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(Jan. 30, 2025) — For this month's IRE Radio Podcast, Francisco Vara-Orta — IRE’s director of diversity and inclusion — reads an excerpt from his Nieman Lab Predictions for Journalism 2025 piece titled, “The quest for diversity evolves.” In it, he conveys what he believes is the future of diversity, belonging, equity and inclusion in the journalism industry, and how we, as journalists, can continue to strive for inclusion in these confusing times.
Production credit: Graduate editorial assistant Nakylah Carter hosted the episode. IRE editorial director Doug Meigs edits the podcast. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
Music credit: Thoughtfulness (De Wolfe Music)
(Jan. 23, 2025) — Journalists are often known to be good with words. Whether it’s reporting live from a scene or crafting a beautiful narrative, storytelling is at the heart of what we do.
But that’s just one part of the story. Journalists today need to have a grasp on dealing with data, regardless of beat or experience level.
We asked IRE members why data skills are important, even for those who may be new (or hesitant) to using numbers in the newsroom. Here’s what they shared.
“You won't be beholden to government officials, academics or others to ‘interpret’ data for you. You won't need to rely so heavily on the government reports or non-profit/academic studies about the topic you want to write about. You'll also be able to ask the data questions that perhaps the government agency didn't ask for its own report, including cases where they didn't want to ask those questions. It's the best tool you can use for watchdog reporting.” — MaryJo Webster, The Minnesota Star Tribune
“Ask a data journalist about the five things they're most proud of and I'll bet you one of them is something that resulted in a single paragraph done on deadline that made a story better. Rome wasn't built in a day, and you don't have to go from zero to Python programmer in no time flat. Start where you are with the tools you have. Every one of us has done something quick and dirty in Excel that resulted in Good Journalism. The more you do it, the faster you get. And the more you work with data, the better you are at it. And that's the whole point of this, right? Do better journalism.” — Matt Waite, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
“You'll get better at requesting records just by understanding data and knowing how to handle it. Once you learn how to work with data, you get better at recognizing it. If an agency tells you, for example, ‘On average, the wait time is 70 days’ — if you know data, you immediately recognize, ‘Ah ha, there must be a database of this information somewhere’ and then you can request it.” — Janelle O’Dea, Illinois Answers Project
“The reason I got into it all those years ago was that I realized I could do stories that other people couldn't. Instead of three anecdotes and an expert quote, I could get at a topic on a deeper level. … I can do my own analysis, ask and answer my own questions of the data, and then ask better questions of the people responsible.” — Matt Waite, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
“You will have new ways to tackle stories that otherwise seem impossible. Perhaps you have a good question but the humans don't have an answer. Perhaps you know there is a stack of PDFs with information in an unstructured way that you need to find patterns or trends in. Perhaps there is data that nobody else has analyzed before. Data skills will help you overcome those obstacles and more.” — MaryJo Webster, The Minnesota Star Tribune
“It's 2025. We cannot hold government agencies and others accountable without being able to dig into government data.” — Jennifer LaFleur, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
“For one story, I surveyed 130 hospitals in North Carolina to show few rural sexual assault nurse examiners, which led to congressional action. In another investigation, I analyzed a massive court database to highlight problems with North Carolina’s sexual assault conviction rate. The story helped change state law on consent.” — Kate Martin, APM Reports
“I really enjoy the challenge of solving problems with data and computers. I love the feeling of my brain being on fire knowing that there is a solution to this problem that will result in interesting and newsworthy things if I can just sort it out. Bloomberg just did a story where they set up a camera and used computer vision to analyze the cars coming into Manhattan post congestion pricing, and it's such a cool example of what you can pull off with some creativity and some code.” — Matt Waite, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
“It helps you earn respect on your beat and with your sources. If you are requesting years of data, along with data dictionaries and code sheets — they know you are on top of your shit, and you are serious, and you do your homework. That matters.” — Janelle O’Dea, Illinois Answers Project
“With truth being so elusive these days, data journalism brings facts and transparency to our work. Also, only the cool kids in newsrooms get to work with data. Join the club.” — Jennifer LaFleur, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
About IRE: Investigative Reporters and Editors is a grassroots nonprofit organization providing training, resources and a community of support to thousands of journalists worldwide. Join us at our upcoming data journalism conference March 6-9, 2025 in Minneapolis.
