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Home , 1974 Pulitzer Prize, Barton Gellman, Bill Dedman, David Heath (journalist), Don Bolles, Eric Lipton

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40 YEARS1975 – 2015 Post your job openings with IRE!

Featuring: • A listing on our quick-look grid. • A link to a page of your own, where your listing can continue in great detail. • No need to count words or lines! Explain the job, profile the company, describe the city. • Listing within 24 hours for emailed postings. • A six-week web life. • One low $150 price per job listed.

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4 YOUNG AT HEART By Mark Horvit, IRE

5 IRE NEWS

26 IRE AWARDS

34 SNAPSHOTS FROM OUR BLOGS

ABOUT THE COVER

The cover was inspired by an illustration by Kee Rash. Rash was in the art department at the Republic, and drew the cartoon for a t-shirt for the IRE members 40 YEARS1975 – 2015 that came to Phoenix in 1976.

6 FOUR DECADES OF 14 THE HISTORY OF CAR 18 PROGRESS OF COLLABORATION INVESTIGATIVE IRE adds computer-assisted REPORTING OVERSEAS IRE develops as investigative reporting arm as journalists Four journalists share reporting advances find data the state of international By Leonard Downie Jr., By Jennifer LaFleur, The Center for investigative reporting Investigative Reporting, Reveal

21 EBB AND FLOW OF ACCESS 7 IRE TIMELINE 15 TESTIMONIALS Forty years later IRE still Memorable milestones We asked IRE members fights for transparency from the past four to share some memorable moments By Geoff West University of 9 “DEEP AND DIRTY”: THE ROOTS OF IRE 17 COLLECTED WISDOM How the origin supported 24 WHAT’S NEXT FOR Listen up now, you hear? INVESTIGATIVE 40 years of growth By Jim Polk JOURNALISM? By Kasia Kovacs, IRE IRE members share what’s on the horizon for FOI, security, data viz and business models THE FROM THE IRE OFFICES

JOURNAL Young at heart SECOND QUARTER BY MARK HORVIT Volume 38 | Number 2

MANAGING EDITOR remember when I turned 40. Megan Luther My wife planned a surprise party. Relatives came in from out of town, friends from work and the neighborhood showed up and my brother-in-law made margaritas. ART DIRECTOR I Erica Mendez Babcock It was a nice party. But I was just one more guy turning one year older. Nothing remotely re- markable about it. CONTRIBUTING LEGAL EDITOR Sam Terilli The birthday we celebrate with this issue is the polar opposite. When IRE was started by a small group of investigative reporters, I doubt any of them had an inkling that their creation would still BRENT JOHNSON FELLOW be around in 2015, much less enjoying the tremendous international reach and influence that Kasia Kovacs IRE has today. EDITORIAL ASSOCIATES Alexa Ahern I’m not going to go into the details. Journal Managing Editor Megan Luther has done a fantastic Geoff West job putting together this commemoration of our organization’s first four decades. She’s had great help from designer Erica Mendez Babcock and three graduate students — our copy editors Alexa IRE Ahern, Geoff West, and guest writer/editor Kasia Kovacs.

IRE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Kasia was able to join us because of a special fellowship offered at the , Mark Horvit where IRE is based. It’s the Brent Johnson Memorial Fellowship, created to honor the memory of another grad student who worked in our office in the late 1990s. BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT I never knew Brent, but everyone who did talks of his passion for the work he did on behalf of IRE. He died much too young at 27. And his parents and friends believed that a fitting way to honor The Times his memory was to a fund that would forever link him with the organization.

VICE PRESIDENT Stories like Brent’s are a constant reminder to me of the legacy I was handed when I came to work Matt Goldberg at IRE in 2008. This organization has a powerful impact not only on those who join or who learn from KNBC-TV our training, but on the staff and volunteers who are the heart and soul of the place.

TREASURER IRE has had a ridiculously impressive list of people who have worked here, as trainers, in the Andrew Donohue data library, in the resource center, in the front office. They have gone on to do great things in the The Center for Investigative Reporting industry — producing award-winning work that has saved lives, changed dangerous policies and brought comfort and justice to victims. SECRETARY Ellen Gabler And most have never stopped giving on behalf of IRE. The list of people who stand ready to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel volunteer when called upon is as lengthy as it is impressive. It is made up of not only former em- ployees, but journalists who know that they owe a big chunk of their success in the industry to the EXECUTIVE MEMBER Josh Meyer training and guidance they received over the years. Medill National Security Journalism Initiative That’s the history that can’t be contained in a magazine. We kid about the “Hotel ” nature of IRE as we bring former staffers back to speak at workshops and conferences (“You can check out CHAIRMAN any time you like, but you can never leave.”) But it’s no joke. The deep bond that so many of our author/freelance members feel to the organization is something I couldn’t have understood until I came to work here. Ziva Branstetter It was baked into the DNA when IRE was founded by a group of investigative reporters who needed The Frontier the support of each other to pursue the tough career paths they’d carved out for themselves. It was Leonard Downie Jr. cemented when many of those journalists gathered in Phoenix, Arizona to continue the work of one of their own when he was murdered for doing the very thing IRE was founded to foster – bringing T. Christian Miller ProPublica wrongdoing to light. Jill Riepenhoff And it continues every time a journalist finds the tools — and the strength — to expose one more The Columbus Dispatch injustice, thanks to the training they receive through this organization. Nicole Vap It’s a legacy that would make any 40-year-old proud. KUSA-TV Phil Williams *As we celebrate this anniversary, here are the other people who are working to make sure that WTVF-TV IRE celebrates many more to come: Director of Training Jaimi Dowdell; Director of Events Steph- Chrys Wu anie Sinn; Trainer Alex Richards; Membership Coordinator Amy Johnston; Data Library Direc- tor Liz Lucas; Resource Center Director Lauren Grandestaff; Web Editor Sarah Hutchins; Fiscal The IRE Journal (ISSN0164-7016) is published Officer Heather Feldman Henry; System Administrator Ted Peterson; NICAR Academic Advisor four times a year by Investigative Reporters & Editors, Inc., 141 Neff Annex, Missouri School of Journalism, David Herzog; IRE/INN Director of Data Services Denise Malan; and the DocumentCloud crew, Columbia, MO 65211, 573-882-2042. Email: megan@ Anthony DeBarros, Ted Han and Justin Reese. And a fond thanks to recently retired Membership ire.org. U.S. subscriptions are $70 for individuals, $85 for libraries and $125 for institutions/businesses. Coordinator John Green. International subscriptions are $90 for individuals and $150 for all others. Periodical postage paid at Columbia, MO. Postmaster: Please send address changes to IRE. Mark Horvit is executive director of IRE and NICAR. He can be reached at [email protected] or 573-882-1984. USPS#451-670 © 2015 Investigative Reporters & Editors, Inc. 4 THE IRE JOURNAL IRE NEWS

IRE members recognized in 2015 Pulitzer Prizes IRE members honored with Several IRE members were among journalists recognized in the 2015 Several IRE members were named 2014 Peabody Award winners Pulitzer Prizes in April (bit.ly/1D6EOrT): (bit.ly/1CP2kLh): • The Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina, won the Public • Madeleine Baran of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR News) for “Be- Service award for “Till Death Do Us Part,” a series on a deadly trend of trayed by Silence,” an investigative documentary on the child sexual domestic violence against women. IRE members Doug Pardue, Glenn abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Smith and Natalie Caula Hauff contributed to the investigation. • Andrea Bernstein of WNYC-New York for “Chris Christie, White • won the Breaking News Reporting award for their House Ambitions and the Abuse of Power,” a series of reports on the coverage of a landslide that killed 43 people. IRE members Mike “Bridgegate” scandal. Baker, Ken Armstrong, Hal Bernton, Justin Mayo, Jim Neff, Cheryl • Andy Pierrotti of KVUE-TV for “The Cost of Troubled Minds,” a Phillips and Katrina Barlow contributed to the series. document-heavy investigation into ’ mental health services. • of The New York Times won one of two awards for In- • Scott Bronstein and Nelli Black of CNN for “Crisis at the VA,” a high- vestigative Reporting. His reporting revealed how lobbyists swayed impact piece on delays in care at U.S. Veteran Affairs hospitals. congressional leaders and state attorney generals. • Mark Greenblatt of Scripps Washington Bureau for “Under the Ra- • The Journal won the second award for Investigative Re- dar,” an investigative review of court martial cases that found more porting for “Medicare Unmasked.” The project provided an unprec- than 240 convicted rapists, child molesters and other sex offenders edented look at confidential data on healthcare providers. IRE mem- who slipped through the cracks. bers , Chris Stewart, Rob Barry, Tom McGinty, Martin Burch, Jon Keegan and Stuart Thompson contributed to the story. Missouri student chosen for memorial fellowship • Rebecca Kimitch of the Daily Breeze in Torrance, California, was one of three reporters from the paper to win the Local Reporting This special anniversary Journal issue was made pos- award. Kimitch and her colleagues looked into widespread corrup- sible by the friends and family of Brent Johnson. tion in a small school district. Johnson, an MU graduate student and IRE employee, died Several IRE members were among finalists as well in 1999 from a heart condition. Donations from IRE mem- (bit.ly/1Iywgz4): bers, Johnson’s family and friends created the Brent Johnson • was a finalist for the Public Service award for its Photo by Cody Lohse Memorial Fellowship, which allows a graduate student in multimedia coverage of a poorly regulated, profit-driven college the School of Journalism to work on IRE publications. This housing system. IRE members Jenn Abelson and Todd Wallack con- year’s recipient, Kasia Kovacs, dedicated the semester to finding historical files, tributed to the investigation. interviewing founders and writing about the roots of IRE for this 40th anniversary • was also a finalist for the Public Service issue. Kovacs is earning her master’s degree in news reporting and has written award for its reporting in “Deadly Medicine,” which revealed that for the Columbia Missourian and the Jefferson City News Tribune. women undergoing a common surgery face a significant cancer risk. IRE members Jennifer Levitz, Jon Kamp and Joseph Walker contrib- IRE awards free training to 10 newsrooms, uted to the work. announces new fellowship • David Jackson of the Tribune was a finalist for the Investi- gative Reporting award. Jackson and two other colleagues exposed A record number of 10 newsrooms were chosen for IRE’s Total News- the perils faced by abused children in the state’s residential treat- room Training (TNT) this year. TNT provides intense, in-house training for ment centers. small and medium-sized newsrooms dedicated to watchdog journalism. • Janet Roberts and John Shiffman of were finalists for the Ex- This is the third year IRE has offered the free program. planatory Reporting award. Roberts, Shiffman and another colleague New this year are TNT Boot Camp Fellowships. Nine TNT alumni will used data to reveal how a group of lawyers get special access to the be awarded free training to IRE’s data analysis boot camp. U.S. Supreme Court. TNT training is customized and includes two days of sessions ranging • of the was a finalist for the Local Report- from public records battles to hands-on data analysis. ing award. Mahr and his colleagues used public records and human “TNT is one of the most important initiatives IRE has launched in the sources to investigate government corruption in a Chicago suburb. past few years,” IRE Executive Director Mark Horvit said. “It gives our • Ziva Branstetter and Cary Aspinwall of the Tulsa World were final- trainers an opportunity to work with highly motivated news organiza- ists for Local Reporting for their courageous coverage of a botched tions. The projects and stories that have been done by the journalists execution in . we’ve had the opportunity to work with has been inspiring.” • Marisa Taylor of McClatchy Newspapers was a finalist for the- Na Congratulations to the following newsrooms: tional Reporting award along with two colleagues for their coverage • – Hyannis, Mass. of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on CIA torture. • Iowa Public Radio – Des Moines, Iowa • Richard Marosi of the Times was a finalist for the Interna- • Jackson Hole News&Guide – Jackson, Wyo. tional Reporting award. Marosi revealed the horrific conditions facing • Journal-News – Liberty Township, Mexican workers supplying vegetables to American supermarkets. • KCTV5 – Fairway, Kan. • of The New York Times was a finalist for • KOLN-TV – Lincoln, Neb. Reporting prize. Bogdanich and a colleague exposed the flawed rape • San Angelo Standard-Times – San Angelo, Texas investigation of involving a star State University quarterback • The Texas Tribune – Austin, Texas and the preferential police treatment given to football players accused • Tribune-Star – Terre Haute, Ind. in other crimes. • WIS-TV – Columbia, S.C.

