If you fill out the "Forgot Password" form but don't get an email to reset your password within 5-10 minutes, please email logistics@ire.org for assistance.
Investigations that revealed the story of Florida employees poisoned while trying to earn a paycheck, uncovered the deaths of those working in scorching heat across the country and scrutinized the role of race and inequality in society are among the recipients of the 2021 Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards.
“The winners of the 2021 IRE Awards not only represent the best of the best in investigative journalism, but they serve as a true reflection of why our work is so critical right now,” said Zaneta Lowe, chair of the IRE Awards contest committee. “We saw powerful storytelling, projects with immediate impact and pieces that served as a true public service to their communities. This year's winners also included student work that made me proud to see where our industry is headed. Congratulations to the winners and finalists!”
This year’s winners were selected from more than 500 entries. The awards, given since 1979, recognize the most outstanding watchdog journalism of the year. The contest covers 17 categories across media platforms and a range of market sizes.
Note: You must be logged in with your IRE membership to access stories through the resource center
“The Secret IRS Files,” ProPublica, Jesse Eisinger, Jeff Ernsthausen, Paul Kiel, Justin Elliott, James Bandler, Patricia Callahan, Robert Faturechi, Ellis Simani, Doris Burke, Agnes Chang and Lucas Waldron
Judges’ comments: This investigation made a once-in-a-lifetime leak of tax returns accessible through meticulous reporting and plain language and graphics. The reporters exposed the creative ways the world’s richest people amass unparalleled wealth while paying virtually no taxes. The historic effort revealed gross absurdities and inequities of the tax system, prompting a global conversation about possible reforms.
Finalists:
- “Airstrikes Gone Wrong,” The New York Times, The Staff of The New York Times
- “Hidden Interests,” The Wall Street Journal
“Poisoned,” Tampa Bay Times with the support of PBS Frontline, Corey G. Johnson, Rebecca Woolington, Eli Murray
Judges’ comments:
“Poisoned” was an extraordinary and incredibly focused investigation.The data was difficult to acquire and piece together, making this investigation a step above the rest. On top of the stunning journalism, the lengths that these reporters took to get the certifications was remarkable and made it rise to the level of an IRE Medal. The judges were left speechless. Outstanding!
Finalists:
- “After Hours: Fostering Chaos,” KING5 Seattle
- "Unsettled: Cashing in on Accident Victims,” Minneapolis Star Tribune
- "State On Fire," The California Newsroom
“Wires and Fires,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/USA Today Network, Raquel Rutledge, John Diedrich, Daphne Chen
Judges’ comments: This project exposed a scourge in the poorest areas of Milwaukee: No one was investigating who was to blame for deadly fires that were caused by hazardous wiring. The project explored how powerful business interests, particularly landlords and developers, had weakened laws that would have better protected tenants from dying in fires at rental properties. The compelling visuals also showed exactly how to detect signs of hazardous wiring. The judges were particularly impressed with a consultant commissioned by the Journal Sentinel to spot-check the safety of rental properties in fire-prone areas – something the city itself had never done.
Finalists:
- "A labor camp, a Super 8 and a long bus ride home,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- “Windsor mayor investigation,” San Francisco Chronicle
“Death Sentence,” The Indianapolis Star, Tim Evans, Ryan Martin, Robert Scheer and Ko Lyn Cheang
Judges’ comments: The Star’s work in “Death Sentence” shines a glaring light on what’s happening behind bars in Indiana’s jails. The fact that the team took on the task of counting deaths and piecing together an entire system, which hadn’t been done before, allows the work to stand out. The investigation also goes beyond accountability by examining solutions and offering information to the public, allowing people to find out what’s happening in jails in their communities. From the innocent people harmed and the impact on their families, to the perspective from law enforcement willing to go on record..the Indy Star weaved together personal stories and data, which made people care, and that was powerful.
Finalist:
- "Uncovered," The Post and Courier
- “Secrets of the Death Chamber,” The State
“The Island of Secrets,” Al Jazeera Media Network, Al Jazeera I Unit
Judges’ comments: This was compelling visual storytelling by Al Jazeera that merged satellite imagery and shipping data to tell a more complete story about how the Indian government has been transforming a remote Mauritian island. The investigative team focused on data to definitively answer lingering questions about what was happening to the island. Journalists also overcame technical challenges to access information from the island. That included obtaining pictures and videos that more clearly showed the island’s infrastructure transformation over time. Al Jazeera also elevated the voices of island residents to shed light on the potential human ramifications.