(Jan. 21, 2025) — The annual Philip Meyer Journalism Award from Investigative Reporters and Editors recognizes the best use of social science research methods in journalism. This year, IRE honors five investigative projects from a pool of exceptionally strong applicants.
Winning projects will be recognized March 7 at the 2025 NICAR Conference in Minneapolis, during the Friday evening Philip Meyer Award Presentation.
The winners are:
“There was an incredible breadth of work from both large and small newsrooms this year, using a variety of methodologies including genealogical research, automated handwriting recognition and a unique research agreement to access private data,” said Sarah Cohen and Brant Houston, co-chairs of the 2024 Philip Meyer Journalism Award Committee.
Judges’ comments: Bloomberg News reporters found a handful of companies that learned to game the American H1-B visa program, which was intended to bring the world's top talent to American businesses. Reporters leveraged statistical analysis to cut through the 1.8 million applications, allowing them to document a story that would have been otherwise impossible. In one instance, reporters found a network of staffing firms linked to an Indian politician that applied for visas for the same people, and took a cut of their salaries when they won the lottery. The reporters used analysis of anomalies to lead them to an algorithm that eventually identified about 3,500 staffing firms registered under multiple names. In all, the effort allowed Bloomberg to document a system that had been previously known only as whispers in the IT community.
Judges’ comments: The Center for Public Integrity and its partners spent two and a half years unearthing the history and consequences of the United States’ most famous attempt at reparations for American slavery. The project, which includes a narrative podcast, used cutting-edge methods to answer a question few journalists would think to ask. Reporters trained an AI model to search digitized Freedmen’s Bureau records, identifying more than 1,250 formerly enslaved people who received land titles from the federal government. They then pieced together countless archival documents from plantation account books to military records in order to identify descendants and map property which had been distributed and then clawed back by the federal government.
Judges’ comments: A two-year investigation by The Dallas Morning News and the San Antonio Express-News found faster access to blood could have potentially prevented dozens of bleeding deaths each day in rural Texas towns and major cities on both coasts. They partnered with a leading trauma researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to conduct a "first-of-its-kind" demographic and geospatial analysis of areas where access to high-level trauma care is the most difficult. They used categories to classify pre- and in-hospital deaths and excluded patients who were dead on arrival.
Judges’ comments: In an extraordinary effort in analyzing billions of records for compelling stories, the Wall Street Journal showed that the Medicare Advantage program allowed corporations to bill taxpayers for illnesses that patients could not have suffered and were never treated. The effort stemmed from a novel use of a research agreement with the federal government, allowing reporters to examine records that had previously been available exclusively to academic and industry researchers. It provided a clear example of responsible use of private data to produce compelling, original stories ignored by the experts.
Judges’ comments: An inspiring investigation by a small newsroom, The Examination, partnering with the Houston Chronicle, mapped how oil companies are polluting Texas communities with hydrogen sulfide gas with little or no repercussions and sickening thousands of residents. The investigation not only used data analysis and extensive interviews, but further bolstered the story by reporters placing testing equipment at the residence of one beleaguered family that detected hydrogen sulfide levels frequently soaring past the state limit.
The Philip Meyer Award is named after the author of “Precision Journalism.” Meyer was a longtime journalist and educator who pioneered the use of empirical methods to improve news reporting. Read more about his legacy here.