SECOND QUARTER 5 Four decades of collaboration IRE develops as investigative reporting advances

BY LEONARD DOWNIE JR. » ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

orty years after the founding of Investigative Reporters and States. Four Pulitzer Prizes in various categories were awarded to Editors, , once sporadic, is en- newspaper investigations in 1974, which Time Magazine dubbed trenched in American news media and spreading around “The Year of the Muckraker.” Rapidly increasing numbers of report- the world. The trajectory of its growth follows the pioneer- ers and news organizations were attracted to investigative report- ing work of the new muckrakers of the 1960s and 1970s ing, although most of them still had little or no experience doing Fto the widespread investigative reporting in news organizations today. it, which worried the pioneering investigative reporters and editors. The proliferation of investigative reporting mirrors the development of So, on Feb. 22, 1975, , Harvey Bierce, Ron Koziol of IRE, from its relative handful of founders banding together in 1975 to the Chicago Tribune, and Paul Williams, a journalism professor and its current thousands of members, extensive peer training, deep digital former investigative editor at the Sun Newspapers in Omaha, invited archives and packed national conferences that IRE founder Myrta Pul- a group of investigative journalists to a meeting at Reston, . liam has compared to “getting a master’s degree in journalism.” The group also included, among others, David Burnham, Jack Landau Before IRE, local investigative reporters doing meaningful work of Newhouse, syndicated investigative columnists Jack Anderson and were mostly lone wolves in newsrooms scattered around the coun- Les Whitten, and me, then a Washington Post editor who had been try. of The Herald helped free innocent black a local investigative reporter and one of the editors on the Watergate men from death row in Florida. Donald Barlett and James B. Steele stories. They decided to form a national organization embodying the of The Inquirer investigated Philadelphia’s malfunc- mission of investigative reporting and its values and best practices. “It tioning local court system. David Burnham of The New York Times, dawned on people that they don’t have to re-invent the wheel,” Myrta Bill Marimow and Jonathan Newman of The Philadelphia Inquirer, remembered. “They could help themselves and each other” by shar- and an Star investigative team that included Myrta Pul- ing information and techniques. liam and Harley Bierce each exposed law enforcement abuses and After Les Whitten talked about how most investigative journalists corruption in their cities. Bob Greene and his investigative shared “a sense of outrage,” the founders chose the name Investigative team revealed secret land deals on . Reporters and Editors, with the acronym IRE. Over the years, that sense Then, after the Watergate stories of Bob Woodward and Carl Ber- of outrage sometimes affected IRE itself, as its leaders and members nstein of The Washington Post and the resignation of President Nix- debated membership eligibility, governance issues, budget priorities on in August 1974, investigative reporting exploded in the United and operational goals. For example, members wanted the group to

6 THE IRE JOURNAL 40th Anniversary

grow, but they did not want IRE to be domi- regional training workshops to its national ous training events; or annual print, broadcast nated by academics, editors or news organi- conference training that same year. The first and digital investigative reporting awards, be- zations that might encroach on their investi- Computer-Assisted Reporting boot camp was gun in 1980, that have become among the gative independence. They needed donations held in 1989. The first national CAR Con- most coveted in journalism. and grants to support IRE and its training, but ference was staged in 1993 by MICAR, the This expansion of IRE’s role has contribut- they did not want money from sources that organization that would be renamed NICAR ed considerably to the expansion of investi- might create conflicts of interest. Budget cri- and become associated with IRE shortly af- gative reporting over that time. Accountabil- ses came and went. Yet, in fits and starts over ter. Their instruction in investigative report- ity journalism now examines every aspect of four decades, IRE grew far beyond the ambi- ing and techniques steadily society – from national security, government, tions of its founders, maintained its indepen- expanded over the years to include traveling politics, business and finance to the environ- dence, stayed true to its mission and, through Watchdog Workshops, Boot Camps and Total ment, education, health, social welfare, cul- its training, resources and mutual support, Newsroom Training, plus online instruction ture, sports and the media itself. As I wrote in played a major, continuing role in the expan- and webinars. In 1979, IRE published its first the introduction to IRE’s recently published sion and impact of investigative reporting in Investigative Reporter’s Handbook, which has Collected Wisdom essays by IRE members, the and elsewhere. been regularly updated and expanded. Simi- more than ever, investigative reporting gives In June 1976, more than 200 investiga- lar instruction books for specialized investi- voice to the voiceless and holds accountable tive journalists from 35 states paid to attend gative reporting for such subjects as crime, those with power and influence over the rest the first of what would become annual IRE national conferences, and they immediately launched an unprecedented investigative After Les Whitten talked about how most project that would help shape IRE’s identity. investigative journalists shared “a sense of outrage,” Just days before the conference, Arizona Re- public investigative reporter died the founders chose the name Investigative Reporters after a bomb planted under his car exploded outside a Phoenix hotel. The IRE board voted and Editors, with the acronym IRE. to continue Bolles’ investigation of organized crime in Arizona. Led by Bob Greene, doz- campaign finance, religion, pollution and of us. Its range and impact was notable, for ens of newspaper and broadcast reporters, mortgage finance have since been published example, in the 2008 Pulitzer Prizes, when researchers and writers and journalism pro- as well. IRE and NICAR also maintain a col- six were awarded in various categories for in- fessors and students from around the coun- lection of key government databases and an vestigative reporting: The Milwaukee Journal try produced two dozen stories exploring a archive of more than 25,000 print and broad- Sentinel for illegal pension fund deals; The web of connections among organized crime, cast investigative stories. In addition to the re- New York Times for toxic ingredients in prod- businesses, politicians and law enforcement searchers, archivists and training directors on ucts exported by ; the Chicago Tribune in Arizona. The project was costly and con- IRE’s staff, countless IRE journalist members for faulty government regulation of danger- troversial, and the journalism fell short of be- over the years have contributed to the training ous toys and other children’s products; and ing definitive. But, if the murder of Bolles was of their peers, described their work at confer- The Washington Post for negligent treatment intended as a threat to investigative reporters, ences, helped write handbooks and contrib- of wounded veterans at Walter Reed Hospi- what became known as IRE’s Arizona Project uted thousands of tipsheets to the digital IRE tal in Washington, profiteering by private war itself amounted to a warning to anyone else Resource Center for members. contractors in Iraq and the influence of Vice tempted to intimidate them. It was also likely Although IRE’s founders could not have President in the administration the first time that reporters from competing imagined all of this 40 years ago, it repre- of George W. Bush. news organizations had worked together on sents just the kind of sharing and mutual sup- At the same time, the digital revolution a single investigative project, something that port among investigative journalists they had has been profoundly reshaping American now occurs regularly in digital age journalis- sought. They also could not have anticipated journalism. It has helped make the tic collaboration. IRE membership of over 5,000 journalists and best investigative reporting today more IRE established its home base in 1978 at journalism students; attendance at annual IRE sophisticated and impactful. But it also the University of Missouri, with which it has conferences of more than 1,000 each, plus has disrupted news media economics, had a close cooperative relationship. It added the many thousands more attendees at vari- shrinking newsrooms and their resources

FEB 1975 JUNE 1976 THE INITIAL MEETING THE FIRST CONFERENCE IRE TIMELINE Journalists meet in Reston, Virginia, On June 2, Arizona Republic reporter Don to discuss whether an organization Bolles is seriously injured by a car bomb in The nonprofit has to improve investigative journalism connection with an investigation. He dies 11 evolved in the past is feasible. The Lilly Endowment, an days later. The first Investigative Reporters four decades. The Indianapolis philanthropy, donates a and Editors national conference is held in following timeline offers $3,100 planning grant with support from Indianapolis. More than 200 journalists from 35 the Disciples of Christ church. A church states attend. In the wake of Bolles’ murder, memorable milestones. staff member designed IRE’s logo. IRE begins to organize .

