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IRE is seeking universities and news organizations interested in hosting an IRE Watchdog Workshop or data boot camp beginning this fall.
Through a typical partnership, the local host organization receives a number of free passes to the workshop or boot camp in exchange for providing space at no cost to IRE. The arrangement helps keep registration rates affordable for journalists, students and educators. IRE is accepting submissions via this short online form. IRE considers geographic diversity and other factors in making final selections of hosts.
IRE handles all facets of the programming, including setting a schedule and lining up speakers. Local hosts, if interested, may help with suggestions for speakers but are not expected to work on programming.
"We want to make this as easy as possible for our hosts," IRE Executive Director Doug Haddix said. "We're grateful for universities and newsrooms that provide venues for high-quality watchdog training."
Beginning in September, IRE will present another round of 10 Watchdog Workshops around the country, based on generous funding from Excellence and Ethics in Journalism. Typically, the full-day workshops take place in a meeting space that accommodates at least 100 people. The workshops also feature an optional half-day of hands-on data training, typically in a computer lab.
In addition, IRE is holding a series of workshops around the country focused on improving local TV watchdog reporting, thanks to financial support from Knight Foundation. These TV Watchdog Workshops typically take place in a space that can accommodate at least 100 attendees.
This fall, IRE also plans to host intensive data boot camps, which require a computer lab with at least 20 seats. The multi-day immersive boot camps in the fundamentals of CAR, Python and reporting with R receive support from the Park Foundation.
If you have questions about hosting an IRE training event, please contact training@ire.org and a staff member will connect with you.
In Oregon’s memory care facilities, confirmed abuse cases are more than twice as common as in other types of senior centers. Residents live in filthy conditions, develop bedsores, even die in the care of overworked and overwhelmed caregivers. But the failures of that system can be opaque unless you’re already trapped inside it. On this episode, Fedor Zarkhin walks us through The Oregonian’s investigation into memory care centers and discusses a tool his team made to help Oregonians find safe elder care facilities for their family members.
You can find the podcast on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Google Play. If you have a story you think we should feature on the show, drop us a note at web@ire.org. We’d love to hear from you.
Looking for links to the stories and resources we discussed on this week's podcast? We've collected them for you.
Vanagon (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0
Alley Crawler (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Closing (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
The Dustbin (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Thumbscrew (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
La Iglesia (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Castor Wheel Pivot (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Kelly Kenoyer reported this episode. Abby Ivory-Ganja is our host. IRE Editorial Director Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri.
By Jill Riepenhoff, IRE Contest Committee Chair
To eliminate any appearance of favoritism, the IRE Board of Directors has voted to bar board members from participating in the IRE Awards if they played a major role in the investigation.
Beginning with work published or aired in 2019, board members may not enter the IRE awards if they contributed in a significant way to the work. Such examples would include named reporters/producers or the front-line editors/executive producers.
Work in which the board member did not play a significant editorial role can be entered. Ultimately, the contest judging committee will determine whether the role is acceptable or not.
Board members will be required to submit a letter to the judging committee detailing their work on any entered project or story.
Because of collaborations and management responsibilities -- no matter how tangential – a board member’s involvement in past contest years could have potentially disqualified dozens of people; this was an unintended consequence of a more rigorous recusal procedure.
This new policy will ensure transparency without penalizing collaborations in which a board member played a minor role.
The IRE board president, the contest committee chair and members of the contest committee are not permitted to enter any work that involved them – no matter how small the role.
An investigation that found hundreds of unaccounted for deaths from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico is the first-place winner of the 2018 Philip Meyer Journalism Awards. The other top awards go to an investigation that used scientific testing to uncover environmental hazards in Philadelphia’s public schools and an analysis that revealed philanthropists were getting tax breaks for donated stocks to their private foundations.
“Philip Meyer once warned journalists that social science methods raise the ante on what it takes to be a journalist. This year, entries in the Philip Meyer Award upped the ante again, this time by weaving their analyses into narratives and under deadline” said Sarah Cohen, a contest judge and the Knight Chair in Data Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. “Each year, the entries have become more sophisticated. This year, the winners and those who entered showed how journalists can marry storytelling, data analysis and empirical methods.”
The 2018 winners are:
First place: “Hurricane Maria’s Dead,” a collaboration of Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, Quartz and The Associated Press
Centro de Periodismo Investigativo: Omaya Sosa Pascual, Carla Minet, Laura Candelas, Jeniffer Wiscovitch, Laura Moscoso, Víctor Rodríguez, David Cordero, Luis Trelles, Cindy Burgos, Mari Mari Narvaez, Edmy Ayala and Emmanuel Estrada.