Judges for the 2024 Philip Meyer Journalism Award are:
The Philip Meyer Journalism Award follows the rules of the IRE Awards to avoid conflicts of interest. Work that included any significant role by a Meyer Award contest judge may not be entered in the contest. This often represents a significant sacrifice on the part of the individual — and sometimes an entire newsroom. The IRE membership appreciates this devotion to the values of the organization.
IRE works to foster excellence in investigative journalism, which is essential to a free society. Founded in 1975, IRE has more than 4,500 members worldwide. Headquartered at the Missouri School of Journalism, IRE provides training, resources and a community of support to investigative journalists; promotes high professional standards; and protects the rights of investigative journalists. The National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting was founded by the Missouri School of Journalism in 1989 and became a collaboration between the school and IRE in 1994.
Contact:
(Jan. 6, 2025) — Submissions are now open for Lightning Talks to be featured at NICAR25 in Minneapolis!
Lightning Talks, which take place on the Friday afternoon of the conference, are five-minute talks about a particular tool, skill or piece of advice learned from working on stories. The goal is to teach some practical tips in a fun and entertaining way.
The talks began in 2010 and quickly grew into one of the most popular sessions at IRE’s annual data journalism conference.
The pitch form is open until Feb. 9. After that, members will be able to vote for their favorite ideas, and the 10 talks with the most votes will earn slots at the conference in Minneapolis.
All conference attendees can pitch ideas, and we especially encourage women, journalists of color, those from historically marginalized communities, and folks from smaller organizations to submit talks. (If you’ve given a talk in recent years, we encourage you to take a year off to allow for new voices.)
Pitching and voting will be anonymous. In years past, a pitch would be displayed alongside the person who submitted it. In 2019, we saw that anonymity encouraged a more diverse group of people to submit pitches and bring more focus to the content of the talk in the voting process.
What makes a good Lightning Talks pitch? In the spirit of IRE’s conferences, try to focus on teaching your fellow journalists practical skills. Think of something you wish you had known when you started a project or a particular tool that helped you overcome a challenge.
The talks don’t have to be in-depth or super-advanced — remember you’ll only have five minutes, and yes, you will be timed!
If you have questions about Lightning Talks or the submission process, please email conference@ire.org.
(Dec. 19, 2024) — Investigative Reporters and Editors is proud to partner with Arizona State University to launch an IRE-approved certificate program in investigative editing.
“This is a ground-breaking professional education opportunity, offering training in watchdog journalism that can make significant changes in your community,” said IRE Executive Director Diana Fuentes. “High quality editors are crucial to producing high quality journalism.”
This is a self-paced online program offered in 12 modules, beginning Jan. 13. It is designed for editors who seek to develop their skills in managing investigative stories and projects, reporters who seek to move into investigative editing or any journalist who wants to sharpen their watchdog skills, regardless of their title. Journalists from all types of media are welcome.
Investigative faculty from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and its Howard Center for Investigative Journalism — all IRE members themselves — helped develop the modules, which offer insights, skills and practical tips ranging from helping editors to refine great investigative ideas to managing the stresses of investigative projects.
“The contraction of the industry has led to a decline in the number of skilled investigative editors at a time of great need,” said longtime IRE member Maud Beelman, the curriculum’s creator. “Not only do the generations of young investigative reporters deserve skilled editors to guide them, the world needs these journalists now more than ever to make sure the most important stories see the light of day.”
Each module will be available online for two weeks, and learners can work through them at their own pace. A live Zoom session will conclude each of the 12 modules so that participants can ask questions and discuss what they learned with trainers and peers who’ve taken the course.
IRE members who successfully meet the requirements of the program will receive a certificate of completion that can be added to resumes, portfolios, LinkedIn profiles and performance reviews.
Alternatively, members can sign up for individual modules to learn a specialized aspect of editing and earn a badge of completion.
The cost for each module is $300 or get all 12 for $3,000 — a savings of $600!
A primary goal of the program is to increase diversity in the newsroom.