SECOND QUARTER 7 Erica Mendez Babcock ’92 ’12 ’86 ’99 ’88 PORTLAND ’79 ’01 ’15 BOSTON MINNEAPOLIS ’00 ’91 ’07 ’02 ’93 ’85 ’09 ’95 ’96 PROVIDENCE ’98 ’89 NEW YORK ’14 ’06 NEWARK ’05 CHICAGO ’77 ’02 ’99 ’76 PHILADELPHIA ’78 ’04 COLUMBUS ’09 ’14 BALTIMORE ’80 INDIANAPOLIS ’94 ’13 ST. LOUIS SAN JOSE ’03 WASHINGTON D.C. KANSAS CITY LOUISVILLE LEXINGTON ’10 ’10 ’82 RALEIGH ’07 ’83 NASHVILLE ’05 ’00 CHARLOTTE LAS VEGAS ’97 ’94 ’93 HOLLYWOOD ’81 ’87 ’12 ’97 ’90 ’11 ’06 ’03 PHOENIX ’04 IRE CONFERENCE ’15 CAR CONFERENCE ’08 ’98 ’11 ’13 ’08 ORLANDO ’95 IRE & CAR CONFERENCE ’84 LOCATIONS OVER THE YEARS MIAMI

for investigative reporting. This makes IRE larger audiences. Many of the nonprofits of international investigative journalists as training of the remaining journalists and have joined the Institute for Nonprofit News, members, and it has been the model for or- recognition of their best work more important founded in 2009, to share content, resources ganizations similar to IRE in other countries. than ever. Despite the fact that journalists and efforts to achieve sustainability. IRE has Like most of the still financially fragile and the news media, as always, rank little played an important role in this movement nonprofit digital investigative startups in the better than politicians and used-car sales with training, information-sharing at its con- United States, IRE is dependent on philan- people in public opinion poll popularity, ferences and cooperation with INN. thropy and foundation grants, in addition those same surveys show a strong demand One of IRE’s newest services for inves- to its membership dues and fees for train- for investigative or watchdog journalism. So, tigative journalism is DocumentCloud, a ing and other services. Forty years after its a number of newspaper, broadcast station membership-accessed catalogue of primary founding, IRE is on firm financial footing and website owners have turned to IRE to source documents and tool for posting, an- these days. But new initiatives, services for help increase investigative reporting skills in notating, organizing and reporting on them. its members and its long-term sustainabil- down-sized newsrooms. DocumentCloud was started as a nonprofit ity require new foundation grants, a steady The digital revolution also has given birth Knight News Challenge grantee in 2009 stream of donations from IRE members and to online-only startups specializing in inves- and became part of IRE in 2011. Journalists, others, and an expansion of its endowment. tigative reporting, many of them nonprofits, news media, researchers and archivists from It is not an exaggeration to say that the fu- without the expenses of paper and ink, print- throughout the country utilize this resource. ture of investigative reporting in the ongoing ing presses and newspaper delivery, broad- IRE also plays a significant role in the reconstruction of American journalism de- casting studios and transmission towers. global spread of investigative reporting. In pends in significant part on the future of IRE. Necessity has fostered mutually beneficial a recent report, the Center for International collaboration among nonprofits with rela- Media Assistance counted more than 100 Leonard Downie Jr., a founder and director of IRE, is a tively small budgets and digital audiences investigative startups in 47 countries. IRE professor at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite with commercial and public news media has provided training for some of them and School of Journalism and vice president at large and seeking more investigative reporting for their their journalists; it has a growing number former executive editor of The Washington Post.

MARCH 1977 JUNE 1977 JUNE 1978 THE ARIZONA PROJECT FINISHES CONFERENCE BECOMES THE TIPSHEET IS BORN REPORTING, GETS SUED FOR LIBEL ANNUAL EVENT The reach of IRE’s national conferences increases as The Arizona Project team completes its IRE’s second annual conference meets transcripts of specific sessions become available from reporting, writing, editing and legal review. in Columbus, Ohio. The June national the 1978 Denver gathering, as well as the 1976 and 1977 The 23-part series about corruption in the state conference becomes a permanent part conferences. In addition, IRE contracts with a private where Bolles died is offered at no cost to news of IRE’s services. The membership fee is company to produce audiotapes of almost every national organizations for publication in whole or in part. $15 annually for professional journalists, conference session. IRE collects and catalogs “tip Six people named in the series sue IRE for libel. half that for journalism students. sheets” and other handouts from conference speakers.

8 THE IRE JOURNAL ’92 ’12 ’86 40th Anniversary ’99 ’88 PORTLAND ’79 ’01 ’15 BOSTON MINNEAPOLIS ’00 “Deep and Dirty”: The Roots of IRE ’91 ’07 ’02 ’93 ’85 ’09 ’95 ’96 PROVIDENCE ’98 ’89 NEW YORK How the origin supported 40 years of growth ’14 CHICAGO CLEVELAND ’06 NEWARK ’05 ’77 PHILADELPHIA ’02 ’99 ’76 BY KASIA KOVACS » IRE SAN FRANCISCO ’78 ’04 COLUMBUS ’09 ’14 BALTIMORE ’80 INDIANAPOLIS ’94 ’13 CINCINNATI DENVER ST. LOUIS SAN JOSE ’03 WASHINGTON D.C. KANSAS CITY LOUISVILLE LEXINGTON ’10 ’10 ’82 Chapter One: Desert Rats RALEIGH ’07 ’83 NASHVILLE ’05 ’00 CHARLOTTE PHOENIX, AZ; JUNE 1976 LAS VEGAS ’97 ’94 ’93 HOLLYWOOD Reporter Don Bolles was invited to speak ’81 ’87 ’12 ’97 ATLANTA ’11 ’90 on a panel at the first IRE Conference in SAN DIEGO ’06 ’03 Indianapolis. PHOENIX ’04 IRE CONFERENCE Bolles was an investigative reporter, the DALLAS ’15 CAR CONFERENCE ’98 lone-wolf type, the kind who would attach a ’08 ’11 piece of Scotch tape to the hood of his blue ’13 ’08 NEW ORLEANS ORLANDO Datsun to make sure that nobody had tam- HOUSTON ’95 SAN ANTONIO pered with his engine. ’84 By 1976, he’d left the investigative beat MIAMI and become a state capitol reporter. Fellow reporters at noticed that his days were less stressful and his drinking less intense. But Bolles’ inves- tigative itch never quite subsided. When he received a telephone call from a DON BOLLES man named John Ad- amson who claimed to have a tip connecting Arizona Sen. Barry This illustration was featured in the program for the first IRE Conference in Indianapolis, June Goldwater and prominent state GOP figure 18-20, 1976. It lists the founding members of IRE who attended the initial meeting in Reston, Harry Rosenzweig to mafia-associated land Va. It also acknowledges the Lilly Endowment, which donated a $3,100 planning grant to IRE. fraud, Bolles agreed to meet. “John Adamson … Lobby at 11:25 … INDIANAPOLIS; JUNE 1976 critical journalism that came up in the cov- Clarendon House … 4th and Clarendon,” In the late ’60s and early ’70s, reporters erage of the war.” Bolles wrote in his office calendar. in different cities had been scrutinizing il- In February 1975, that nationwide ef- On June 2, Bolles walked into the Clar- legality and corruption. IRE was the brain- fervescence of investigative reporting was endon House lobby. After he waited for 15 child of a group of journalists that gathered condensed into IRE during an organizational minutes, Adamson called to say the source in Indianapolis. meeting in Reston, Virginia. fell through. Bolles headed back to his car. “There was a lot of ferment going on at “It was exciting, it was fun, it was When he entered his car, a bomb planted the time, a lot of people becoming aware of interesting,” Myrta Pulliam, IRE cofounder, underneath detonated. investigative reporting,” said Jim Steele, an said of the Reston meeting. “Everybody Bolles lasted 11 days in the hospital before IRE member since the beginning. “A lot of had their own idea of what that is, and we he passed away. He died days before the first people pin it to Watergate, but the impetus had to mush all of that into something that

Bolles photo by UPI Bolles photo by IRE Conference. really came from the and the would work.”

JULY 1978 AUG 1978 SEPT 1978 OCT 1978 JAN 1979 IRE CANADIAN IRE FINDS A REGIONAL THE FIRST MEMBERSHIP COUNTERPART FORMS HOME AT THE WORKSHOPS BEGIN IRE JOURNAL MILESTONE The Centre for Investigative MISSOURI To supplement the APPEARS IRE paid Journalism, patterned in SCHOOL OF national conferences, First IRE Journal membership part after IRE, opens its JOURNALISM IRE organizes two-day is published. IRE reaches 1,000. headquarters at Carleton The journalism regional conferences, establishes the University, Ottawa — one of school in Columbia including its first Far West Resource Center. many centers around the world wins the bid to regional attended by 399 that used IRE as inspiration. house IRE. in Palm Springs, Calif.

