Daniel Connolly

I’m Daniel Connolly, formerly of The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal newspaper, author of a nonfiction book on Mexican immigration to the South, and now a senior reporter with Law360, the national legal news service.

I’ve been attending IRE national conventions since 2004 and I’m a multi-time speaker and mentor. This spring, I volunteered for the first time as an IRE contest screener. It was a lot of reading, but also fascinating and enjoyable.

I’d like to take this work to the next level by joining IRE’s contest committee.

Some of my reasons for wanting to join the contest committee are selfish.

I love entering journalism contests and winning them, and I think it will be fun to see the process from the inside.

I’ll have a chance to network with top journalists from across the country. I will closely study high-level investigative projects and discuss them with other committee members. This experience will expose me to new ideas and make me a better journalist – and help me win my own awards down the road!

On a less self-centered note, I want to help IRE. And the IRE awards can help bring about a better world.

Consider the power of IRE’s satirical Golden Padlock Award to shame government agencies that hide public records, or the power of the Don Bolles Medal to highlight extraordinarily brave journalists who have faced harassment, expulsion from their home countries, prison or even death.

If I am elected to the contest committee, I will work with other committee members to ensure a smooth, fair contest for the 2024-2025 season. Once I’ve gone through the full season and gained a better understanding of the process, I will likely propose incremental changes to make future contest seasons even better.

I’m particularly interested in changes that will encourage more people to enter their work in the IRE Awards.

I’d like to invite all members to contact me if you wish to discuss further: danieljamesconnolly@gmail.com. Thank you for reading, and I request your vote – Daniel Connolly for the contest committee.