“It’s no secret there aren’t enough managers of color in newsrooms across the country,” Fuentes said. “Time and time again, employees say that training makes them feel valued and we know it increases productivity. It’s how you can bring in and keep good people. This new program can make a real difference.”
The 12 modules cover topics essential to high-quality, award-winning investigative journalism, including:
For a complete list, go to the program’s IRE web page.
The curriculum includes live Zoom sessions after every module to give learners a chance to speak with the Cronkite faculty who helped develop this program.
Beelman, founding director of the Howard Center at ASU and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, is a veteran investigative editor formerly with The Associated Press and The Dallas Morning News.
Other masters in the field who are leading modules include Pulitzer Prize winners Leonard Downie Jr., former executive editor of The Washington Post and an IRE founder, Angela Hill, the Ida B. Wells professor of journalism at Cronkite, and Steve Doig, a Cronkite professor who is one of the pioneers in data journalism; Mark Greenblatt, executive editor of the Howard Center and IRE treasurer; and Lauren Mucciolo, the center’s executive producer. Mark J. Rochester, executive editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Bruce Shapiro, executive director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, also contributed to the curriculum.
The development of this curriculum was generously funded by the Scripps Howard Foundation.
(Dec. 11, 2024) — This holiday season, consider giving the gift of IRE membership to the journalist(s) in your life.
Whether it’s for a friend, a family member, a colleague, an intern or a student, the gift of IRE membership tells your favorite journo that you believe in them and support their growth.
We make it easy for you to purchase a one-year professional ($50-$75) or student membership ($25). If they’re already a member, the gift will renew their membership for a year. Fill out this form to gift a membership.
Here are the top five reasons IRE membership is a fantastic gift.
IRE membership is a gift that keeps giving all year round. The best journalists in the world teach at members-only conferences, webinars and bootcamps. But that’s just the beginning. Members also get free access to thousands of tipsheets, tools like Tableau and Cometdocs, exclusive listservs, a subscription to the IRE Journal and other perks.
We know that “investigative journalists” are not the only ones doing investigative reporting. Our trainings and resources share lessons that all journalists can use – no matter their title, experience level or beat. All journalists are welcome.
IRE helps reporters and editors of all ages to develop core skills, advancing careers with support from our community of journalists. We provide training, networking and mentorship opportunities that change the lives and careers of our members.
In a time of disinformation and distrust in the media, society needs high-quality investigative journalism. Our democracy depends on it. Your gift of IRE membership can help a journalist improve their skills – which directly benefits the public informed by their journalism work.
For nearly 50 years, IRE has been providing journalists with the tools, training and resources they need to excel in their careers. If you’re a member, you’ve seen the impact of our work firsthand. By giving a membership, you help IRE make a difference in someone’s life, the way it did for you.
This is especially valuable for students who are close to finishing a degree – if they’re an IRE member when they graduate, they can continue renewing their membership at the discounted student rate for three years. Those are pivotal years, both professionally and financially, so having all the benefits of IRE during that time makes an enormous impact.
It’s tough out there. We all know someone who has been laid off, furloughed or had to accept a job without the right pay or benefits. The gift of IRE membership enables them to continue developing their skills, and may even reinvigorate their commitment to stay in journalism and fight the good fight.
Don’t have a specific person in mind? Donate to our Support a Journalist fund to help folks who have been unable to join or renew their IRE memberships due to layoffs, furloughs or job terminations. Please put “Support a Journalist” in the line where it asks you to specify a fund.
If you manage a team, don’t get stuck at the last minute buying gift cards for everyone. Giving your team the gift of IRE membership is thoughtful and useful. It’s not only an investment in their professional development, but also in the quality of work they’ll be able to produce in the coming years.