SECOND QUARTER 9 Newsday Investigative reporters often felt the un- healthy side effects of their craft — being isolated from other journalists and hovering above the line between diligent and para- noid. IRE was an effort to pool together re- sources from investigative reporters across the country and create a network of informa- tion and collaboration. The first conference in 1976 drew more than 200 journalists eager to share tips, strategies and drinks. “There was tremendous excitement about the possibilities at that first meeting,” Steele said. But even with the simmering excitement that accompanies the beginning of a move- ment, a dark undercurrent shaded conversa- tions in hallways between panels and lectures. Bolles’ absence had a palpable presence in that Indianapolis hotel. A fake tip and a car Bob Greene, Newsday journalist, led the Arizona Project. Greene was known for his bomb — that could have been any confer- dedication to hard work and appreciation for good spirits. ence attendee’s fate. After a growing number of conversations as they wished. An Arizonan’s climb to land-fraud documents as far away as Las about their Arizona colleague, the IRE power could be made with the handshake Vegas; and cross-indexing and verifying journalists made an unprecedented deci- of a mobster. findings. Thirty-eight reporters and editors sion. They would go to Phoenix and finish U.S. Senator, failed presidential candi- left their respective news organizations — Bolles’ reporting. date and native Arizonan sometimes voluntarily, sometimes on paid The reporters didn’t descend upon Phoenix knew how the state’s political games were leave — for a few weeks at a time. to solve Bolles’ murder. Rather, they went to played. If Barry was one of Arizona’s most prove a point and buy an investigative report- potent political forces, his brother Bob was PHOENIX, AZ; OCTOBER 1976 ing insurance policy: You can’t kill a story by its business behemoth. The Goldwaters and The contributors came from across the na- killing a reporter. Rosenzweig were suspected of having ties tion and included Harry Jones, a veteran in- with Arizona’s mobsters, but nobody had vestigative reporter for . ARIZONA; 1976 connected them to their alleged crimes. Jones was in his mid-40s when he heard Arizona was different then, and so was That’s what Bolles was curious to find out, about Bolles’ death. He wasn’t terribly close Phoenix. said Chuck Kelly, who was a 30-year-old with Bolles, but he remembered working at a There was a desolate feeling to the city, reporter at The Arizona Republic when the college newspaper with Bolles’ younger sis- with an underdeveloped, industrial down- news of Bolles’ injuries reached the paper. ter. Jones had been an investigative reporter town and spread-out buildings. “It was pretty clear what had happened for The Kansas City Star for years, and he The city sweltered, but mobsters came to and why,” Kelly said. “We all had the suspi- knew his way around records on organized cool down from cities with more powerful cion it was the mafia. I wasn’t great friends crime and political corruption. political forces, such as Las Vegas and Chi- with Bolles, but I was his colleague. My reac- When Jones arrived for his first three-week cago. Phoenix was low-key and altogether tion was a professional one. I wanted to find commitment in October at IRE’s temporary more permissive than other mafia hot spots. out what had happened.” headquarters, the Adams Hotel, he was sur- Beyond Phoenix and Tucson, the rest of So Kelly signed on to work with IRE for prised to walk into a room entirely repur- the state was largely uninhabited. It was two weeks, which was typical of most re- posed for the sake of the project. Bedroom the Wild West of the 1970s, a Martian porters. The Phoenix Project, as it was furniture had been removed, and in its place landscape where the law-abiding majority originally called, was a five-month feat were file cabinets, some large filled with moved right on through, which left the oth- of interviewing high-profile businessmen, documents, and others small, stuffed with ers to stick around and play with the rules politicians and mobsters; tracking down cross-indexed memos on 3 x 5 notecards.

FEB 1979 JAN 1980 JUNE 1980 SEPT 1980 FIRST BRANCHING INTO ANNUAL IRE LEGAL DEFENSE FOR JOURNALISTS CONFERENCE BROADCAST AWARDS BEGIN An auction is held in Los Angeles to raise money FOR COLLEGE IRE holds its IRE presents its for IRE’s legal defense fund and a separate legal STUDENTS first conference annual awards for defense fund for IRE director Bill Farr of the Los IRE holds its designed for the first time. The Angeles Times. IRE potentially owes $45,000 to its first conference broadcast six categories yield insurer for deductibles to the Arizona Project lawsuits. designed primarily journalists in more than 300 Farr owes money related to a jail term 11 years earlier for college students Louisville. entries. when he refused to divulge a confidential source in Columbia, Mo. related to the Charles Manson murder case.

10 THE IRE JOURNAL Jones also found the man undeniably in false cards with scribbled numbers. The re- The coffeemaker called for two scoops of charge of the project, Bob Greene, sitting at porters soon deduced that the undocument- coffee. She added a lot more. his corner desk and sifting through memos ed workers had no idea they’d been duped; “They never asked me to make coffee with cigarette in hand. they had been given these cards by the again,” Myrta said. If Jones was a soft-spoken man, Greene coyotes, or guides that helped them cross Not everyone in the reporting community was his opposite. the desert border from Mexico to Arizona. supported IRE’s project; newspaper giants The A dogged Newsday editor who had al- Despite having perfect knowledge that these New York Times and The Washington Post ready won two Pulitzers, Greene had an im- cards were fake, Arrowhead hired the un- both questioned its legitimacy and called the posing presence. He was tall and heavy, with documented immigrants. project out on claims of sensationalism and a mane of graying hair. As Milwaukee Jour- In April 1972, during a gathering at the vigilante journalism. They refused to send re- nal reporter and Arizona Project contributor Scottsdale Diner Club, a farm union member porters to work with IRE. Although The Ari- Dave Offer recalls, he was a “giant bean bag asked Barry Goldwater why Bob was hiring zona Republic allowed reporters like Kelly to chair” of a man with a narcoleptic habit that “illegal labor.” participate, it didn’t print the project’s 23-part would cause him to fall asleep mid-conver- “My brother is over 21, and he knows what series, which debuted March 13, 1977. sation, but he would always wake up with a he is doing,” Barry said. “If you people would And yet, The Arizona Project exposed perfectly logical response. get off your butts and go to work, he wouldn’t widespread corruption pervasive in the state Greene didn’t waste any time in handing have to hire (Mexican) nationals.” and was one of the first nation-wide efforts to Jones his first assignment. He sent Jones out It was an alarming finding, but only one bring together competitive investigative jour- to Arrowhead Ranch, a citrus farm rumored of several published in The Arizona Project. nalists to work as a team. to hire undocumented immigrants and The reporters found evidence of widespread “The Arizona Project strengthened IRE,” Of- owned in part by the well-off Martori family. land fraud, dealings between politicians fer said, “gave it a great deal of legitimacy.” Bob Goldwater was the co-owner. IRE report- and mobsters and inadequate law enforce- Now it was time to find funding and a home. ers had been tipped off by a former United ment resources. Arizona was the last vestige Farm Workers union leader who told them of the Wild West, and by pooling together Chapter Two: Looking for about undocumented workers living on the their time and skills, the IRE reporters were ranch without homes. able to expose corruption in the state. Both Solid Ground The team left Phoenix in two cars and drove Barry and Bob Goldwater, now deceased, After The Arizona Project was published, toward the foothills of the desert mountains. were accused of questionable associations, a wealthy rancher with a mafia connection The citrus farm was a half-hour drive north but neither were ever convicted or charged sued IRE for libel. The jury awarded him of Phoenix, but Jones could see it from far with crimes. $15,000 for emotional distress but decided away. Hundreds of acres of 15-foot trees “Deep and dirty was one of our sayings,” that the Project had not libeled him, nor had formed a vast green oasis, out of place within said Pulliam, referring to the sometimes un- his privacy been invaded. the dry landscape. savory figures interviewed for the project. Nonetheless, five others named in the Jones and the reporters dodged armed se- Pulliam was the “glue that held everything Arizona Project followed suit, and the debt curity guards and a monitoring helicopter together” as Jim Polk, IRE’s third president and racked up. overhead as they walked deeper into the cit- former NBC investigative reporter, called her. By 1980, IRE “had no more than two or rus groves in search of laborers. The daughter of Eugene Pulliam, publisher three hundred dollars in the ,” accord- When Jones finally came upon a group, he of , Myrta had proven ing to a letter from then-president Jerry Uhr- found them sleeping in shelters made from her acumen and assertiveness by sharing a hammer. “Financially, we are hanging on by orange crates. A pregnant woman lay un- Pulitzer Prize in her late 20s for a team inves- our fingernails.” der one of these crates, next to three young tigation on police corruption. But money wasn’t IRE’s only problem. It children and a six-month-old baby with dirt Myrta was cunning, too. also needed a home. smudged on his face. The people lived with One day in the Adams Hotel, when the In 1977, in the basement at the University their own excrement on the ground — no two women secretaries were out running er- of Missouri in Columbia, graduate student toilets at Arrowhead — and flies swarmed in rands, the reporters found themselves with John Ullmann bumped into journalism school the air. One child swallowed his soup, which empty coffee cups. So they instructed Myrta Dean Roy Fisher. Ullmann showed him a short was spiked with dead flies. to make a new pot of coffee. article in Editor and Publisher Magazine — IRE The reporters asked for the laborers’ iden- Myrta grimaced. She had work to do. She was looking for a location for its headquarters. tification. What they found, though, weren’t didn’t complain, though; instead, she took a IRE had been considering cities on the legitimate social security cards at all, but careful look at the coffeemaker instructions. East Coast — Boston, maybe College Park,

FEB 1981 AUG 1981 JUNE 1983 JUNE 1985 IRE FOUND NOT GUILTY IN SURVEY OF IRE MEMBERS THE REPORTER’S HANDBOOK SPECIALIZED TRAINING ARIZONA PROJECT LIBEL SUIT A survey of IRE members IRE, in conjunction with St. Martin’s Two months after the IRE The only libel suit against IRE shows 72 percent are Press, publishes “The Reporter’s national conference in Chicago, from the Arizona Project that reporters, 60 percent work at Handbook: An Investigator’s Guide IRE offers a conference on goes to trial ends in a verdict newspapers, 79 percent are to Documents and Techniques.” a specialized topic, covering favorable to IRE. A plaintiff award male, and 22 percent spend Edited by John Ullmann and Steve agriculture. IRE also sponsors of $15,000 for alleged emotional three-quarters or more of their Honeyman, it has contributions a conference on investigating distress was vacated. time on investigative projects. from dozens of IRE members. sports in Jacksonville, Fla.

