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Projects investigating the Veterans Administration, immigration from South Asia to the U.S. and the first prosecution of a national security leaker during the Trump administration have been awarded IRE Freelance Fellowships. The winners of the 2018 competition are:
The generosity of an anonymous donor has allowed IRE to award fellowships for the last 11 years. The fellowships give independent journalists a financial boost to pursue investigative work.
Visit our online library of Freelance Fellowship winners to see some of the work they’ve produced.
If you’d like to donate to the Freelance Fellowship fund, click here to make a secure credit card donation. Please designate "Freelance Fellowship” in the form.
About the award:
IRE Freelance Fellowships are for journalists who make their living primarily as freelance/independent journalists. Applications are scrutinized by three experienced freelance journalists. Proposals are judged in part on the breadth, significance and potential impact of the investigative project. At the request of the donor, proposals dealing with whistleblowers, business ethics and/or privacy issues will receive priority; projects involving other topics will be given serious consideration by the committee as well. The freelance projects must be published or aired primarily in U.S. outlets.
By Julie Christie, IRE & NICAR
The newly elected IRE Board of Directors named Cheryl W. Thompson president last week during the organization’s annual conference in Orlando. She makes history as IRE’s first African-American board president.
Thompson first joined the board in 2015 and became vice president in 2017.
She teaches investigative journalism at The George Washington University and writes investigative stories for The Washington Post.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Christie: Tell us a bit about your history with IRE.
Thompson: I attended my first IRE conference in 1996 in Providence, Rhode Island. I was on a panel to talk about an investigation I had done into irregularities of a heart transplant program at the University of Kansas Medical Center. It was there that I knew I really wanted to be a part of this organization. I saw how organized it was. I saw the skills that it offered and I thought, "You know, I need to be part of this."
It was also in Providence that I met a recruiter from The Washington Post who attended my panel and asked me for my resume. I started at the Post the following January. So my point is, those connections are invaluable, but it helps when you belong to organizations like IRE. You just never know who you're going to meet.
It took me 19 years to decide to run for the IRE board. I just wanted to make sure when I ran for the board in 2015 that I had the time to devote to the organization. I don't believe in joining organizations if I can't give my all. So that's why it took so long, and then I knew enough about the organization where I really could contribute and bring something to the table.
What are you most excited about for your new role?
I'm excited that I get to continue working with the amazing folks on the board. Everyone is really dedicated to ensuring that IRE continues to thrive. I'm also excited to collaborate and share ideas that hopefully will move the organization forward. Investigative journalism is needed now more than ever in this country and also around the world.
Diversity in journalism is a huge conversation right now, especially at IRE. What does it mean for you to be the first black Board president?
I'm honored to lead this 5,700-member organization that I've been a part of for so long. I actually never thought that when I joined IRE, I would one day be its president. You know, I don't think like that. I just tried to work hard for the organization and pitch in where I saw need, like becoming a mentor to other young black journalists who want to do watchdog journalism. Being a woman of color who just happens to be board president allows me the opportunity to show everyone that IRE is about inclusivity. Our organization should reflect the tapestry of this country, which is not just black and white.
There are 13 faces on this board and none of us can succeed without the other members, so we’re a team. There are not a lot of women of color in investigative journalism in print, but the numbers are growing and that's a good thing. So, I think having myself and others out there representing IRE could help continue to grow the numbers.
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the organization?
While the organization is in good financial health, there's always a need for more funding. And the rapidly changing landscape of newsrooms as they cut back and reorganize is bound to have membership consequences for groups like IRE. But we will continue to look for ways to help fill the gaps created by staff cuts.
Looking ahead, what are your goals as board president?
When I first ran for the board in 2015, my platform was to increase diversity and boost student membership. I've worked diligently to help make that happen by ensuring that we have a diverse pool of speakers for conferences, and that we get students more involved.
Since I started teaching investigative journalism at George Washington University, more than 100 students have joined IRE. They love the resources IRE offers. I’m also a huge supporter of IRE's mentoring program and I want that to grow. We had about 175 mentors and mentees at this year's conference.