Finalist:
- “Broken Medical Boards,” CBS Mornings
“The GAP: Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect,” KARE11, Brandon Stahl, A.J. Lagoe, Steve Eckert, Gary Knox, Ron Stover
Judges’ comments: This project revealed a stunning exception in the adjudication process that allowed profoundly mentally ill individuals who were charged with crimes to be released without appropriate care and supervision. In more than a hundred cases the state couldn’t track, these individuals would be charged with other crimes — including murder.
Finalists:
- "Politically Charged," ABC15 Arizona
- “Aundrea's Final Ride: A Culture In Question," KMGH Denver7
“Failure Factory,” Fox45 News, Baltimore, Carolyn Peirce, Chris Papst, Jed Gamber, Dwayne Myers, Ray Rogowski
Judges’ comments: Working off a tip from a stunned parent, Project Baltimore was able to shed light on how Baltimore City Public Schools failed to educate students while mismanaging funds. Between confirming "ghost students" and going beyond the publicly available data many stated was flawed, they were able to penetrate a system and develop relationships with sources to prove what had been happening - unnoticed - inside Augusta Fells Savage High School for years. When Fox45 initially broke the story in March 2021, City Schools tried to downplay the significance of the findings. However, after an internal investigation, they too confirmed Fox45's reporting. The Maryland State Department of Education even announced City Schools may have to pay back money that it received in 2019 to educate students who were not in school at Augusta Fells.
Finalists:
- “Utah's Parole Supervision Failure,” KUTV 2 News Salt Lake City
- “Attention to the Details,” WVUE-New Orleans
“The Death of Jamal Sutherland,” WCSC Charleston, Raphael James, Lisa Weismann, Nick Reagan, Katie Kamin, Thomas Gruel, Jennifer Dale, Carter Coyle, Jared Kofsky, Katilin Stansell, Rob Way, Live 5 News Staff
Judges’ comments: The story of Jamal Sutherland was compelling and emotional. The level of detail that Live 5 took to tell this story was incredible, talk about punching above your weight! Dogged reporting at its best – the importance of this story was demonstrated in the number of resources and amount of time the team dedicated to the project.
Finalist:
- “Breakdown: The Frontline Response to the Mental Health Crisis,” KSLA - Shreveport
- "Dangerous Pursuits," KARK - Little Rock
“Mississippi Goddam: The Ballad of Billey Joe,” Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Al Letson, Jonathan Jones, Kevin Sullivan, Michael I Schiller, Steven Rascón, Amy Mostafa, Sarah Mirk, Rosemarie Ho, Nikki Frick, Ko Bragg, Michael Montgomery, Laurel Hennen Vigil, Melissa Lewis, Jim Briggs, Fernando Arruda, Claire Mullen, Najib Aminy, Kathryn Styer Martinez
Judges’ comments: Through its compelling storytelling, interviews and years-long reporting, Reveal raises serious questions and ultimately casts doubt on the death investigation of Billey Joe Johnson. The team managed to obtain records in a state notorious for keeping them secret, which was just the start of what their investigation unraveled. Hearing the medical examiner admit, on record, that the case could now be viewed through a different lens was major. Ultimately though, while the focus of “Mississippi Goddam” may have been Johnson’s case, the team manages to tell a much bigger story about systemic racism in America. From beginning to end, the episodes reflects upon ugly truths of the past that continue to impact the present, revealing how race continues to play a role in the criminal justice system in our country.
- “Hot Days: Heat’s Mounting Death Toll On Workers In The U.S.” NPR, The California Newsroom, The Texas Newsroom, Columbia Journalism Investigations and Public Health Watch, Cheryl W. Thompson and Robert Benincasa (NPR); Jacob Margolis and Adriene Hill (The California Newsroom); Stella M. Chavez, Sara Willa Ernst, Dominic Walsh and Fernanda Camarena (The Texas Newsroom); Julia Shipley, David Nickerson, Brian Edwards, Cascade Tuholske and Kristen Lombardi (Columbia Journalism Investigations); Kim Krisberg and Jim Morris (Public Health Watch)
Judges’ comments: Outstanding collaboration and compilation of stories uncovering the dangers workers face outside in the heat from just doing their job. The team does a superb job of explaining the multiple levels of failures. From OSHA and its soft penalties and lack of inspection, to the companies that hire these men and women, and ultimately the federal government which could set the standard with a law. In fact, establishing that there’s no regulatory standard for heat in the workplace was revelatory! Furthermore, with a warming planet and climate change, this is an issue workers will continue to face, which makes such an investigation even more critical.