SECOND QUARTER 11 IRE Archives Maryland. But Ullmann wondered if the University of Missouri should add its name to the pot and fight for IRE to be based in the Midwest, a more central location. Fisher agreed and told Ullmann to ring up Bob Greene to toss Missouri’s name in the hat. “Wait, you want me to call Bob Greene?” asked Ullmann. Ullmann did just that, and Missouri was of- ficially a contender.

TENNESSEE, 1978 Later that year, Ullmann was off the grid. It was time to take a break from school, and he was hiking through the green ferns and arch- ing trees of the Appalachian Trail. Ullmann had fallen into a pattern. Each week, he’d trek along the trail with his 45-pound backpack. The weekends were for Some members of The Arizona Project gather. From left, clockwise: George Weisz, Dave Offer, hiking down to whatever village was nearby Jack Wimer, Jack McFarren, John Winters, Dave Overton, Tom Renner, John Rawlinson, Diane and stocking up on supplies. Hayes, Steve Goldin, Alex Drehsler, Ross Becker, Dan Noyes, Mike Wendland, Dick Cady, When Ullmann visited the villages on the Carol Jackson, Kay Nash, Ron Koziol, Susan Irby, Steve Wick, Myrta Pulliam. weekends, he’d also check the post. His sister knew approximately where he would be on Finally, a car pulled up. There was Polk. He versity of Missouri who eventually became the weekends, so she sent him his mail. had just gotten off work and was still dressed editor of the IRE Journal, remembered the of- One day in southern Virginia, Ullmann in a TV-ready suit; although “he had loos- fice always being crowded with a stream of found that his sister had forwarded a letter to ened his tie,” Ullmann recalled. students wandering in and out. him from Jim Polk, then president of IRE. The A scruffy-bearded Ullmann and clean-cut Kennedy edited the Journal, but Ullmann letter informed Ullmann that IRE would be Polk grabbed thin steaks “to make sure he physically put it together. Dean Fisher allowed based in Missouri, and furthermore, he was got one good square meal after his Dan’l- him to use the empty Columbia Missourian of- elected executive director. Boone-in-the-Wilderness weeks-long self- fices late at night and into the early hours of “Congratulations or condolences—I’m not survival ego trip,” Polk said. the morning to paste up pages before sending sure which is in order,” Polk’s letter began. At this point in its infancy, IRE still only had them off to the printer. Kennedy and Ullmann Well, this took Ullmann by surprise. a little money in the bank. The University of aimed for the Journal to be a resource for IRE Ullmann found the phone at the post of- Missouri offered it a home, some funding and readers, so early issues discussed FOIA laws, fice, fed it a few quarters and called Polk. a couple of graduate assistantships to help offered how-to guides (including “Tracking a “If you’re going to be the executive direc- with staffing. Ullmann’s role as executive di- Trail by Telephone” and “Defending your In- tor, and Bob Greene says you are, so I say rector was also part of this package deal. vestigation in Court”) and had book reviews. you are,” Ullmann remembered Polk saying, When Ullmann accepted the position — In addition, IRE connected journalists “you’ve got to come out of there and work.” after all, it paid a whole $13,000 a year — through its national and regional confer- “You know where Thornton’s Gap, Virgina Polk already had his first task lined up. ences. The organization’s plan to rotate cities is?” Ullmann remembers asking. “Meet me “His first job was to take a shower,” Polk said, allowed journalists from across the country there in two weeks.” “because he hadn’t bathed in two months.” to attend the conferences, which generally Thornton’s Gap is not a town, nor a rest grew in popularity every year. stop, but a literal gap in the Appalachian COLUMBIA, MO; 1978 Trail. Sure enough, two weeks later, Ullmann The first IRE office was, more or less, Ull- Chapter Three: Heading arrived at this gap in the trail. He sat down mann’s office. It was in a small room on the in the grass by the road and was ready to be third floor of Walter Williams Hall, and it was Toward the Future greeted by Jim Polk. He waited. The sun be- stuffed with books and stacks of newspapers. When Ullmann stepped down from his gan to set. The sky became dark. George Kennedy, a professor at the Uni- post in 1983, he passed the torch to Steve

JUNE 1988 AUG 1989 NOV 1989 MARCH 1990 LONG-TERM INSTITUTE FOR COMPUTER- THE FIRST IRE HOSTS CONFERENCE FOR STABILITY ASSISTED REPORTING BEGINS CAR BOOT ADVANCED INVESTIGATIVE IRE establishes an IRE member Elliot Jaspin CAMP METHODS (CAR) endowment fund to is hired by the Missouri MICAR IRE and the University improve long-term School of Journalism holds first Journalism School collaborate on financial stability. and opens the Missouri boot camp. a computer-assisted reporting The initial goal is to Institute for Computer- conference billed as “advanced raise $1.1 million. Assisted Reporting. investigative methods for journalists.”

12 THE IRE JOURNAL Weinberg, a professor at the University of Missouri uncomfortable for staff, but the real threat was to journalism school. The IRE office moved from Ull- the computers that stored IRE’s precious databases. IRE MEMBERS AT THE mann’s tiny third-floor office to a slightly larger, but So, Houston decided it was time to move to high- ORIGINAL IRE MEETING much dingier, room in the basement of the journal- er ground. ism school. After receiving permission to temporarily move IN RESTON, VA. During Weinberg’s tenure as executive director, to the Missourian’s old offices, IRE and NICAR a debate was brewing among members of IRE and emerged from the windowless basement room. FRANK ANDERSON the journalism community at large about the defini- “Basically, IRE and NICAR were squatters,” Hous- Then with the Long Beach tion of investigative reporting. At IRE’s conception, ton said. Independent many assumed that the craft was limited to probing The IRE offices remain there today. JACK ANDERSON illegal activities. But Weinberg was among those Washington, D.C., columnist who insisted that investigative journalism could be Epilogue: It Continues much more than that. Before IRE’s beginning, investigative journalists HARLEY BIERCE “It didn’t have to just look into illegality,” Wein- were a sharp but stubborn breed, happy to bury The Indianapolis Star berg said. “Quality investigative reporting could be (and effectively isolate) themselves under docu- DAVID BURNHAM in-depth, explanatory reporting.” ments and data. The New York Times, He and others argued that the work of veteran Don Bolles suspected that the sparks of corrup- Washington Bureau investigative reporters and longtime IRE members tion were burning in Arizona, but he had neither Don Barlett and Jim Steele should be considered for the resources nor the camaraderie to reveal it. JOHN COLBURN the IRE awards, even though their reporting on the The Arizona Project reporters defended the free- Landmark Communications, failures of the American Dream had little to do with dom of . They proved that the news was Norfolk, Va. investigations into illegal undertakings. larger than a lone reporter, and it could not be killed. EDWARD O. DELANEY In essence, during the 1980s, IRE played a role IRE members abroad, though, still face danger- Indianapolis Attorney in the evolving definition of investigative reporting. ous conditions. At least 66 reporters were killed When Brant Houston arrived in 1992, he took in 2014, according to Reporters Without Borders. ROBERT FRIEDLY over what was then known as MICAR, or the Mis- More than 140 were imprisoned. Indianapolis, director of souri Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting. But IRE has motivated the sort of reporting strength- communications for Christian Houston, a no-nonsense man who had had years ened by solidarity the world over. Since reporter Church, Disciples of Christ of database reporting under his belt, was ready to Khadija Ismahilova was arrested and jailed in Azer- LEONARD DOWNIE JR. share his expertise. baijan on charges that she incited her disgruntled ex- The Washington Post In 1997, Houston became the executive direc- boyfriend to commit suicide, her fellow journalists JACK LANDAU tor of IRE in addition to running MICAR, which have continued her reporting. The similarities to The Newhouse News Service, expanded nationally to become NICAR. For all Arizona Project are no accident; her colleagues’ de- Washington, D.C. intents and purposes, the marriage of IRE and NI- cision to finish her stories was inspired by the project. CAR was a perfect match. More than anything else, IRE has created a net- MYRTA PULLIAM “Databases and journalism go hand in hand,” work in which more than 5,000 members are hap- The Indianapolis Star Houston said. “Once you blend these things to- py to pool together resources, documents and tech- LES WHITTEN gether, investigative reporting can have a much niques for the sake of the public good. Forty years Washington, D.C., greater impact.” after that small group of reporters met in Reston, J. Anderson associate All of IRE’s leaps and bounds into the digital and 39 years after IRE’s first conference in Indianap- age, however, were put in danger by one major olis, investigative reporters are more empowered to PAUL WILLIAMS threat — water. put out fires together. The IRE and NICAR offices were located in the “IRE works to promote the role and responsibility ROBERT PIERCE journalism school’s basement, catty-corner to the of the ,” Ullmann said. “Nobody’s doing St. Louis Globe-Democrat quad where students lounged on bright spring days. anything more important.” But the IRE staff was kept underground, devoid of Not in attendance, windows and subjected to periodic flooding. Kasia Kovacs is a graduate student at the University of Mis- but a founding member: The flooding happened not once or twice, but souri and Brent Johnson Fellow with Investigative Reporters about every time it rained. During particularly bad and Editors. She has written for the Columbia Missourian RON KOZIOL storms, the water rose more than six inches. It was and the Jefferson City News Tribune. Chicago Tribune

JUNE 1990 OCT 1990 JAN 1991 JAN 1993 HANDS-ON CAR SESSIONS UPLINK BEGINS IRE JOURNAL BECOMES PARTNERSHIP WITH AT IRE CONFERENCE MICAR begins A MAGAZINE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB For the first time, an entire publishing Uplink, The IRE Journal changes IRE joins with the National day is devoted to computer- a computer- format from newsprint, Press Club to offer a assisted reporting at an assisted reporting tabloid size to regular, conference on conceiving, IRE national conference in newsletter. magazine size on higher reporting and writing Portland, Ore. quality paper. The investigations from a frequency returns from four Washington, D.C., perspective. times a year to six times.

