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.
The IRE Jeff German Investigative Workshop will be held April 22-23, 2023, at the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies at UNLV. Click here for more information and to buy tickets.
9 - 9:15 a.m. | Welcome and overview
Diana Fuentes, IRE & NICAR
9:15 - 10:15 a.m. | Finding, cultivating and protecting sources
Diana Fuentes, IRE & NICAR; Vanessa Murphy, KLAS; John Smith, The Nevada Independent
10:15 - 10:30 a.m. | Break
10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Picking up the story: A colleague’s slaying
Briana Erickson, Art Kane & David Ferrara, Las Vegas Review-Journal; Rhonda Prast, freelance editor
12 - 1:30 p.m. | Lunch on your own
1:30 - 2:45 p.m. | How the killing of Jeff German threatens shield laws and source protections
Glenn Cook & Benjamin Lipman, Las Vegas Review-Journal
2:45 - 3 p.m. | Break
3 - 4 p.m. | Watchdog story ideas for anyone
Nate Carlisle, Fox 13 SLC; Caitlin McGlade, Arizona Republic
4 - 4:15 p.m. | Break
4:15 - 5:15 p.m. | Public records and data to request for (almost) any beat
Kean Bauman, KTNV; Diana Fuentes, IRE & NICAR; Benjamin Lipman, Las Vegas Review-Journal
5:15 - 5:30 p.m. | Wrap-up, what can IRE do for you?
Diana Fuentes, IRE & NICAR
9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Introduction to Google Sheets ($40)
Nate Carlisle, Fox 13 SLC; Michael Scott Davidson, Newsweek
Kean Bauman, KNTV
Kean Bauman is the Investigative Producer at KTNV (ABC) Las Vegas, a position he accepted in 2013.
Kean started his broadcast career while still in college at the University of Arizona where he worked on the production team for PBS member station KUAT. He joined KVOA (NBC) in Tucson in 2020 as a general news photographer. In later years, Kean carved out a position as special projects/investigative photographer and then added investigative producing duties. Kean has received a number of regional awards for his work for a variety of topics including the student loan debt crisis, guardianship corruption and animal welfare issues.
Nate Carlisle, Fox 13 SLC
Nate Carlisle is the producer on the investigative team at KSTU-FOX 13 Utah. He previously covered crime and polygamy and at The Salt Lake Tribune. He also teaches investigative journalism at the University of Utah. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Twitter: @natecarlisle
Glenn Cook, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Glenn Cook was named executive editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2018 after serving two years as managing editor. A Review-Journal employee since 1996, Cook wrote for the Review-Journal’s editorial page for more than 11 years and was a columnist for seven years. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. A Tucson, Arizona, native, Cook started his career at The Arizona Daily Star.
Briana Erickson, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Briana Erickson is an award-winning news reporter at the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She has spent much of her time following the people in the shadows including homeless and veterans issues. She has covered the Las Vegas mass shooting from the beginning, the water crisis in Cuba, the heroin and opioid crisis in Florida, health care and the daily cops and courts beat in Las Vegas. @ByBrianaE
David Ferrera, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Ferrara is an assistant city editor and former reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he worked closely with German for several years covering the legal system. Before joining the Review-Journal, he reported for a newspaper in Alabama and various news outlets in the Chicago area.
Diana Fuentes, IRE & NICAR
Diana R. Fuentes was named IRE's executive director in April 2021. She oversees training, conferences and services for 5,000+ members worldwide, and for programs including the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR). She most recently was deputy metro editor of the San Antonio Express-News, overseeing a team of reporters who cover government, courts, diversity issues, the environment and history, among other duties. She has over 30 years of journalism experience, from police reporter and statehouse bureau chief to editor and publisher. A second-generation Texan who is fluent in Spanish, Fuentes has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and a master's from Texas State University.
Art Kane, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Art Kane has been a reporter, editor, producer and executive producer for over three decades. He has won two duPont-Columbia awards, a Peabody, a national Emmy, and a number of other state and national honors. The Nevada Press Association named outstanding journalist of the year in Nevada in 2020 and again in 2022. His work resulted in indictments, removal of corrupt officials and changes in state law. He worked for six years with Jeff German, collaborating on stories about the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and misconduct by City Councilwoman Michele Fiore and Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg. In February, he was promoted to investigations editor at the Review-Journal.
Ben Lipman, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Ben Lipman is the chief legal officer of Las Vegas Review-Journal, Inc. Prior to heading west to the Review-Journal in 2019, Ben was in private practice in St. Louis for over 27 years, practicing primarily in the areas of media law and commercial litigation. A federal appellate judge once remarked that Ben wields the first amendment with reckless abandon. Ben has always taken it as a compliment.
Caitlin McGlade, Arizona Republic
Caitlin is a data reporter on the Arizona Republic's investigative team, where she has primarily covered senior care failures, environmental problems and elections. She also teaches data journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Vanessa Murphy, KLAS
Vanessa Murphy is an investigative reporter at 8 News Now. She received a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award in 2019 for her investigative reports exposing system failures at Child Protective Services and has received five Emmy awards during her time in Las Vegas. In addition to reporting, Vanessa also worked behind the scenes at ABC News and CBS News. Prior to moving to Las Vegas, Vanessa was a producer at ABC News in New York. She was embedded in a trauma unit and several emergency rooms for a documentary series.
Rhonda Prast, Freelance editor
Rhonda Prast is the former Assistant Managing Editor for Investigations and Projects at the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She edited Jeff German’s investigative work on Robert Telles and the county; and managed the I-team’s ongoing probe after his death. A veteran editor, she has held leadership positions at the Idaho Statesman, the Kansas City Star, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and The Seattle Times. She was also a professor at the Missouri School of Journalism on the magazine faculty, focusing on digital journalism. At the RJ, her team’s work was honored with more than 25 state, regional and national awards under her tenure.
Michael Scott Davidson, Newsweek
Davidson is an investigative reporter for Newsweek, specializing in data journalism. Prior to joining the magazine in late 2022, he spent six years at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he worked alongside Jeff German.
John Smith, The Nevada Independent
Smith is a longtime reporter, columnist and author based in Nevada and New Mexico. Now a freelancer, he was a news columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal for more than 30 years. Smith is a Nevada native, married to writer Sally Denton, father of a grown daughter and stepdad to three sons.
Looks like you haven't made a choice yet.