Finalist:
- “There Is Anger. He Should Be Alive,” KQED
“Dig: The Model City,” Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting and Newsy, Eleanor Klibanoff Carrie Cochran, Karen Rodriguez, Maia Rosenfeld, Maren Machles, Kate Howard, Laura Ellis, Ellen Weiss, Rosie Cima, Mark Fahey, Zach Cusson, Mai Nolasco-Carranza, J. Tyler Franklin, Chelsae Ketchum
Judges’ comments: “The Model City” placed listeners at the center of how the city of Louisville failed to reform its police department despite participation in a key federal program. Relying on records and extensive interviews with local officials and residents, KyCIR transported listeners to multiple environments to better understand how far the city’s public commitment had unraveled. The focus on community voices also captured a collective grief that highlighted how much is at stake with future policy actions.
Finalist:
- “Behind The Blue Wall: Officers Describe A ‘Toxic’ Culture Within Metro Police,” WPLN News/Nashville Public Radio
“Printing Hate,” The University of Maryland - Howard Center for Investigative Journalism
Judges’ comments: As the mainstream media reckons with its racist past, this collaborative project went well-beyond any of those efforts to show the complicity of newspapers in race-based violence by creating a permanent archive of the very hate-filled pages. In an interactive database and presentation and through more than a dozen stories of the lives lost, this effort ensures that this history is not tucked away in an archive and forgotten. The judges quickly realized this project was IRE Medal-worthy.
Finalists:
- “Little Victims Everywhere,” Howard Center for Investigative Journalism - Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
- “Unmasking America,” News21
“The COVID-19 Money Trail,” The Daily Targum, Hayley Slusser, Madison McGay, Chloe Tai
Judges’ comments: Student work at its finest… landing an investigation that reveals wrongdoing, prompts public scrutiny, leads to reforms, and has meaningful impact. This caliber of work is among what you’d see in a professional paper. Impressive.
Finalists:
- “Alumni allege history of inappropriate conduct with female students by Princeton professor Joshua Katz,” The Daily Princetonian
- “Real estate agents in school board land deal are accused of ‘working both sides,’ increasing cost to Alachua County taxpayers,” Fresh Take Florida
“National Women's Soccer League,” The Washington Post, Molly Hensley-Clancy
Judges’ comments: A comprehensive look at a system of abuse inside the world of American women’s soccer at a time when the sport is growing in popularity. The Washington Post’s Molly Hensley-Clancy revealed allegations of verbal and emotional abuse within the National Women’s Soccer League and the inaction of its governing body. Through interviews with current and former players, Hensley-Clancy offered readers a glimpse at a culture of silence and questionable labor practices.
Finalist:
- “The Inside Story of How the NFL Got Its 17th game,” ESPN
- “Courtney's Story,” Defector
- “What Parler Saw During the Attack on the Capitol,” ProPublica
Judges’ comments: A massive undertaking of data collection that uniquely captured the Jan. 6 insurrection from a wide range of vantage points. ProPublica’s exhaustive review of riot-related videos resulted in a unique interactive that provided the public with an early archive of history — work that would later be cited in criminal affidavits and Donald Trump’s impeachment hearing.
-”Unprepared: Texas Winter Storm 2021,” The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, Jolie McCullough, Duncan Agnew, Erin Douglas, Kate McGee, Jeremy Schwartz, Kiah Collier, Vianna Davila
Judges’ comments: The team’s coverage of a large winter storm was not just hard-hitting accountability journalism, it was public service at its best. A team of journalists worked under difficult personal conditions to provide Texas residents with basic information about their health and safety while also combating misinformation from public officials about the cause of the resulting power outages.
Finalists:
- “No Escape Plan,” Houston Chronicle
“The Hidden Tab," Spotlight PA & The Caucus, Angela Couloumbis, Sam Janesch, Brad Bumsted, Mike Wereschagin and Sarah Anne Hughes
Judges’ comments: “Hidden Tab” demonstrated the true cost of government! Spotlight PA and The Caucus executed a multi-layered FOIA strategy to develop something that hadn’t been done before, and ultimately revealed the myriad of ways in which state legislators spend millions of tax dollars in questionable ways. Furthermore, they highlighted a dynamic that people don’t often think about in the per diem. The team’s work included bi-partisan reaction and a powerful solutions aspect in the form of what the legislature could do to be more transparent in the future, which could also lead to change. The team’s exhaustive process and method in which they leveraged FOIA fundamentally “opened government” and that’s a true example of what this type of reporting should look like.