SECOND QUARTER 13 40th Anniversary The History of CAR IRE adds computer-assisted reporting arm as journalists find data

BY JENNIFER LAFLEUR » THE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING | REVEAL

t a glance, the program from ProPublica’s Scott Klein recently pointed MICAR AND NICAR the computer-assisted report- to a chart Horace Greeley published in the Jaspin later did two things that would give ing conference held in Ra- New-York Tribune in 1848 that listed mem- CAR a boost. During a fellowship at leigh, , in 1993 bers of Congress and their mileage reim- Center for Media Studies, he, along with his might seem quaint: “FoxPro bursements (bit.ly/1EZvX1M). The Tribune graduate assistant Dan Woods, developed Aversus Paradox,” “databases versus spread- also posted what they would have received software that would allow reporters to eas- sheets,” the “mystery and power of Internet.” for mileage based on postal routes, along ily read data from government tapes. He also But much of the work produced with with the difference. Although it appeared founded the Missouri Institute for Computer- those tools is the foundation for today’s data- in agate type, rather than a searchable da- Assisted Reporting (MICAR) at the Missouri based journalism. Many of the folks who first tabase, it was an early example of data- School of Journalism in 1989. grabbed on to data tools were hard-hitting in- based journalism. “Reporters will have a substantially differ- vestigative reporters who saw data as a way What is considered one of the first times ent set of skills,” Jaspin said in a 1991 inter- to do otherwise impossible stories. computers aided in data-based journalism view with American Journalism Review. The ability to analyze data also meant that came more than 100 years later, in 1952. Jaspin’s week-long MICAR boot camps reporters no longer had to rely on government CBS used one of the first mainframe com- were lessons in tough love. Students would reports. They could do their own analyses. puters to call the election for Dwight D. get a 9-track tape and be assigned to a tape Penny Loeb, as a reporter at Newsday in Eisenhower before the voting closed, despite reader. Step one: thread the tape through the 1991, found that $275 million in property polling that indicated Illinois Gov. Adlai Ste- machine and extract its contents. tax refunds were not paid to venson was ahead. Dozens of reporters attended those work- property owners. During the 1967 race riots, reporter shops and returned to their newsrooms armed “An offhand comment at lunch with a tax Philip Meyer (bit.ly/1zwJc8Y) upped the ante, with new skills and requests for 9-track tape department official and a computer tape doing something few journalists had done readers. Around that time, the Indiana Uni- were the keys,” she said. before. He adopted the techniques of social versity School of Journalism also held CAR “Back then, data journalism was the new scientists to show the underlying causes of conferences in collaboration with IRE. frontier,” Loeb said. “We didn’t even have the riots. When the won a Four years after MICAR started, funding the World Wide Web, just a DOS prompt. Pulitzer Prize for Local General or Spot News from the Freedom Forum gave the organi- Exciting times.” Reporting in 1968, the newspaper cited Mey- zation a boost to do training in newsrooms , who won a 1989 Pulitzer er’s analysis of survey data. Meyer went on to around the country. It became the National Prize for a data-based investigation revealing write “Precision Journalism” (later renamed Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting and racial disparities in home lending in Atlanta, “The New Precision Journalism”), considered joined with IRE. Brant Houston was hired as predicted that by the turn of the 20th century the bible of computer-assisted reporting. its director. He went on to be the IRE executive the term computer-assisted reporting would Despite the difficulty of managing large director and now is a professor at the Univer- be obsolete. “It would be like saying pen- databases back in those days, more reporters sity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I became and-paper-assisted reporting.” started using them to do stories that no one training director, and a group of graduate else could do. students helped with everything from data ac- WAY, WAY BACK In 1986, Providence Journal-Bulletin re- quisition to boot camps. We all squeezed into In the annals of data journalism history, the porter Elliot Jaspin matched databases to a tiny room in the basement of the University earliest chapters start way before the high rate of felony convictions and of Missouri journalism school, across a musty 1990s. In fact, they predate computers. bad driving records among school bus drivers. hallway from the main IRE office.

JUNE 1993 JULY 1993 OCT 1993 SCHOLARSHIPS OFFERED FREEDOM FORUM FOR CAR IRE HOLDS FIRST FOR MINORITY STUDENTS A Freedom Forum grant allows CAR CONFERENCE IRE offers scholarships for minority IRE to offer computer-assisted Led by board member student journalists to work at the reporting training in newsrooms Pat Stith of The (Raleigh) organization and grants for minority in the United States. These News & Observer, IRE journalists to attend the annual supplement the CAR boot holds its first Computer- national conference — a priority that camps at the Missouri School of Assisted Reporting Journalism that are run by IRE. increased over time. ’93 IRE Conference program Conference in Raleigh, N.C.

14 THE IRE JOURNAL We hit the road with a dozen Gateway laptops ing. NICAR has trained thousands of journalists and 2400 baud modems to teach the wonders of outside the United States in data journalism tech- data to newsrooms around the country. NICAR niques. International journalism organizations TESTIMONIALS also began building a database library to make have continued that work. If I wasn’t the world’s dumbest 18-year- federal data sets more accessible to newsrooms. Early on, however, investigative journalists in old, IRE might not be part of my life. We continued to teach the week-long boot other countries didn’t think they would be able to The summer before I started school at camps, but ditched the 9-track readers. get access to data. the University of Missouri, I wandered Our hands-on training relied on programs, “I was blown away then by the possibilities,” into a bit of legal trouble. It could have such as Quattro Pro, a spreadsheet program, and said Fred Vallance-Jones, who now teaches jour- been worse. I lost some money, but I gained some jail cell stories. Had that database programs such as FoxPro and Paradox. nalism at the University of King’s College in Hali- been the end of it, I’d call it a fair deal. But the concepts were always the same: under- fax, Nova Scotia. But he was nervous. “I had heard Unfortunately, I also had to do stand the data, interview the data, report the data. from some folks in Canada that, ‘you can’t do CAR community service. About every 18 months, IRE held a NICAR Con- here because we can’t get any data,’” he said. Attorneys pointed me to the usual ference focused on data. Usually a few hundred But he did get data and began investigating a suspects: Salvation Army. Food Bank. Some Sort of Center for the Aging. people attended. A bit of a controversy ensued federal infrastructure spending program. I immediately started looking for a when some IRE members didn’t see the point of Other reporters jumped in as well. CAR had loophole. having a separate conference focused on data sprouted in Canada. In 1999, Vallance-Jones “So it can be any nonprofit?” I asked. journalism. led an effort to create a CAR award as part of Indeed, it could. The conference later became an annual event, the Canadian Association of Journalists’ annual I already had the journalism bug. I knew IRE (I crashed the Chicago and by 2014, it had an attendance of about 1,000. awards program. conference in high school!). But that Attendees waited in lines outside hands-on “That award helped to spur interest at a time judge’s order is ultimately what led me training rooms to make sure they got seats. when doing CAR meant being lonely and often to wander into the IRE Resource Center, During the conference each year, IRE presents misunderstood or even shunned by newsroom hat in hand, and self-consciously ask if I the Philip Meyer Award. The prize was started in colleagues,” he said. could volunteer for a few months. Those few months turned into some 2005 to recognize the year’s best data-based in- Danish journalist Nils Mulvad attended a NI- semblance of a paid gig. That paid gig vestigations. This year, the Center for Public Integ- CAR boot camp in 1996 but shared Vallance- led me to ask about NICAR. And NICAR rity took top honors for its reporting on Medicare. Jones’ concerns. fed me in college, molded my career and ProPublica’s Michael Grabell and his colleagues “I pretty much saw it as you had much better gave me lifelong friendships. took second place for stories about the lack of access rules — and data — and it would be very So Officer Quimby, if this finds you, let protections for temp workers. hard to implement in Denmark,” Mulvad said. me buy you a drink. I may well owe you my career. When he became a reporter, Grabell said he But he went back after being encouraged to try didn’t intend to use data. “I was going to be a to get data. He and a colleague started to request Matt Wynn is a reporter at Omaha World-Herald. ‘writer,’” he said. “But I quickly learned that to be data and slowly began to get it. a good writer, I needed to be a good reporter. So I “There is an enormous potential for more In 2009 I was working with two learned about public records. But never was I go- data journalism. Hopefully it will explode in spreadsheets. One showed natural gas ing to be a CAR reporter, whatever that was. Then the coming years,” said Mulvad, who brings a production in Virginia. The other showed I learned that to be a good reporter, I needed to group of Danish journalists to the NICAR Con- royalties collected for thousands of wells. I could see there were discrepancies, know about data.” ference each year. but I didn’t know how to systematically Grabell’s first data project was to track city As demand increased, NICAR began doing identify them. I learned how to records on panhandling citations in Dallas training overseas. In 1997, NICAR went to Swe- query data after a week at IRE. The when he worked for . den, and Helena Bengtsson was hooked. The next spreadsheets spoke. They helped show “I quickly learned how data can not only pro- year, her company, Swedish Television, sent her how Virginia’s system of paying natural gas royalties was broken. The reporting vide the bulwark behind your reporting but can to the NICAR Conference in Indianapolis. There, prompted changes in state law to pay also lead you to great narratives,” he said. an reporter took time to show landowners their due. Today I’m honored her how to solve a problem in Access. to partner with IRE to provide the same CAR GOES GLOBAL “So, thank you, Drew Sullivan, both for solv- kind of training to other journalists. The spread of data wasn’t limited to U.S. news- ing the problem and for showing me the spirit of Daniel Gilbert is a staff writer at rooms. Pioneering journalists brought CAR tech- NICAR and IRE,” she said. The Wall Street Journal and niques to their countries where, despite some “The big surge in data journalism and CAR founder of The Fund for Rural additional barriers, data journalism is now thriv- didn’t happen until three or four years ago,” said Computer-Assisted Reporting.

