site, and gather broad technical information for aggregate use. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information. 

Personal information

The only personally identifying information that IRE gathers online is information that visitors to our site provide voluntarily, for example, when they apply for membership, register for conferences, request email updates, participate in surveys, request to be in a directory, or seek to purchase educational materials, including books, or other merchandise sold by IRE, or seek to purchase data from IRE and/or the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR). We also may use the information we collect to communicate with our members and/or former members. Except as otherwise provided in this privacy policy, we will not sell, rent, or otherwise share personally identifying information about visitors to our site without their consent.

You may review, update, or change your membership profile online by visiting the member login area on our website. If you would like to request access, modification, correction or deletion of personal information that you have provided to us or that you believe we may have collected about you, please contact us at info@ire.org. We may not be able to delete your personal information without also deleting your user account. You will not be permitted to examine the personal information of any other person or entity. In order to verify your identity, you may be required to provide us with personal information prior to accessing any records containing information about you. We may not accommodate a request to change or delete personal information if we believe doing so would violate any law or legal requirement, or cause the information to be incorrect.

We will honor any legal right that you have to access, modify or erase your personal information. To request access and to find out whether any fees may apply, if permitted by applicable state, federal, or national law (outside of the United States), please contact info@ire.org.

Listserv subscribers should note that all messages to IRE and NICAR listservs are archived and available to IRE members though the IRE website. These archives may include e-mail addresses and any attached names.

How we use your information

We use your information to help us personalize and continually improve your experience on the website, including fulfilling your orders and requests for information, analyzing and compiling trends and statistics, and communicating with you. We also may use your information to provide customer support; communicate with you about your account, profile, or transactions with us, or changes to our policies or terms; send you information about features and enhancements on or to our website; send you newsletters or other materials; send you offers or other communications about our products and services; detect, investigate, and prevent activities that may violate our policies or be fraudulent or illegal; and perform statistical, demographic and marketing analyses of users of the website and their viewing patterns.

Security

The security of your personal information is important to us. We follow generally accepted standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure, however. Therefore, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

You can help protect the privacy of your own information by using encryption and other techniques to prevent unauthorized interception of your personal information.

Information releases

We may occasionally release information about our visitors when release is appropriate to comply with the law or to protect the rights, property or safety of visitors to our site, the public or IRE. In the unlikely event that IRE or substantially all of its assets are acquired by another organization or company, information on our visitors would be among the transferred assets. 

Links

This website contains links to other sites. Please be aware that IRE and NICAR are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage those leaving our site to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this website. 

Other important information

Users Outside of the United States: If you use our Website outside of the United States, you understand and consent to the transfer of your personal information to, and the collection, processing, and storage of your personal information in, the United States and elsewhere. The laws in the U.S. and these countries regarding personal information may be different than the laws of your state or country.

Your California Privacy Rights: If you are a California resident, California law permits you to request certain information regarding the disclosure of your personal information by IRE to third parties for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send your request to IRE via email at info@ire.org.

Notification of changes

We may update this privacy policy to reflect changes to our information practices and/or applicable law. If we make any material changes we will notify you by email (sent to the e-mail address specified in your account) or by means of a notice on this website prior to the change becoming effective. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices.

This document was last updated December 1, 2020.