CONTENTSFEATURES THE IRE JOURNAL 20 - 29 TRACKING SEX OFFENDERS TABLE OF CONTENTS MAY/JUNE 2004 OFFENDER SCREENING Likely predators released 4 Media insurers may push despite red-flag testing strong journalism training By John Stefany to manage risks, costs (Minnneapolis) Star Tribune By Brant Houston The IRE Journal STATE REGISTRY System fails to keep tabs 10 Top investigative work on released sex offenders named in 2003 IRE Awards By Frank Gluck By The IRE Journal The (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Gazette 14 2004 IRE Conference to feature best in business COACHING THREAT By The IRE Journal Abuse of female athletes often covered up, ignored 16 BUDGET PROPOSAL By Christine Willmsen Organization maintains steady, conservative The Seattle Times course in light of tight training, data budgets in newsrooms By Brant Houston The IRE Journal 30 IMMIGRANT PROFILING 18 PUBLIC RECORDS Arabs face scrutiny in Detroit area Florida fails access test in joint newspaper audit in two years following 9/11 terrorist attacks By John Bebow By Chris Davis and Matthew Doig for The IRE Journal Sarasota Herald-Tribune 19 FOI REPORT 32 Irreverent approach to freelancing Privacy exemptions explains the need to break the rules may prove higher hurdle By Steve Weinberg than national security The IRE Journal By Jennifer LaFleur Checking criminal backgrounds The Dallas Morning News 33 By Carolyn Edds The IRE Journal ABOUT THE COVER 34 UNAUDITED STATE SPENDING Law enforcement has a tough Yes, writing about state budgets can sometimes be fun time keeping track of sexual By John M.R. Bull predators – often until they The (Allentown, Pa.) Morning Call re-offend and find themselves 35 LEGAL CORNER back in custody. Evolving guidelines, risks: Electronic storage Cover Story of reporters’ notes Pages 20-29. By David B. Smallman Piper Rudnick LLP Cover photo by 36 WELFARE WRECKS Len Bruzzese, The IRE Journal Badly managed car leasing program takes state’s taxpayers, needy for a ride Special thanks to Capt. Scott Richardson and Sgt. Brett Barnes By Scott Finn and Eric Eyre Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette of the University of Missouri-Columbia Police Department for their assistance. MAY/JUNE 2004 3 FEATURES FEATURES THE IRE JOURNAL FROM THE IRE OFFICES VOLUME 27 NUMBER 3 Media insurers may push EDITOR & IRE DEPUTY DIRECTOR Len Bruzzese strong journalism training MANAGING EDITOR Anita Bruzzese to manage risks, costs ART DIRECTOR BRANT HOUSTON Wendy Gray SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR t’s been another year of limited support for training of journalists, but there might be help coming Steve Weinberg I from an unexpected source: the media insurance industry. The idea of dealing with, or covering, the insurance industry is a bane to most journalists. Just CONTRIBUTING LEGAL EDITOR thinking about insurance and its obtuse language drives most journalists to distraction. David Smallman But the time is coming that our profession will need to think a little more about insurance and better insuring itself against daily errors, diminishing reputations and loss of credibility. If not, the EDITORIAL INTERN insurance industry and media lawyers may do it for us. Indeed, the insurance industry already has Katie Underwood significantly raised media coverage rates as it becomes more concerned about news coverage and its own coverage of the news industry. In the past year we have read about and heard the case files on such journalists as Jayson Blair, IRE Stephen Glass and Jack Kelley. IRE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR These have been distressing stories, but we also know every profession will have these cases. Brant Houston And in truth, our profession, unlike some, has reacted candidly and aggressively. More important, however, are the cases in our everyday work in which we can do the most BOARD OF DIRECTORS widespread damage and incur the most losses. It’s the daily story – when reporters are overburdened and managers overtaxed – where we hurt ourselves and put ourselves at risk. CHAIRMAN That is where IRE can and does make a difference. David Dietz, Bloomberg News As we do our workshops in the United States and internationally, we find time and again journal- PRESIDENT ists seldom have received training in most basic newsgathering and story-writing techniques. It’s Shawn McIntosh, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution these basic techniques that keep us in good public standing, that provide context and understanding, that ensure accuracy, and that help keep us focused not on the sensational, but on the profound. Law VICE PRESIDENT firms do seminars on legal issues in newsgathering, access to meetings and records, and libel, but David Boardman, The Seattle Times don’t offer the basic training provided by professional journalists. TREASURER Because IRE encourages in-depth and thorough reporting, we, by nature, teach each other the Duane Pohlman, WEWS-Cleveland techniques that improve daily and beat coverage – training that journalists don’t often receive. Consider how many journalists are