FEB 1994 JULY 1994 JAN 1995 MICAR BECOMES IRE PARTICIPATES IN JOINT CONVENTION A FUND FOR TRAINING NICAR IRE participates in the first joint convention of MINORITY JOURNALISTS MICAR is renamed the Asian American Journalists Association, IRE receives a grant from the the National National Association of Black Journalists, Freedom Forum to establish Institute for National Association of Hispanic Journalists and a minority journalists training Computer-Assisted Native American Journalists Association, known program as part of IRE’s Reporting. as UNITY ‘94. IRE and NICAR conducted panels initiative to increase diversity in

’94 IRE Conference program on investigative reporting and hands-on training investigative journalism. in computer-assisted reporting.

SECOND QUARTER 15 TESTIMONIALS Bengtsson, who now works for The Guardian in technology has been a recurring pattern for CONTINUED ... London. “Up until that time I usually was the years, Houston said. only Swede at NICAR, but this year we had 10 “At first, you’re enamored with how new tools Steve Doig and I co-taught seven IRE to 15 people — all there of their own interest.” work. Then, you apply them to content,” he workshops in 2000 to prep for Census The “spirit of NICAR” that Bengtsson remem- said. “There was a time when a group of us was 2000. One sticks in mind: Portland, bers is how many journalists learned or honed obsessed with SQL [a programming language] Ore. It drizzled all weekend. The hotel, somewhere near the airport, was damp their craft. I spent years pestering Steve Doig, and were criticized for not talking about jour- and smelly. The sole Internet connection then a editor, when I was learn- nalism enough.” was iffy. None of this mattered to the 50 ing to analyze census data. Former New York In recent years, a new crop of data journal- journalists who packed one room. Nine Times reporter Tom Torok taught me ASP, a tool ists have come into newsrooms from computer hours of training in geographical hierar- for making interactive web pages, on a cocktail science. They’ve brought sophisticated program- chies and multi-race categories weren’t enough. We talked through a box lunch napkin during a NICAR conference. ming techniques but also have had to learn the and deep into the night about stories. culture of journalism. At 9 a.m. Sunday, every notebook was GROWTH SPURT “You need to pick up the phone and call people open again. We ran until noon, but With the development of news websites, the to get answers to questions that may not be in a data questions kept coming, even riding to terms for this thing we did — CAR, data jour- set published to the Internet,” Erin Kissane, editor the airport. It was inspiring. nalism, computational journalism — expand- of Source, a publication of Knight-Mozilla Open- Paul Overberg is a data journalist ed to include online databases and interactive News, told the NiemanLab (bit.ly/1y6ghW9). and instructor. applications. Now a significant portion of the “That may not be the first thing you think of if you I agreed to extend a reporting contract NICAR conference is devoted to programming don’t come from a reporting culture.” at a former station on the sole condition and apps development. In spite of many down years in newsrooms, that they send me to an IRE Conference “Clearly data journalism is on the ascen- the future for data journalists seems bright. in Boston. I convinced my boss’ boss dency,” said David Donald, data journalist in- Newsrooms are having a difficult time filling that the investment would be worth it. A short time later, I made the transition residence at American University and a former data journalist positions. And new tools are up- to investigative reporting full time – IRE training director. “As news organizations ping the game. disappearing for days to collaborate shift from traditional delivery models on paper Institutes and other programs focusing on on a single project in the hopes that it and on air to online, they instinctively seem to data and journalism have popped up at uni- would pay off. What success I’ve had in understand that data is a necessary element of versities around the country. Columbia Uni- the past few years, I owe in large part to those that I’ve met, listened to and storytelling.” versity’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism learned from at IRE. But Donald said he worries about the quality opened in 2010 to serve as a research and David Iversen is the Chief Investigative of some data journalism projects. development center. In 2014, Stanford Univer- Reporter at WTNH-TV “In their rush to adopt data journalism, news- sity launched a computational journalism pro- in New Haven, Connecticut. rooms that overlook the rigor of data cleaning gram, which plans to explore ways to integrate and extracting meaning from data are the ones so-called big data into journalism. In fall 2010, I attended a daylong that may regret their actions,” Donald said. “It’s hard for me to conceive of an investigation computer-assisted reporting class led by trainer Jaimi Dowdell in Milwaukee, “We’ve always said that good investigative re- worth doing that doesn’t have data as its founda- and I’ve been hooked on IRE events ever porting can be expensive and time-consuming. tion,” said Maud Beelman of The Associated Press, since. IRE conferences are irresistible We have to acknowledge that data journalism who has edited investigations for many years. because they’re focused on teaching done well shares those traits. Newsrooms must “Building an investigation on data allows you, skills to working journalists; they don’t remind themselves there are no shortcuts to do- in essence, to create a new reality,” Beelman said. waste attendees’ time by giving the stage “Analyzing, understanding data helps reveal — to politicians or businessmen. As for that ing data journalism right.” first Excel class: between that training Doig, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his work and perhaps understand — problems and issues – and what might be a record number covering Hurricane Andrew for the Herald, is now that we might not otherwise be able to see.” of refresher courses taken through IRE a professor at Arizona State University. He said the – I’ve been able to find local stories in focus on interactives has meant that some news- Note: Thanks to the many people who sent me stories, national databases involving everything rooms have cut back on data analysis training. tip sheets and anecdotes. You all are great examples of from bank bailout programs to credit card complaints to data breaches. “I think there is a danger in this current im- the NICAR spirit. Becky Yerak is a Chicago Tribune reporter. balance of there being a triumph of form over content,” he said. Jennifer LaFleur is senior editor for data journalism at Continued on page 19 The rush to exciting new tools and focus on The Center for Investigative Reporting and Reveal.

MARCH 1995 AUG 1995 JUNE 1996 INTERNATIONAL THE BIRTH OF IRE REMAINS AT UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI REACH GROWS NICAR-L AFTER RECEIVING OTHER PROPOSALS Continuing to build its international IRE and NICAR IRE receives proposals from five universities to provide an IRE presence in multiple ways, IRE form listservs headquarters. The IRE board of directors considers offers from the sends speakers to a Bulgarian allowing journalists University of Maryland, , university in conjunction with the to communicate and American University. After months of debate, the IRE board of directors Missouri School of Journalism. effectively online. votes 7-4 to stay at Missouri rather than go to the University of Maryland. Elected members on the IRE board of directors increase from 11 to 13.

16 THE IRE JOURNAL COLLECTED WISDOM The parents were not well-off. They repaired Listen up now, you hear? the shotgun holes in the living room floor and were living in the same house when I inter- n 1977 at the first national conference My alma mater has just done away with its viewed the mother there in 1981 for an NBC that I ran as a board member for IRE, independent School of Journalism and folded News series focusing on insanity pleas in the registration fee was only $25, and it into a multi-purpose Media School. The murder cases. At the end of the interview, she yet we were able to cover the cost for university president said, “There’s no point in said to me, “I don’t know why I cried. I haven’t four meals — lunches and dinners on saving a school that trains people to manage cried for a long time.” And I said to myself, Iboth Friday and Saturday — with four key- fleets of horses if the motorcar has overtaken “Polk, you sonuvabitch, you did your job.” note speakers: Jack Anderson, Carl Bernstein, horse-drawn transportation.” But after the NBC story aired, she called Seymour Hersh and Joe Murray. He’s wrong. It’s content that counts most, me to thank me. She said her relatives had Yes, Joe Murray. He was the editor of the not the mechanics of delivery. In my 50-plus never really understood what she had gone Lufkin (TX) News. His paper won the Pulitzer years in journalism, I’ve worked for The As- through, what she was living with, not until Prize for Public Service that year — one of the sociated Press, a Washington newspaper, and they saw the story on TV. very few small-town dailies ever to do so. two news networks. I’ve written for magazines, People want someone to listen and to un- As Joe told it, when he done some radio, worked on CNN’s website. derstand. You help each other in this regard. walked into the newsroom And I still report the same way as when I start- It is not as cold and cruel and callous as oth- one Monday morning, the ed on a small-city daily back in 1960 — I try to ers might assume. The key is to listen — re- switchboard operator said figure out the questions, find out who knows, ally, really listen. a local businessman was and try to get them to talk with me. Some of my favorite questions are: “How so? waiting to see him. Joe This is a people profession. You get stories Why? Huh? Then what?” Or simply a raised JIM POLK thought, “Ohmigosh, we from people. You tell stories about people. eyebrow. And the universal fallback: “I’m not must have run his ad upside down again.” You always want to find the person who quite sure I understand.” Let them keep talking. Joe sat down with his first cup of coffee, only knows first-handwhat did happen. Anything Yes, today there are computer printouts to half-listening, until the man said something else is hearsay and not necessarily reliable. parse and documents to be digested. But you that sent chills up his spine: “They beat that I ask people for help, to help me under- still need people to help you. The late Jack boy to death.” “Right there, I knew we had a stand. That’s just being honest. Shucks, if I Nelson of the has said his big story,” Joe told the crowd. He motioned to knew all the answers, I wouldn’t be there. favorite question was, “No sh-t, you don’t ex- one of his reporters who had joined him at the And it works more often than not. People do pect me to believe that.” conference. “I assigned a third of my staff to it. want to be heard, to be understood. Being “Oh, yes, I’ve got the document right here He’s sitting at the other end of the table here.” a good listener is the secret to being a good in this drawer.” The businessman’s nephew, a mentally interviewer. If you listen, people will tell you At a panel at the 2008 IRE Conference in challenged Marine recruit from Lufkin, had their stories, and surprisingly, in the worst of Miami, the question was asked, “What is the been assigned to a disciplinary unit in boot circumstances, sometimes feel better for it. secret to investigative reporting?” The New camp and subjected to physical reprisals that I learned this from a mother who was York Times’ Walt Bogdanich said, “Good led to his death. Even back in 1977, we had meant to be a murder victim. files.” That certainly helps. But my answer Q-and-A opportunities with all speakers, and She had married her high school sweet- was, “Making a source out of someone you’re someone in the back of the room asked Joe heart on the rebound, long after graduation. meeting for the first time.” how long it took them to do the story. Between them, they brought four sons, ages So remember, a good listener is a good “One day,” said Joe. “You ask questions, 14 to 22, into their new family. On Valen- reporter. Good luck to each of you, even if you write it down, you put it in the paper.” tine’s Day night in 1977, four young gunmen you’re writing tomorrow’s story on a new pat- And that is the core of what we do in jour- entered their rural double-wide trailer home tern of electrons which I can’t even fathom. nalism. It was true then, and it’s true now. It while her husband was at work an hour away hasn’t changed. It’s the same formula: on the overnight shift. They made the mother was one of the earliest presidents of IRE 1. Ask questions. and four sons lie on the floor, face down. in 1978-80. He received the for 2. Find answers. They killed the boys with shotgun blasts. The national reporting on Watergate campaign finance 3. Tell the public. mother’s wig was blown off, her head was shenanigans while at , then spent Yes, our delivery systems for telling the bloody, the gunmen assumed she was dead, the next four decades as an NBC News correspon- news have evolved. But our methods in pur- and they laughed as they left with their loot dent, then senior producer at CNN. He finally