Quartz: Ana Campoy, Youyou Zhou, Caitlin Hu, David Yanofsky, Daniel Wolfe, Nikhil Sonnad, Feli Sanchez, Max de Haldevang and Amanda Shendruk.
The Associated Press: Michael Weissenstein, Ezequiel Abiu Lopez, Luis Alonso, Claudia Torrens, Ben Fox, Danica Coto, Maricarmen Rivera, Gisela Salomón, Larry Fenn, Troy Thibodeaux, Mark Thiessen, Rachel D'oro and Dan Joling.
Judges’ comments: “Hurricane Maria’s Dead” followed a sample of deaths from Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico in 2017. The investigation found that neglect from the government accounted for hundreds of deaths that had not been counted by officials. In a project that hearkened to Philip Meyer’s groundbreaking work, the team used a survey combined with official records and hundreds of interviews to uncover the massive undercount of fatalities. The results, which were later confirmed by a study but are still not accepted as official tolls according to the government, helped serve as a public memorial for the dead as well as a road map for preventing such deaths in the future.
Second place: “Toxic City: Sick Schools,” by Wendy Ruderman, Barbara Laker and Dylan Purcell of The Philadelphia Inquirer
Judges’ comments: “Toxic City: Sick Schools” demonstrates how scientific testing, when designed properly, can lead to unique and powerful investigations. Through innovative crowdsourcing, public school teachers and staff were deployed as environmental testers using a scientific testing protocol. The testing provided the much broader and comprehensive scope needed to assess patterns throughout the system. The team combined test results with more than 250,000 room-by-room environmental records, which further bolstered their findings.
Third place: “Uncharitable Giving,” by Andrea Fuller of The Wall Street Journal
Judges’ comments: Fuller took established research to new and impressive heights to demonstrate that some philanthropists were getting tax breaks for donated stocks to their private foundations. The philanthropists wrote off the value of the stocks on the day of the donations, before they plunged in value. The tax write-offs were generous. After digging into thousands of foundation tax returns, Fuller identified more than 14,000 gifts made since 2011 worth more than $25,000. The story directed a spotlight on wealthy individuals such as junk bond king Michael Milken, who was involved decades ago in one of Wall Street’s largest insider trading scandals.
Honorable mention: “In The Dark: Jury Selection Analysis,” by APM Reports
APM Reports: Madeleine Baran, Samara Freemark, Rehman Tungekar, Natalie Jablonski, Will Craft, Parker Yesko, Curtis Gilbert, Catherine Winter, Dave Mann and Andy Kruse.
Judges’ comments: As part of a six-part exploration of an African-American man tried for the same crime six times, APM Reports investigated the local prosecutor’s disproportionate exclusion of blacks on juries. The judges noted the unusual and artful presentation of powerful narrative underscored the sophisticated analysis.
The Meyer Award recognizes the best uses of empirical methods in journalism. The awards will be presented on March 8 in Newport Beach, California, during the 2019 Computer-Assisted Reporting Conference. The first-place winner will receive $500; second- and third-place winners will receive $300 and $200, respectively. The award is administered by the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting, a joint program of Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Missouri School of Journalism.
The Meyer Award honors Philip Meyer, professor emeritus and former Knight Chair of journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Meyer is the author of “Precision Journalism,” the seminal 1973 book that encouraged journalists to incorporate social science methods in the pursuit of better journalism. As a reporter, he also pioneered the use of survey research for Knight-Ridder newspapers while exploring the causes of race riots in the 1960s.
The judges for the Philip Meyer Award for Precision Journalism were:
The Philip Meyer Journalism Award follows the rules of the IRE Awards in its efforts 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 5,500 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.
For questions concerning the 2018 Philip Meyer Award winners, please contact:
Patti DiVincenzo and Francisco Vara-Orta
Award-winning TV journalist Patti DiVincenzo and investigative data journalist Francisco Vara-Orta will join IRE as trainers. Their hirings mark an IRE milestone — the first time the organization has employed four full-time trainers.
DiVincenzo and Vara-Orta join Cody Winchester as trainers, with all reporting to IRE Senior Training Director Denise Malan. The team also includes Data Services Director Charles Minshew. Former trainer Mark Walker recently left IRE for a position in the Washington, D.C., office of The New York Times.
“Having four trainers is a watershed development for us,” IRE Executive Director Doug Haddix said. “Moving forward, we’ll be better positioned to handle growing demand for IRE training as well as data services.”