Finalists:
- “Board lessens punishment in Title IX inquiry,” Madison County Record
- “Battling police secrecy in Alabama,” AL.com
“The Secretive Prisons That Keep Migrants Out of Europe,” The Outlaw Ocean Project and The New Yorker magazine, Ian Urbina
Judges’ comments: This project showed how European nations attempt to curb immigration from Africa in dozens of languages and multiple formats, ensuring it was widely accessible not only to those who participate in the system but those who are subject to it, serving as a warning. The team took great personal risk in this investigation, as they were literally kidnapped.
Finalists
- “Beatings, bigotry and cover-ups at the Louisiana State Police,” Associated Press
- "Pandora Papers," International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, The Washington Post, Miami Herald and nearly 150 other media partners around the world
“Code of Silence - Sexual Misconduct by Federal Judges, the Secret System that Protects Them, and the Women who Blew the Whistle,” Lise Olsen
Judges' comments: With few public records and reluctant sources, the judges were impressed with how much Olsen was able to publish on previously undisclosed judicial sexual misconduct at the federal level. Her detailed writing educates the reader on just how hard it is for survivors to speak up about workplace sexual harassment and assault, particularly when the perpetrator enforces justice.
FINALIST
“Driving While Brown: Sheriff Joe Arpaio Versus the Latino Resistance,” Terry Greene Sterling and Jude Joffe-Block
_____________________________________________________________________
Contest entries are screened and judged by IRE members who are working journalists. Work that includes a significant role by any member of the IRE Contest Committee or the IRE Board may not be entered in the contest. Work in which board members did not play a significant editorial role can be entered. First-round screeners may not review categories in which their news organization could compete.
Serving on the Contest Committee represents a significant sacrifice on the part of the individual contest judge — and often an entire newsroom — that may have done outstanding investigative work.
This year’s contest judges:
To ensure fairness and transparency, some judges were not present during deliberations in specific categories due to potential conflicts of interest. They are:
IRE, founded in 1975, is a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to training and supporting journalists who pursue investigative stories. IRE also operates the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR), a joint program with the Missouri School of Journalism.
For questions or concerns about the IRE Awards please contact Lauren Grandestaff, lauren@ire.org, 573-882-6668.
Applications are now open to participate in the IRE Conference mentorship program, either as a mentor or as a mentee.
FOR IN-PERSON ATTENDEES: If you’ll be joining us in Denver, you can sign up by filling out this form. IRE will match mentors with mentees and arrange for them to meet at a breakfast during the conference. The IRE22 mentorship breakfast will be held from 7:45 - 8:45 a.m. on Friday, June 24, at the conference hotel.
Space is limited in this popular program, and the deadline to apply is midnight CT on Sunday, May 22. If the slots are filled before then, your application will be added to a waitlist.
Please also note that you must register for the in-person conference by May 23 in order to participate.
FOR VIRTUAL ATTENDEES: If you can’t make it to Denver this year but still want to find a mentor, please check out the IRE page at JournalismMentors.com, where you can set up a time to meet virtually with an IRE member mentor.
Thirteen newsrooms have been chosen to receive custom watchdog training in the coming year through IRE’s Total Newsroom Training program.
TNT provides two days of intensive, in-house training for small and medium-sized newsrooms dedicated to watchdog journalism. This is the eighth year IRE has offered the free program, which is supported through a grant.
TNT newsroom training is customized and includes two days of sessions ranging from public records battles to hands-on data analysis.
The newsrooms were chosen from more than 50 applications this year.
"Watchdog reporting is the heart and soul of journalism and IRE is excited to bring back the TNT sessions that focus on those skills to newsrooms across the country," IRE Executive Director Diana R. Fuentes said. "From Seattle to El Paso to Louisville, Kentucky, and nearly a dozen points in between, we are proud of the diversity of journalists that will be receiving this cutting-edge training. We believe the communities they serve will see the benefits for a long time to come."
