database Archives

Behind the Story: The big business of ‘green’ buildings and LEED certification

December 4, 2012

Can a 50-story Las Vegas hotel be environmentally-friendly? This is the question USA Today reporter Tom Frank sought to answer when he began reporting on the increase in construction of so-called environmentally friendly buildings. Through his investigation, Frank found that green commercial construction has increased. Non-profits are behind the movement, but few have assessed the…

Join a live discussion about Econocheck

November 16, 2012

NICAR adviser David Herzog will be on hand Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 2 p.m Eastern (11 a.m. Pacific) for a live Q&A about EconoCheck on the Journalism Accelerator. EconoCheck, an IRE-Sunlight Foundation resource launched during the 2012 campaign, helps reporters quickly find and understand data about key indicators. Drop by to discuss how journalists can continue to…

OSHA Workplace Safety data updated at NICAR Data Library

October 22, 2012

The Workplace Safety database from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has just been updated in the NICAR Database Library. WHAT’S IN IT? This ten-table database holds information on workplace inspections performed by both federal and state OSHA offices in all states and U.S. territories, from 1972 to Oct 2011 – just under 4…

Behind the Story: Investigating a building collapse, creating an interactive timeline

October 9, 2012

A normal day on the local government beat became two months of investigating for Lansing State Journal reporter Lindsay VanHulle. After a portion of the residential St. Anne Lofts building collapsed in East Lansing, Mich., VanHulle discovered problems in the city’s building code and development programs. Prior to the building’s collapse, these problems allowed unpermitted…

Spreading computer-assisted reporting techniques in Latin America

October 6, 2012

By Mc Nelly Torres Víctor Hugo Michel is excited and overwhelmed. He hasn’t stopped thinking about all the stories he will be able to report and write using the data analysis and investigative tools he learned this past weekend at the IberoAmericana University in México City. “I never thought I could organize data, rank it and compare it…

Behind The Story: Mother Jones and the 47 percent

September 21, 2012

Mother Jones magazine shook up the presidential campaign on Monday when it released a video it obtained of Republican candidate Mitt Romney speaking at a private fundraiser. The video included the following comment from Romney, which many have taken issue with: “There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no…

Follow the money with IRE’s election coverage webinar

September 17, 2012

There are several ways that political funds can play a role in key states, especially during an election year. In IRE’s 2012 election coverage webinar from Derek Willis of The New York Times, you’ll see how to trace money that comes from outside sources to state-based political groups, and how to follow the path of…

Join more than 1,000 colleagues at IRE Boston next week

June 5, 2012

More than 1,000 people are registered to attend the IRE Conference in Boston next week, and it’s not too late for you to join them. While early-bird registration has closed, you can register at the conference. Things kick off with a free half-day session on election coverage on June 13, the pre-day on June 14, and…

Crimes in the classroom

March 30, 2012

By Susan Snyder and Dylan Purcell, The Philadelphia Inquirer A series of racial attacks at a Philadelphia high school in late 2009 – and the school district’s inadequate response – prompted The Inquirer to launch an investigation into school violence. Its seven-part series, “Assault on Learning“, and follow-up stories published throughout the past year, showed that…

2011 IRE Investigative Books List