DiVincenzo will become IRE’s first trainer with extensive TV experience. For the past 16 years, she has worked for WSB-TV in Atlanta as an investigative producer and data specialist. Her role included finding, researching, and writing major investigations and coordinating other ongoing stories. In addition, she taught research and data classes for employees of the Cox Media Group.
Previously, she worked as an investigative producer and data specialist at WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh; as an investigative reporter for WTKR-TV in Norfolk, Virginia; as a beat reporter at WAVY-TV in Portsmouth, Virginia; and as an anchor/reporter at KSNT-TV in Topeka, Kansas.
“We’re thrilled that Patti has agreed to bring her TV experience to IRE to help broadcasters and other journalists sharpen their watchdog and data skills,” Haddix said. “With Patti on board, IRE will be better equipped to serve our large membership of broadcasters in new and exciting ways.”
Her recent awards include a Southeast Regional Emmy in 2017; a national IRE Award and Georgia AP Story of the Year in 2016; and a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award and Georgia AP Award in 2015.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas.
“I couldn’t be happier to be joining the ranks of IRE training directors whom I’ve appreciated and admired for so long,” DiVincenzo said. “I look forward to getting started soon.”
Vara-Orta will bring 17 years of diverse newsroom experience to his new role. He has worked for a variety of online and print publications, including Chalkbeat, Education Week, the San Antonio Express-News, Austin Business Journal, Los Angeles Business Journal and the Los Angeles Times.
In addition to his extensive newsroom experience, Vara-Orta worked part-time for IRE in 2015-16 while earning a master’s degree in investigative/data journalism at the University of Missouri. His IRE duties included doing research and reporting for news clients as well as cleaning and analyzing data. He also launched Spanish-language outreach for IRE. Previously, he earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio.
“Francisco brings a terrific blend of newsroom experience and data skills to his new role,” Haddix said. “He’s also served in leadership of several other journalism organizations -- connections that will serve IRE well.”
Vara-Orta has served as board vice president and diversity/inclusion chair of the Education Writers Association. He served as co-chair of the 2014 national conference of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. In addition, he’s been an active member of the Society of Professional Journalists as well as NLGJA, the Association of LGBTQ Journalists.
"At a time when the industry is under a lot of different pressures to meet their charge to help keep communities informed and engaged, IRE has long been there to support journalists in their work - acting as a support system that's helped me and many others along the way,” Vara-Orta said. “I am very grateful for the opportunity to join their warm and welcoming team to help journalists during such a critical time in our field of work."
Vara-Orta begins work for IRE on Feb. 15. You may reach him at Francisco@ire.org.
DiVincenzo starts her IRE post on Feb. 25. You may reach her at Patti@ire.org.
Thanks to the generosity of many donors, IRE is fortunate to have funding available to provide fellowships and scholarships to its annual CAR Conference (#NICAR19). This month, IRE awarded eight fellowships and scholarships for the 2019 CAR Conference in Newport Beach.
Julia Rentsch from the Loveland Reporter-Herald (Berthoud, Colorado) received the Jennifer Leonard Scholarship.
Established by IRE member David Cay Johnston to honor his wife, Jennifer, who is a national leader in promoting ethical standards for endowments. The scholarship supports women studying journalism or in their first three years of their professional journalism career.
Cecilia Hernandez-Cromwell from Tyler Media (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), Mukhtar Ibrahim from the Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota), Josh McGhee from the Chicago Reporter (Chicago, Illinois), Chen Wang from the Globe and Mail (Toronto, Ontario) and Holly Chiu-wai Chik from Hong Kong Baptist University (Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong) received IRE Diversity Fellowships.
The Diversity Fellowships are funded by the Philip L. Graham Fund, the IRE Minority Development Fund, the IRE Student Fund and individual donors. The goal of the fellowships is to increase the diversity of IRE’s membership.
Disha Raychaudhuri from NJ Advance Media (Iselin, NJ) and Kaitlin Gillespie from The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington) received Jack Anderson & Steve Lovelady Scholarships.
Established in memory of Steven Lovelady who worked at the Wall Street Journal, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Time, Inc. and was the founding editor of the Columbia Journalism Review’s Campaign Desk. Also established in memory of Pulitzer prize-winner Jack Anderson who exposed political corruption in Washington, D.C., through his widely syndicated newspaper column, “Washington Merry-Go-Round” (1964–2004).