Congratulations to the winning newsrooms:
The Beacon (Kansas City Beacon/Wichita Beacon) (Missouri/Kansas)
El Paso Matters (El Paso, TX)
The Forward (Nationwide)
Futuro Media (Nationwide)
Injustice Watch (Chicago, IL)
KNKX (Seattle/Tacoma, WA)
KREM 2 (Spokane, WA/Coeur d’Alene, ID)
KTXL/FOX40 (Sacramento, CA)
Mountain State Spotlight (Charleston, WV)
Scalawag Magazine (Southern U.S.)
Spectrum News 1 Kentucky (Louisville, KY)
Taos News (Taos, NM)
WGLT/WCBU (Peoria, IL & Bloomington-Normal, IL)
Thanks to everyone who pitched and voted on the Lightning Talks for NICAR22. Here are the talks we’ll be hearing online and in-person in Atlanta Friday, March 4 at 5 p.m.
1. Teach better: Here's how | Jessica Huseman
In 5 minutes, I’ll teach you to teach better. Craft an objective, align your lessons to that objective, and measure the objective to ensure your students have attained the skill you want to teach.
2. Beyond fact-checking Whack-a-Mole: Using narrative and contextual analysis to decode mis/disinformation | Giovana Fleck
Identifying misinformation and disinformation online can feel like a hopeless game of Whack-a-Mole: false and harmful information is proliferating online at a rate that makes it impossible for even the most efficient fact-checking system to keep up. While fact-checking and other quantitative approaches to stopping the spread of mis- and disinformation are important, they often fail to identify broader narratives and local context and subtext that permit a fuller understanding of the broader dynamics at work in media ecosystems.
3. How do different newsrooms' style-guides compare: A data dive | Areena Arora
I created a searchable database of different newsrooms' (BBC, BuzzFeed, Reuters, The Guardian and NPR) styleguides to see how they compare. Some words, such as, 'Black' aren't capitalized by some newsrooms, while others do — giving a peek into their editorial leanings.
4. How many mosquitoes does it take to kill you? | Dexter McMillan
Since hiking in Ontario two years ago, getting absolutely swarmed by mosquitoes, I've been obsessed with a question: how many mosquitoes would it take to gang up and threaten your life? Using Python Pandas and Datawrapper to visualize, I will create a dataset that attempts to answer this question. The audience, many of whom will known how to use Pandas to analyze already-built datasets, will learn how to use these tools to tell a story by building a dataset themselves.
5. You'll Never Guess How These Platform Algorithms Work | Jonathan Stray
Recommender systems are the algorithms that power social media and news aggregators. I've spent the last two years studying them and helping others build them in the public interest. Here's what I've learned about what's inside the black boxes.
6. How to end tabmageddon| Cezary Podkul
Face it: You have waaay too many web browser tabs open and it's driving you crazy. It's also not good for you. Here's a few good strategies for how to regain control over your online research and end tabmageddon once and for all.
7. When An Internet Source Won't Tell You Who They Are | Ari Schneider
Too often do journalists quote anonymous internet users without knowing who they are, but that falls short of rigorous journalism ethics. How do you know what their motives are, or if they're not the same person operating under multiple accounts? My presentation will help investigative reporters build the trust of potential sources from the dark web, Reddit, Discord, etc, to get information on the record and on background from individuals who are accustomed to being cloaked by message board anonymity.
8. Wayback Machine - Tips and Techniques | Mark Graham
10 Tips and Techniques about how to use the Wayback Machine in your next investigation. Will review some new and lesser known features and capabilities. News you can use!
9. File management, organization and documentation for dummies (And why doing it badly can be disastrous) | Yoohyun Jung
How many times have you saved files in random directories and you cannot remember the file path to save your life? Bad management and organization of files can prove disastrous, especially when you're working on big projects. Helpful tips I gained from my own disasters.
10. An awesome tool for finding sources | Brad Hamilton
The best option out there for identifying and making contact with potential sources -- whether you're looking for someone specific or trying to cultivate an FBI agent, for example, or an employee of the Trump Organization -- is the Contacts Reference database in LexisNexis. This amazing tool, compiled by web scrapers that troll for professional profiles among company and government agency websites, as well as job-search outfits like LinkedIn, unearths sources from among hundreds of millions of profiles, showing you names, titles, employers, areas of expertise and how to reach them by work email and office phone numbers. An astonishingly small number of journalists have heard of this tool, let alone know how to use it properly. This session will show you how.
Applications are now open to participate in the #NICAR22 conference mentorship program, either as a mentor or as a mentee, for IRE’s live program in Atlanta in March.