I'd also like to work closer with the international community. IRE collaborates with international partners and it would be terrific to do cross-border collaboration, but we need to find funding to do more training and collaboration in places like Africa. African journalists do amazing, sometimes dangerous work as investigative journalists, so it would be great to do more training and collaboration. I'm also proud to say that we had more than 100 international journalists from 20 countries at this year's conference in Orlando, and that included nearly two dozen from South Korea. So involving international journalists also builds our diversity.
Tell us a little bit about your current roles at The Washington Post and George Washington.
I like to say that I have the best of both worlds, at least that's what my editor told me when I was deciding what I wanted to be when I grew up. I'm teaching the next generation of journalists, and it’s fantastic to be able to hopefully mold and shape them because they're going to to take over and this is going to be their world and they need to have the skills and tools to get out there and really do good journalism. So I'm happy to be able to do that, but I also still get to write investigative stories for The Washington Post. Journalism is my passion. It always has been and it always will be.
We’ll be raising money at the 2018 IRE Conference in Orlando to support diversity scholarships. All donations made during the conference — on-site or online —will go toward this important cause and help send journalists of color to the 2019 IRE Conference in Houston.
We asked previous diversity fellowship recipients to share how the award made a difference in their careers. Here’s what Ralph Chapoco of the Washington County Daily News told us:
It was toward the end of the fall in 2016, fearing I had mistakenly chosen the wrong profession, that I began to wonder what my next career choice would be. Would I remain in the field that I had come to admire and adore, or would I return to my prior job, that of a scientist?
Journalism amounted to a career transition for me. I started as a scientist, transferred to marketing before finding my calling as a journalist. It has been three years since I made the switch. I have lived throughout the Midwest and written about a range of issues, from education to taxation.
Each transition represented an evolution for my skills and experiences, but after one year working at the Washington County Daily News (West Bend, Wisconsin) I felt I had begun to stagnate.
It was then that I reached out to veterans of the trade to solicit some advice. They told me about Investigative Reporters and Editors, the mission of the organization, programs available for journalists to deepen their understanding of the profession — and a conference where journalists from every part of the country and from every corner of the profession attend.
My life changed when I learned I would be one of the award recipients — the resources of a small-town publication are limited, and the only chance to attend was with a scholarship.
During the four days at the conference, I had the chance to learn from those at the top of their profession, from people I hoped to one day become. One of my most memorable moments was listening to a lecture about proper interview techniques. In that session, I learned the nuances of asking the necessary questions to obtain the most important answers.
I was taught how to identify the type of information a source could offer, and how to elicit that material from asking insightful questions. I understood how to present myself and how to establish a strategy for interviewing difficult officials.
All those resources pale in comparison to the data sessions I attended. With the assistance of IRE staff, I learned how to manipulate spreadsheets and analyze data, offering me greater insights into potential story ideas.
Of all my experiences in Arizona, I believe meeting my mentor was the most significant. The conference afforded me a person I could speak with about issues I deal with daily, receive guidance for addressing difficult concerns and someone I could rely on for motivation.
Investigative Reporters and Editors has named the City of Atlanta as the winner of its annual Golden Padlock Award recognizing the most secretive U.S. agency or individual.
Atlanta was selected for this honor for directing city staff to block records requests and for releasing false invoices that triggered a criminal investigation into alleged violations of Georgia’s Open Records Act. In response to a potentially embarrassing records request from Channel 2 News, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s press secretary sent text messages to city staff advising they respond by being, "as unhelpful as possible…Drag this out as long as possible…And provide information in the most confusing format available."
In a separate case, a city attorney provided legal invoices totaling $1.4 million in response to an Atlanta Journal Constitution request. But there was a problem: The invoices weren’t real. City officials buried the real ones and created new documents made to look like invoices for release to reporters without disclosing the sleight of hand, the newspaper found.
In March, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation opened a criminal investigation into alleged violations of the state’s open records act. Then, in April, the two Atlanta news outlets filed a complaint with Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr alleging “a culture of political interference” with open records requests at Atlanta City Hall, outlining 10 examples of alleged violations of the law and “a pervasive culture of noncompliance.
"The City of Atlanta has become the Golden Padlock Award’s first ever repeat nominee, adding to the remarkable achievement of its victory this year in the name of government secrecy excellence," said Golden Padlock committee chair Robert Cribb. "The city’s bold methods of stopping public interest information from reaching the public makes it richly deserving of this honor."
IRE invited city officials to attend the 2018 IRE Conference and receive the honor. No response was received.