If you are interested in applying for a fellowship or scholarship for financial assistance for future IRE training events, go here for more information and due dates. The next deadline is April 15 (for fellowships and scholarships to attend the June IRE conference in Houston).
Journalism has always been a stressful job, but new challenges and pressures have made the work even more daunting. On this bonus episode, we’re reaching into our archives for audio from the 2018 IRE Conference. During a panel about managing stress, reporters Ken Armstrong, Mike Hixenbaugh and Lulu Ramadan recounted difficult experiences and talked about how they balance their jobs and personal lives. Ken also surveyed three dozen journalists to find out how they unwind.
You can find the podcast on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Google Play.
Looking for links to the stories and resources we discussed on this week's podcast? We've collected them for you.
Nesting (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Doubled (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Bogo (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Setting Pace (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Borough (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Claire Mitzel reported this episode. IRE Editorial Director Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri.
By Steven Rich, IRE Board of Directors
The IRE Board of Directors has voted unanimously to update the IRE Principles, the code of conduct for IRE events.
The update includes language that more explicitly bans discriminatory and harassing behavior from IRE events. While these were never permitted at IRE events, it was important that we spell it out more clearly. Also included is language laying out that the code of conduct covers the entire time you attend an IRE event, including outside of specific conference events such as at the bar or the rest of the hotel at all times.
The update also includes a way to contact IRE board members outside of scheduled program hours to report violations of the code of conduct. During an October meeting, the IRE Board decided that this reporting information would appear in more places around the conference space and hotel. Additionally, information on the code of conduct and how to report violations will appear on the back of every conference name badge.
IRE is a constantly evolving organization, and it is more imperative than ever that our events are safe and welcoming for every member in attendance, as well as those who are considering attending future events. We believe this is a step in the right direction.
If you have any questions or concerns about the code of conduct, including any ideas to further improve it, the board of directors is listening. Please contact us at your convenience. (Bios and contact information for board members are available here.)
The changes are effective immediately. Here is the revised code of conduct:
IRE PRINCIPLES (CODE OF CONDUCT)
(effective January 14, 2019)
Investigative Reporters & Editors is committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all, regardless of race, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical ability, age, appearance or religion.
IRE supports vigorous debate and welcomes disagreement, while maintaining a civil and respectful community. Discriminatory or harassing behavior is not permitted.
IRE may take any action it deems appropriate to deal with those who violate our principles, including exclusion from our events, forums, listservs and the organization itself.
This code of conduct covers all participants in IRE events and is in effect the entire time from the beginning until the end of our conferences. During conferences, we will publicize a contact email, in addition to making staff and IRE board members easily identifiable, with badges that identify themselves as such, so you know whom to contact if you see or experience an issue.
If you feel threatened or in immediate jeopardy during an IRE event, you should call building security by calling 0 from a house phone, or local police by dialing 911.
During the scheduled program, concerns can be brought to the attention of IRE staff or board members in person. Contact information to reach an IRE board member outside of the scheduled program can be found here: https://www.ire.org/about/board-of-directors
Received an email about resetting your password on the IRE website? We recently updated our site, and this reset will help improve security.
At the same time, you’ll be required to update a few fields, including the race/ethnicity portion of your member profile. While one response is “Decline to specify,” we hope you will decide to indicate your race/ethnicity. Now, nearly two-thirds of our members leave that information blank. That means we can’t answer a simple question: How many journalists of color are members of IRE? Until we have a better baseline, we also can’t track how we’re doing in our efforts to diversify our membership.
So, please consider taking a few moments to update all of the information in your member profile.
With better data, IRE can better serve you.
If you have questions, please contact us at info@ire.org or 573-882-2042.
Mice, mold and lead paint. Tenants in Illinois public housing complexes were doing their best to make their conditions more livable. But even after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development swooped in and seized control, change wasn’t swift. On this week’s episode, Molly Parker, an investigative reporter for the Southern Illinoisan and a member of ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network, walks us through her deep dives into public housing. Her reporting found the federal government failed many of the citizens it was supposed to be sheltering.
You can find the podcast on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Google Play. If you have a story you think we should feature on the show, drop us a note at web@ire.org. We’d love to hear from you.
Looking for links to the stories and resources we discussed on this week's podcast? We've collected them for you.
Tarte Tatin (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Calisson (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Coulis Coulis (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Waltz and Fury (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Manele (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Palms Down (Blue Dot Sessions) / CC BY-NC 4.0
Tessa Weinberg hosts the IRE Radio Podcast and reported this episode. IRE Editorial Director Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri.
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