If you’ll be joining us for the conference in person, you can sign up by filling out this form. If you can’t make it to Atlanta this year but still want to find a mentor, please check out the IRE page at JournalismMentors.com, where you can set up a time to meet virtually with an IRE member mentor.
IRE will match mentors with mentees and arrange for them to meet at a breakfast during the conference. The NICAR22 mentorship breakfast — sponsored by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, University of Missouri — will be held from 7:30 - 8:45 a.m. on Friday, March 5, at the conference hotel.
Space is limited in this popular program, and the deadline to apply is midnight CT on Friday, Feb. 11. If the slots are filled before then, your application will be added to a waitlist.
Please also note that you must register for the conference by Feb. 14 in order to participate.
IRE wants your ideas for the upcoming IRE Conference in Denver next June. We’re also starting an email list so you can keep up with news about the conference.
Use this form to share ideas, suggestions and other comments to help us plan the best possible #IRE22 conference. No suggestion is too big or too small.
Here are a few ways you can use this form:
Have several ideas? Great! Fill out the form as many times as you’d like. And help us spread the word by sharing this form with friends and colleagues.
Keep in mind that IRE retains editorial control over the content of its conferences. If we use your idea, our team will take care of reaching out to speakers and finalizing details. Here are some other tips we put together to help you make the best pitch and understand our process.
The conference will be June 23-26 at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Denver, and online for those unable to attend in person. IRE will release more details about registration and travel in the coming weeks.
Make sure to get your ideas in by Jan. 23. Please direct questions to conference@ire.org.
IRE’s first symposium on diversity and inclusion is going online Oct. 21-22, allowing members to join safely from their hometowns around the world as the pandemic continues.
The DBEI Symposium on diversity, belonging, equity and inclusion had originally been planned as a hybrid event, including an in-person component in Baltimore, but IRE is moving the event fully online because of the continued uncertainty of the coronavirus delta variant situation.
“IRE already had a robust virtual program well underway for the symposium and our staff and supporters are now finalizing the transition to fully virtual as we count down the weeks to this unique event,” said IRE Executive Director Diana Fuentes. “We’re working to create a safe environment to engage in difficult discussions about diversity, belonging, equity and inclusion issues. These discussions — and subsequent actions — are vital for the future of our industry. We hope you’ll join us.”
The symposium schedule can be viewed here, and new sessions and speakers are continually being added. The symposium will include a mix of panels, small-group conversations, networking and master classes, which are 2- to 3-hour deep-dive workshops. All sessions are included in the registration fee of $150 for professional members or $50 for student members. IRE membership is required to attend.
Sessions will provide journalists with tools to help make their newsrooms more diverse and inclusive as well as how to better cover historically marginalized communities and topics. There will be sessions geared toward reporters, editors, educators and students.
“We’ve got plenty of work to do to get to all the dimensions of DBEI work we are called to in order to improve our journalism, and IRE is committed to helping push those conversations forward,” said Francisco Vara-Orta, IRE’s Director of Diversity and Inclusion. “It’s a pivotal moment in history to rise to the occasion for journalists, and these panels we hope will help our colleagues feel better equipped to tackle their work inside and outside of newsrooms with more specific guidance and support.”
The symposium will take place from noon to 4 p.m. Eastern U.S. Time on both days, to allow for participation across the United States and around the world. Training sessions will be recorded and available for attendees on demand on the conference platform after the conference is over.
Below are answers to some frequently asked questions.
What will registration cost for the virtual DBEI21 symposium?
Registration rates are:
Attendees must be members of current members of IRE through October ($70/professional, $25/students).
Will you have fellowships available?
Yes! With the switch to a virtual format, IRE anticipates having more fellowships available that cover the cost of registration and a one-year IRE membership. Click here for more information and to apply. You also can sign up for our DBEI21 Symposium newsletter to receive more information about fellowships as it is released.
I’ve never been to a virtual conference. How will it work?
Attendees will access session links on the Guidebook platform. The conference site will be private and accessible only to attendees. You will receive access to the conference platform about a week prior to the conference.
Will I need special equipment or software to participate?
All you’ll need is Internet access and a computer, laptop or tablet — much as you need to participate in an online video meeting. Google Chrome is the recommended browser, and attendees will need to download Zoom to access sessions
What if I’m working, attending class or dealing with other obligations that cause me to miss some sessions?
That’s the beauty of a virtual conference. Most sessions (excluding networking and small-group conversations) will be recorded and available to attendees following the conference. You can view them at your convenience. Most sessions will include video plus any related tipsheets and slide decks.