"Some day, we hope, there will be no need for a Golden Padlock Award," IRE Executive Director Doug Haddix said. "Until then, we will keep shining a light on the most egregious abuses of the public trust."
To learn about the 2019 finalists, click here.
FINALISTS
IRE members returned three incumbents and elected four new members to the organization’s board Saturday.
Incumbents Jill Riepenhoff (Raycom Media), Nicole Vap (KUSA/9NEWS Denver) and Lee Zurik (WVUE-New Orleans) will be joined on the board by Matt Dempsey (Houston Chronicle), Jennifer LaFleur (Investigative Reporting Workshop/American University), Norberto Santana (Voice of OC) and Jodi Upton (Syracuse University).
Other candidates for the board were Emily Le Coz (GateHouse Media), Phil Williams (WTVF-Nashville) and Chrys Wu (Matchstrike LLC).
Board members serve two-year terms, with seven seats up for election during even-numbered years and six seats up for election in odd-numbered years.
After the election, the newly configured board selected members of the Executive Committee for the coming year: Cheryl W. Thompson, president; Lee Zurik, vice president; T. Christian Miller, treasurer; Jill Riepenhoff, secretary; and Nicole Vap, at-large member. Matt Goldberg, the immediate past board president, will serve in an advisory role on the Executive Committee.
The membership also elected two members to the Contest Committee: Jonah Newman (Chicago Reporter) and Jim Polk (retired journalist).
Miss the 2018 IRE Conference showcase panel "Doubling down on investigative reporting" with Dean Baquet, Marty Baron and Cynthia McFadden? We've posted audio.
In an epic newspaper competition, The New York Times and The Washington Post both have invested significant resources in watchdog journalism in recent years. Both have broken major stories on the Trump administration, sexual harassment and other issues on the national agenda. At the same time, both newspapers have reached record readership levels. Get an inside perspective from Dean Baquet, executive editor of the Times, and Marty Baron, executive editor of the Post. The lively, insightful conversation will be moderated by Cynthia McFadden, senior investigative and legal correspondent for NBC News.
We’ll be raising money at the 2018 IRE Conference in Orlando to support diversity scholarships. All donations made during the conference — on-site or online — will go toward this important cause and help send journalists of color to the 2019 IRE Conference in Houston.
We asked previous diversity fellowship recipients to share how the award made a difference in their careers. Here’s what Sarah Rafique of KXAN-TV told us:
I wanted to go to the IRE Conference for years, but as a first-generation American and woman of color, it is sometimes hard to justify spending money to invest in yourself and your career. Receiving the Philip L. Graham Diversity Fellowship to attend the conference last year gave me the same opportunities to grow and connect with fellow journalists and truth mongers. The skills and tips I learned throughout the conference contributed to successful reporting over the last year and allowed me to make a positive impact on my community.
Two Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporters who served on the IRE Board of Directors have been honored with Founders Awards: Jim Polk and the late Mike McGraw.
In addition, the IRE board also has presented Service Awards to outgoing board members Sarah Cohen, Andrew Donohue and Ellen Gabler.
"The impact these five individuals have had on IRE is profound," said Matt Goldberg, IRE board president. "We honor them for all the hard work, dedication and service they have given to our members."
In 2013, the IRE board created the Founders Award to recognize lifetime achievement, both for work in journalism and impact on IRE.
Polk is now retired after working more than 20 years for CNN as an investigative and documentary producer. Previously, he worked for the Associated Press in Washington, D.C., the Washington Star-News and NBC News for two decades as a national correspondent. He earned a Pulitzer Prize in 1974 for national reporting on the Watergate scandal. For his TV work, he has won a national News Emmy, as well as DuPont and Peabody awards.
Polk was elected to the IRE board during its first national conference in 1976. He served as IRE board president in 1978-80 and helped run five of IRE’s early national conferences. In recent years, he has served as an IRE Awards judge.
"Jim Polk has been an inspiration to countless IRE members," Goldberg said. "He has helped mentor so many journalists and truly serves as an ambassador for IRE in the journalism community."
McGraw, who died in January, had retired from the Kansas City Star in 2014 as an investigative reporter. Previously, he had worked for The Des Moines Register and The Hartford Courant. After retiring from the Star, he joined KCPT as a projects reporter and covered agriculture for NPR and KCUR’s Harvest Public Media. He and reporter Jeff Taylor shared the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for a seven-part investigation of the U.S. Agriculture Department.