taught: Paul Adrian, KDFW-Dallas/Fort Worth • the nuances of sensitive cultivation and managing of sources? Stephen K. Doig, Arizona State University • line-by-line, fact-checking so thorough that they could provide a footnote for every fact? James V. Grimaldi, The Washington Post • how to use open records laws to find documents that support or contradict interviews? • how to use databases to look at all the records – not just a handful – to ensure anecdotes reflect Andy Hall, Wisconsin State Journal the trends, not just the unusual or bizarre? Dianna Hunt, Fort Worth Star-Telegram • how to edit a story by asking tough questions while still supporting the reporter? Stephen C. Miller, The New York Times In the continual discussion of improving “the product” – our news coverage – it’s surprising that Cheryl Phillips, The Seattle Times this training is not mandated. Deborah Sherman, KUSA-Denver In other professions, insurers and attorneys would strongly encourage the type of training provided by IRE – if only to prevent losses. For other businesses, insurers provide financial Nancy Stancill, The Charlotte Observer incentives, such as premium reductions, for professional training because it is good “risk man- Stuart Watson, WCNC-Charlotte agement.” In fact, media lawyers and insurers are starting to direct their attention more pointedly toward these issues; recently they held a national conference in Kansas City on the issue of “reporting The IRE Journal (ISSN0164-7016) is published misconduct,” risk and risk management in the media. six times a year by Investigative Reporters and We expect, as they study the issues more closely, the lawyers and insurers are going to see that Editors, Inc. 138 Neff Annex, Missouri School of our kind of nuts-and-bolts training will go a long way toward preventing errors and sloppy omis- Journalism, Columbia, MO 65211, 573-882-2042. sions in reporting and editing. E-mail: [email protected]. U.S. subscriptions are $70 for individuals, $85 for libraries and $125 As a profession, we will need to work closely with these groups to assure that probing, aggressive for institutions/businesses. International sub- journalism – not diluted and weak reportage – will be encouraged and will prevail. scriptions are $90 for individuals and $150 for Good journalism involves risks. We should not avoid those risks, but we should manage them all others. Periodical postage paid at Columbia, better through regular and meaningful training. MO. Postmaster: Please send address changes to IRE. USPS #451-760 Brant Houston is executive director of IRE and the National Institute for Computer-Assisted © 2004 Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. Reporting. He can be reached through e-mail at [email protected] or by calling 573-882-2042. 4 THE IRE JOURNAL MAY/JUNE 2004 5 FEATURES I FEATURESR E N E W S Cincinnati tipsheets IRE releases book MEMBER NEWS available via Web site on interviewing skills ex Alexander has been named enterprise/ The tipsheets from the 2004 Annual Computer- In “Interviewing the Interviewers,” the latest Linvestigative team leader at the (Greens- Assisted Reporting Conference are now available on addition to The IRE Collection, some of the most boro, N.C.) News & Record. He was the assistant the IRE Web site. renowned interviewers in investigative journalism You can access the Cincinnati tipsheets at share their experiences, techniques and advice. features editor and previously worked as an www.ire.org/training/cincy04 and follow the link The book includes chapters on dealing with investigative projects reporter and computer- under “Tipsheets.” To search all of IRE’s tipsheets, sensitive issues, cross-cultural interviewing, con- assisted reporting specialist at the newspaper. go to www.ire.org/resourcecenter/initial-search- frontational interviews, handling whistleblowers, tipsheets.html. technical interviews and more. Each chapter includes Brad Branan, formerly a regional affairs Cincinnati tipsheets are available on topics ranging “Tips from the Pros,” and the book includes a list of reporter at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, joins from databases good for investigating city hall to mea- tipsheets and tapes taken from IRE conferences. the Tucson Citizen as a news projects reporter. suring change within a community. If you have any To order the book ($12 for IRE members, $18 Brian Covert has returned to Japan where questions about tipsheets, please e-mail the Resource for nonmembers) visit IRE’s Web site, www.ire.org/ Center at [email protected] or call 573-882-3364. store or call 573-882-3364. he is an independent print journalist. A former newspaper reporter and UPI stringer based in Japan, he was most recently the co-producer of IRE members receive top industry honors a live radio talk show on KHSU-FM (Arcata, Calif.). Aaron Deslatte has moved to the Arkansas This year, various organizations saluted the work stories that revealed questionable practices of the Democrat-Gazette’s Northwest bureau where he of IRE members with journalism awards. Several environmental group Nature Conservancy.