Will there be swag?
Yes, T-shirts, mugs, stickers and other items will be available for purchase in the IRE Store and will be shipped to you.
How can I become a sponsor of the virtual #DBEI21 conference?
The virtual platform offers many enticing opportunities for sponsors. If you’d like information on the benefits of sponsoring #DBEI21, please contact Anna Lopez, IRE director of partnerships, by email: anna@ire.org.
How can I keep up with new developments connected to #DBEI21?
Just sign up here to receive e-mail updates about #DBEI21. It’s the best way to stay up-to-date on the latest virtual conference news.
What if I have other questions?
Please contact logistics@ire.org. We’re here to help!
Welcome to the virtual #NICAR21 conference! If you’ve already registered, here’s what you need to know to access the conference.
(If you still need to register, you can do that online and then follow these instructions. You will receive an email to access the conference platform within one business day of registration. During conference week, we will work to give access as soon as possible after registration.)
The NICAR21 virtual conference is online at nicar21.org. We highly recommend you bookmark this URL for easy access, especially since you can access it for a full year!
If you’ve already registered, you should have received an email link with access to Pathable, our virtual conference platform. Using the link from that email, you’ll be asked to set a password. You will need this email and password to access Pathable during and after the conference.
Can’t find the email? Search your inbox and Spam folder for “Pathable.” If you still can’t find it, email logistics@ire.org.
The Pathable agenda will automatically reflect your time zone.
To add live sessions to your agenda, start on the main Agenda page (go to Schedule > Agenda). When you find a session you want to add to your schedule, click on the green plus sign located in the upper right-hand corner of each session.
Anything you add will show up on your My Agenda page (go to Schedule > My Agenda). You can also export your schedule to your personal calendar by using the Export Calendar feature located in My Agenda.
The conference features seven virtual data labs where you can learn spreadsheets, SQL, data wrangling, data viz, Python, R and web scraping -- with no sign-ups or extra fee required. The classes are all on demand and will be available for a year after the conference so you can work at your own pace and come back for refreshers.
Access the labs under Schedule > Virtual hands-on labs.
To compliment the virtual labs, we are offering live office hours where you can meet with an experience data journalist to help with a particular skill or project. Sign up here to be matched with an expert.
Note: You must sign up by Monday, Feb. 22 for one-on-one office hours. If you don’t sign up, you can come to open office hours found on the Agenda.
Most of the live sessions are being recorded and will be available in Pathable for one year after the conference. Every session description notes whether the session will be recorded.
As a general rule: panels and conversations will be recorded; networking and happy hour sessions will not.
Recorded sessions will be available for viewing a few hours after the session concludes. In addition, any tipsheets from the session will be available in the Files tab for each session.
Most panels (webinar-style meetings) will have the Zoom room embedded inside the Pathable page. This allows you to view the session even if your device or organization limits Zoom access. When you’re in the Pathable room, you’ll see the video on the left and the chat box on the right.
When you “Join a live meeting,” you may experience a brief delay and see a gray/black box as the embedded video loads.
If the embedded format shown above isn’t working, you also have the option to “use the Zoom app instead.” This will open a new Zoom window. (Find it directly under the video window in Pathable.)
It depends! There are two types of Zoom rooms, each noted at the bottom of that session’s description.
Finally, a note: If your organization or device limits Zoom access, you may not be able to unmute or go on video. But you should still be able to view the content and use the chat in Pathable.
Yes, you can enter and leave any live session (as long as it is not at capacity).
If you are having technical difficulties, make sure you are using Google Chrome. This will take care of some common problems, like a slow-loading browser or audio issues. But if you still need help, reach out one of the following ways:
IRE is bringing our popular Master Classes online this year, making them available to all IRE members.
Master Classes are half-day, deep-dive workshops into investigative reporting skills and are usually offered at our two annual conferences. In response to huge demand at the virtual IRE Conference last September, IRE is making some of its most popular Master Classes more widely available.
The first Online Master Class will be Feb. 19 focusing on digital investigations and taught by Jane Lytvynenko and Craig Silverman of BuzzFeed News. The second, on March 17, will help you become a public records sleuth, led by David Cuillier of University of Arizona and Grace Cheng of Thomson Reuters.
Cost
The Online Master Classes cost $35 each, and an IRE membership is required to register. Nonmembers may check requirements and apply for membership here.