McGraw served on the IRE board from 1994-2000. In addition, he contributed to the IRE Reporter’s Handbook, mentored countless journalists, and taught investigative reporting at the University of Missouri, the University of Kansas and as a Ferris professor in residence at Princeton University.
"For three decades, Mike McGraw inspired, encouraged and guided IRE members to do top-notch reporting. His legacy as investigative reporter and impact on our membership is unmatched," Goldberg said.
The three recipients of the IRE Service Award served a collective 22 years on the IRE board.
"The hard work and dedication by these three board members is evident by the strength and growth they brought to the organization," Goldberg said.
Cohen was first elected to the board in 2010 and served as its president from 2014-16. She works as Knight Chair for Data Journalism at the Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. Previously, she worked as the editor for computer-assisted reporting at The New York Times and as the Knight Chair in computational journalism at Duke University. Cohen has also worked as a database editor for The Washington Post and as a reporter at newspapers in Florida. She has shared in the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, an IRE medal and the Goldsmith Prize.
Gabler, the outgoing board secretary, has served on the IRE board since 2012. She works as an investigative reporter at The New York Times. Previously, she worked at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She received the 2013 Livingston Award for Young Journalists in National Reporting and in 2016 was a Gerald Loeb and IRE finalist, and winner of the Pulliam First Amendment Award. Her team's work in 2014 was honored with the Selden Ring, Loeb, and Scripps Howard Award for Investigative Reporting, as well as several other national honors.
Donohue, the outgoing board treasurer, has served on the IRE board since 2010. He works as the managing editor at Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting. Previously, he helped build and lead Voice of San Diego, a leading local investigative startup. Donohue served as a John S. Knight fellow at Stanford University. He's been a part of teams that have won the IRE award twice, the Online News Association's awards for Innovation in Investigative Reporting and General Excellence, and the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi award.
Looking for a place to grab a bite at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld? Here’s a list of the places to check out, their locations and hours.
Cash Sales (Grab and Go)
12 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Atrium CD
Starbucks
6 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Location: Atrium
Toppers Creamery
4 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Location: Atrium
Website: http://www.topperscreamery.com/
Tradewinds Restaurant (Buffet)
Lunch: 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Dinner: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Atrium
Boardwalk Bar and Grill (A la carte)
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Dinner: Food, 5 p.m. - midnight / Drinks, 5 p.m. -2 a.m.
Location: Atrium
Menu: Boardwalk Menu, Gluten Friendly Menu
Mist Sushi + Spirits
Dinner: Food, 5:30 p.m. -10 p.m. / Drinks, 5:30 p.m. - midnight
Location: Atrium
Menus: Sushi Menu, Bar Menu
Palms Grill
11:30 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Location: Pool area
Menus: Palms Menu, Pool Bar Gluten Friendly Menu
Food trucks
(Thursday and Friday)
12 p.m. -2:30 p.m.
Locations: Outside of the Oceans ballroom
Attending:
We’ll be raising money at the 2018 IRE Conference in Orlando to support diversity scholarships. All donations made during the conference — on-site or online —will go toward this important cause and help send journalists of color to the 2019 IRE Conference in Houston.
We asked previous diversity fellowship recipients to share how the award made a difference in their careers. Here’s what Vernal Coleman of The Seattle Times told us:
I’d written a couple of watchdog stories before applying for the IRE diversity fellowship last year, enough to fall in love with accountability journalism, and to know that I had a lot to learn about using the digital tools that make it possible.
But covering a busy and challenging beat doesn’t leave much time to develop technical skills. I applied for the IRE fellowship thinking a few solid days of hands-on training and mentoring from more experienced journalists was what I needed.
Turns out, I was right. Between the training sessions, discussions with my assigned mentor and conversations with other journalists, I came away from the conference experience better prepared to do the kind of reporting my beat demands.
In June, I’ll be speaking at the IRE Orlando conference about the lessons I learned reporting a recently published watchdog story on the misuse of taxpayer-funded subsidies for poor renters that, at this time last year, was just barely an idea.
I credit a lot of people with helping me land that story. Several of them met through the IRE fellowship.
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