(Dec. 9, 2024) — With the new year approaching and a new presidential administration coming into place, we asked the IRE training team for their best advice to journalists. These IRE trainers teach journalists and work with partner journalism organizations all over the country, so they have a strong pulse on the industry. Here’s what they shared:
"As we continue to live through unprecedented times, it’s always good to reacquaint ourselves as journalists with our code of ethics and seek community among our colleagues to gut-check what is set to be a challenging year of fact-checking and adding context to what elected officials say. We can’t be scared to tell the truth because of accusations of partisanship and that’s where digging into data, facts and backgrounding will be crucial." — Francisco Vara-Orta, Director of Diversity and Inclusion
"Lean on your fellow journalists—for mentorship, advice, solidarity, and support—when you need. Our work is stronger when we collaborate instead of compete. The next few years are going to be a challenging landscape for journalists across the country, and our work is going to be more important than ever." — Adam Rhodes, Training Director
"For me, 2025 will be the year of following the money, which goes hand in hand with the most crucial aspect of our craft: holding people in power accountable for their actions. I would add that we need to be more transparent with our working methods and never forget that the purpose of our job is to make our communities stronger and more sustainable." — Laura Moscoso, Training Director
"Accessing public records is likely going to get tougher, so it will be more important than ever to make friends with the record keepers. You know lots of people are going to be in a bad mood; you be the smiling one they like to see coming in the door. Stop by when you don’t need anything. Take some doughnuts or fill the candy dish every now and then. It may seem the world is going to heck in a handbasket but you don’t have to go with it!" — Diana R. Fuentes, Executive Director
"However you're stretching your skills in 2025, whether it's studying up on FOIA strategies or taking a data workshop from our talented colleagues on IRE's training team, don't be intimidated! Your pals in the IRE & NICAR community are here to support as you grow, wherever you're at on your journey." — Cody Winchester, Director of Technology and Online Resources
About IRE: Investigative Reporters & Editors is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting. IRE provides training, resources and a community of support to thousands of journalists around the world. Membership is open to journalists, students and educators everywhere. Learn more about the organization and join us here.
(Dec. 3, 2024) — It’s time to gather your best stories of the year! The 2024 IRE Awards contest is now open for submissions, and we can’t wait to see what you’ve done. You may submit entries here.
Among the most prestigious in journalism, the IRE Awards recognize outstanding investigative reporting across all media, including print, TV, radio, student work and several special categories (including longform journalism in audio and video).
Eligible entries must have been published or aired between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024. The deadline for submissions has been extended by one week until Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025 (11:59 p.m. Eastern Time).
For details on how to enter, go here.
Examples of past winners from 2023, 2022 and prior contests are available on the IRE website.
(Dec. 3, 2024) — Next year, Investigative Reporters & Editors will celebrate 50 years of supporting the investigative journalism community. As part of the anniversary celebrations, we will be highlighting members who have made a special impact on journalism, IRE and the world. We’re asking for your nominations of who we should celebrate at our gala that we are planning for the fall in New York City.
In recognition of the incredible legacy of the organization, we are seeking to honor journalists from each decade of our history who will represent our larger community. We are looking for journalists from all types of news outlets, all mediums and newsroom sizes. And we are looking for members who have produced powerful work and also served our beloved nonprofit.
Nominations will be accepted from the IRE membership until Jan. 1, 2025. A subcommittee of the 50th Anniversary Task Force will choose the honorees, with final approval from the IRE Board of Directors.
To submit a nomination, please send an email to president@ire.org by Jan. 1, 2025, with the following information:
To sign up for more information about IRE’s 50th Anniversary celebrations, please fill out this Google Form.
If you would like to donate to honor IRE’s 50th Anniversary, please go to ire.org/donate and specify that your donation is for the anniversary.
(Nov. 21, 2024) — In February 1975, a group of journalists from across the country gathered in Reston, Virginia to discuss the future of investigative journalism.
It was an unprecedented year. Just months before, President Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to resign after the Watergate Scandal. U.S. forces had recently left Vietnam, and the 30-year conflict was approaching its end. To navigate this moment of national chaos and political uncertainty, NBC was brewing up a new show called “Saturday Night” to premiere that fall.