Registration
View more information and register for the classes here.
Registration is open for IRE’s virtual NICAR21 data journalism conference, which runs March 3-5 and will feature hands-on data classes, panels and discussions, and opportunities to network with fellow data journalists.
Register by Feb. 10 to secure the early-bird rate of $125 for professionals. After that date, professional registration will be $175. Students may register at any time for $50. IRE membership is required to attend and should be current through April 1.
During the conference, members will be able to attend sessions, interact with speakers and one another, schedule one-on-one or small group video meetings, celebrate winners of the Philip Meyer Award, and gather virtually with IRE friends from across the country and around the world for fun activities.
Conference sessions will run between noon and 4 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time each day, with some social events scheduled after main conference hours.
Submissions also are now open for pitches for Lightning Talks, quick and quirky 5-minute presentations that are a beloved NICAR tradition, and for the NICAR21 T-shirt contest, where the winning design will be sold as conference swag. Submission for both are due Jan. 27, and members can vote for the winning talks and T-shirt design soon after.
“While the NICAR Conference will look different this year, we are excited to bring the same high-quality data journalism training to our members in this new format,” IRE Interim Executive Director Denise Malan said. “The online conference also will be accessible for more journalists than ever before.”
Sign up for the NICAR21 email newsletter to receive detailed updates on major announcements and the planning process. You’ll also get reminders of key dates/deadlines surrounding the conference.
Frequently asked questions
How do I register for NICAR21?
First, make sure you have a current IRE membership through April 1, 2021. You can do that by logging into your account on the website and going to Manage Memberships in your Member Dashboard.
Next, go to the conference ticket page. The correct price for your membership level will show up in the ‘Get Tickets’ block. Click ‘Add to cart’ and follow the steps to check out.
If the ticket block is blank, please check that you are logged into your account with a current membership. If you still need help, email info@ire.org.
What sessions can I expect at a virtual NICAR21?
View a list of expected sessions here. Full session and speaker details will be released in the coming weeks.
NICAR21 will offer a mix of panels, demos, discussions, networking, and on-demand hands-on data training, with several options to choose from during each hour of the conference.
Will there be Lightning Talks?
Lightning Talks, a much-anticipated session at every NICAR conference, will be part of the virtual experience as well. Lightning Talks are 5-minute presentations on particular skills, tools or techniques. Pitches are submitted and voted on by NICAR21 attendees.
You can submit a pitch for a Lightning Talk here. Pitches are due Jan. 27, and voting will open shortly afterward.
Will we have opportunities to socialize?
While we aren’t able to hang out in person this year, we still want to bring the NICAR community together in some more relaxed social settings. The NICAR Happy Hour sessions will offer everything from low-key to high-energy sessions to help you unwind after a long and exhausting day (or year).
What will hands-on training look like in a virtual setting?
All hands-on training will be on demand, via short, recorded videos that teach the same skills NICARians have come to expect from our conferences. Attendees can learn valuable data journalism skills, tips and tricks at their own pace. Videos will be recorded by IRE trainers teaching these skills:
Each lab will include instructions to set up your computer at home, data files to follow along, and other resources.
NICAR will also offer numerous office hour sessions where attendees can sign up to receive live help from experts in various skills to complement the on-demand training.
What are the tech requirements to attend NICAR21?
The conference will be held on an event platform called Pathable, which is best viewed on the Chrome browser. Sessions within Pathable are held on Zoom, and attendees should download Zoom here (free and available for Mac and PC).
Attendees will receive a login for the Pathable platform before the conference.
Does IRE offer fellowships to attend?
Fellowships are available for the following communities:
Fellowships include a complimentary IRE membership/renewal ($25 for students/$70 for pros) and a complimentary conference registration ($50 for students/$175 for pros).
For more information and to apply, visit our fellowships page.
How long can I access conference materials?
All on-demand classes, live session recordings, tipsheets and session materials will be available on the conference website for one year for any attendee to access. Members are encouraged to register for the conference even if they can’t attend during live conference hours.
Will there be a mentorship program?
No, the mentorship program will not be a component of the virtual conference. One-on-one help for data skills and projects will be available at office hour sessions where attendees can sign up for individual time slots.
How do I keep up with all the news about NICAR21?
Sign up here to receive email newsletters with all the latest NICAR21 announcements about sessions, Lightning Talks, the T-shirt contest, office hour signups and more!
Looks like you haven't made a choice yet.
