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.
(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.
Looks like you haven't made a choice yet.