Unprecedented times. Sound familiar?
During this time, “investigative reporting exploded in the United States,” Leonard Downie Jr., one of the editors on the Watergate stories, describes in a 2015 edition of The IRE Journal. But newsrooms did not have much investigative experience.
So, a group of investigative reporters and editors gathered to form an organization that could embody their mission and empower journalists to share story ideas, newsgathering techniques and best practices. They represented news outlets across the country, including the Chicago Tribune, The Indianapolis Star, Ohio State University, The New York Times, Newhouse News and The Washington Post.
That gathering is where investigative reporters and editors became “Investigative Reporters & Editors.” Les Whitten, a Washington, D.C. columnist at the meeting, asserted that what most characterizes the investigative reporter is “ire” or “a sense of outrage,” so it was decided that the acronym IRE fit such an association.
The founding of IRE ushered in a new era in investigative journalism.
“IRE grew far beyond the ambitions of its founders … and through its training, resources and mutual support, played a major, continuing role in the expansion and impact of investigative reporting in the United States and elsewhere,” Downie Jr., an IRE founder, previously wrote.
Since 1976, IRE has hosted the flagship IRE Conference in different cities every year (and a couple online during another unprecedented time), allowing hundreds of journalists to connect, commiserate and share their collected wisdom.
In 1989, inspired by the work of pioneering journalist and “Precision Journalism” author Philip Meyer, IRE began training in data journalism through the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR). Since then, NICAR has helped hundreds of journalists harness the power of data using the latest technology and software.
In addition to offering this programming, IRE has made conscious efforts over the years to ensure our training reaches more people, and helps bring new voices and perspectives to the field.
And as times have changed, we’ve adapted to better serve our membership. Since 2020, we’ve dramatically increased our virtual programming to make IRE training more accessible and affordable. This year alone, IRE hosted about 30 free webinars — more than any other journalism association — as well as our virtual-by-design conference, AccessFest.
This type of training and mentorship equips journalists to pursue investigations that expose injustice, bring about change and hold power to account. Over the last 50 years, IRE members have been dogged and fearless in their pursuit of the truth, from investigating influence and ethics at the Supreme Court to exposing sex abuse at USA Gymnastics and so many other countless stories over the years. For further proof and inspiration, just take a look at all the past winners and finalists of the IRE Awards.
Along with celebrating our wins, IRE members have also stood together in tough times, even when faced with the darker, and outright dangerous, side of this profession, starting with The Arizona Project in 1976 to The Chauncey Bailey Project in 2007, when journalists were killed in retaliation for their reporting. In 2023, IRE hosted a workshop and started a fund in honor of Jeff German, a longtime Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter who was killed by the subject of his reporting.
As we reflect on these historic events and our upcoming 50th anniversary, IRE remains steadfast in this core belief: Investigative journalism is essential to a free, democratic society.
This is our foundation. This is our story. Will you help us write the next chapter?
Our organization relies on the support of generous benefactors and a steady stream of donations. If you would like to see us continue our mission and expand the work of investigative journalists around the world, please consider donating to our end-of-year giving campaign.
The future of our organization, and investigative journalism, depends on your support.
Make a Donation: Help us reach our end-of-year goal of $50,000. You can donate online, via text or by mail. Any amount helps!
Double Your Donation: Check if your employer offers matching gifts to amplify your support.
Start a Facebook Fundraiser: Rally your network by hosting a Facebook fundraiser for Giving Tuesday. It’s an easy and impactful way to spread the word.
Get involved: Become a member or encourage someone to join! Memberships range from $25-75/year. You can also give a gift membership to a family member, friend or colleague.
Learn about the IRE Legacy Society: Leave a lasting impact by supporting IRE’s future through planned giving.
Spread the Word: Give us a shoutout on social media! Use #SupportIRE to share why you support IRE and help others discover our work. You can find us @IRE_NICAR on most platforms.
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