Photo by Susan Pollack Photo by suit of truth are simple and eternal. — a few watches and a camera. retired not long ago at the age of 76.

JUNE 1996 MAY 1997 NOV 1997 IRE BEGINS TRAINING IN MEXICO AND IRE BUDGET REACHES A GATHERING CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA $1 MILLION AT THE BORDER With a three-year grant of $540,000 from the With so much expansion, IRE and its Mexican project, Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation providing IRE operates with a Periodistas de Investigación, the bulk of the funding, IRE begins operating IRE budget of approximately organize the first “border Mexico, and training quickly broadens to operate a $1 million. gathering” aimed primarily similar organization in Central and South America, at journalists in the El Paso with a headquarters. ’97 CAR Conference program and Juárez area.

SECOND QUARTER 17 40th Anniversary Progress of investigative reporting overseas

Global efforts at investigative journalism are imperative in keeping governments and other powerful parties in check. But reporting is also a risky ­— even life-threatening — career choice for journalists in volatile parts of the world. Each country and region faces its unique hurdles when it comes to and the press, and those challenges evolve every day. IRE and other international journalism organizations provide support, education and resources to reporters across geographic borders. In fact, nearly 10 percent of IRE members are based in 69 countries outside the U.S. Here, four journalists from around the world share their perspectives on how investigative reporting has transformed over the past 40 years.

Journalism in Asia moving example, the changes were brought about Constant change in beyond government control not by the fall of regimes but the opening investigative reporting in Africa of markets. The removal of state subsidies BY SHEILA CORONEL BY DAYO AIYETAN on the media, part of the Deng Xiaoping- Forty years ago, the term “investiga- era reforms, meant that news organizations Investigative journalism in Africa is, unar- tive reporting” was little known in Asia. had to fund themselves. In order to do so, guably, in a state of flux. This special genre Pliant newspapers and insipid TV news they had to take on advertisers and build of journalism holds so much potential to programs dominated the media landscape. audiences. Exposure was an audience- have an impact on good governance and The leading journalists were mouthpieces building and revenue-generating strategy. the sustenance of democracy and devel- of government. Today, journalists in many Before 1980, there was hardly any negative opment, but it is confronted by an equal parts of Asia are using freedom of informa- news in Chinese media. Since then, journal- measure of challenges. tion laws, data analysis, social media, ists have been waging a guerrilla war against One of the biggest challenges is capacity collaborative tools and the latest in digital government censors. The current moment is — there is a huge need to train and retrain technology. They are writing about corrup- not a good one: The government of Xi Jinping newsroom reporters in new skills and tech- tion, , dirty money and has cracked down on critical reporting. The niques of investigative journalism. Computer- environmental problems. little there is has been done mostly online by assisted reporting and data journalism, as Since the 1980s and ‘90s, new freedoms, citizens and journalists through platforms like well as other technical areas that enhance the new technologies, new markets and new Weibo, the Chinese counterpart of . quality of investigative reporting in today’s laws have empowered journalists like never For Asian muckrakers, the excesses of cor- newsroom, are still new to many reporters. before. Twenty-five years ago, Asia had one rupt officials are staple fare. Environmental As in other parts of the world, investiga- investigative reporting center, the Philippine destruction, including the cutting down of tive reporting in the continent is also a Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) rainforests and the pollution of the air and casualty of poor funding. Most newsrooms based in Manila. Today, there are centers water supply, are important investigative are so cash-strapped that they have virtually in , Korea, Pakistan, India and two in subjects, as are human rights abuses and phased out time-consuming, money-guz- . Investigative units in newspapers the poor state of public services. There is a zling investigative projects. and broadcast networks are no longer a paucity of investigations on business and the Even then, investigative journalism still novelty. There are investigative magazines economy, even though the business press thrives, and there are committed individu- — notably Tempo in and Caixin in has expanded with economic growth. als and institutions driving it from South China. In many countries, there are TV news Many challenges remain, including state Africa to Nigeria, Kenya to Senegal, The programs that label themselves investigative. censorship, the safety and security of jour- Gambia to Namibia. The fall of Asian strongmen in the 1980s nalists, and commercial media that often put At the forefront of efforts to sustain investi- and ‘90s was followed by the explosion profits above public service. gative reporting work in Africa is the Forum of new news organizations that queried for African Investigative Reporters (FAIR), an officials, investigated malfeasance and re- Sheila Coronel is dean of academic affairs and association of professionals on the conti- ported events with unprecedented vigor to director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Jour- nent. It offers grants for cross-border inves- a public thirsty for news and information. nalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School tigations and has done some quite incisive In other places, China being the notable of Journalism. reporting on a number of issues.

JUNE 1998 JAN 2000 IRE GETS GRANT IRE MEMBERSHIP TO TRAIN SMALL REACHES 4,000 NEWS VENUES Membership tops The Open Society Institute 4,000 journalists. awards IRE money to conduct Dues increase to conferences on investigative $50 annually. reporting for small- and medium-

’98 CAR Conference program sized news organizations. ’99 CAR Conference program ’99 IRE Conference program

18 THE IRE JOURNAL The African Media Initiative based in Kenya explanatory pieces. In the beginning, almost TESTIMONIALS has also, through its African Story Challenge no journalists used the new FOI laws. In Swe- CONTINUED ... series among other programs, funded sev- den, Europe’s first association of investigative eral investigative projects in many countries, journalists, Grävände Journalister, is formed In 10 years, so many things can change. But when I came back to Columbia, particularly in the areas of agriculture, health in 1989, soon followed by Foreningen for Missouri, to study journalism during the and business. Undersøgende Journalistik (FUJ) in Denmark summer of 2013 as a college freshman, Last year, Justin Arenstein, a South and Stiftelsen for en Kritisk og Undersøkende it looked almost exactly like what I African journalist, and other investigative Presse (SKUP) in Norway. Their aim is to share remember from about a decade ago when reporters around the continent founded the methods, often with the help of speakers from I lived here in 2005. My father was one of the first generations of the IRE visiting African Network of Centers for Investigative foreign countries. Korean scholars, and I was lucky enough Reporting (ANCIR) to provide a common A lot of news media in Scandinavia to stay here with him for one year. The platform for producing quality investigative established investigative teams. We see only 10-year-old me had no idea what great reporting content. a handful of projects in the 1990s where investigative reporters I was hanging out It is still a long way from making the impact and having dinners with. And now I’m journalists from two countries and different back here, 10 years later, taking the exact it can make on governance, but certainly in media work together. same computer-assisted reporting class many African countries, investigative report- AROUND 2000 that my father took, working at the IRE ers are contributing to create more transparent Western aid moves into former communist Resource Center and taking a step and accountable governments. And it can only toward becoming an investigative countries in Eastern Europe, supporting the journalist myself. I’m excited to be a get better. founding of investigative journalism nonprof- part of the next generation of IRE and its in Armenia (2001), Romania (2001), Bos- investigative journalism. Dayo Aiyetan is the executive director of the International nia and Herzegovina (2004) and elsewhere. Soorin Kim is a sophomore at Centre for Investigative Reporting, an independent, non- The first global investigative journalism con- University of Missouri and a volunteer profit news agency based in Nigeria. He is an investiga- ference is held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in at IRE Resource Center. tive reporter, media trainer and newsroom mentor with 2001, which develops two years later into the over 25 years of experience. In 1994, I saved enough from my first Global Investigative Journalism Network, and reporting job in Tampa to get to the IRE now serves as a meeting point for investigative Conference in St. Louis. I had no idea 40 years of investigative journalists worldwide. what to expect. It was overwhelming and journalism in Europe — a fast trip Other European countries form associa- exhilarating – and a little lonely. I struck up a conversation with Ron Campbell, BY NILS MULVAD tions for investigative journalists, including a business reporter from California. He Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and asked about my work. I complained about BEFORE 1975 Switzerland. an investment fraud story that was stalled. Lone journalists and a few news organi- Around this time, the region also exploded Prosecutors were ignoring the case after zations in many cases investigated specific with FOI laws. Today, 40 European countries regulators shut the scheme down, despite stories, but few media practiced this kind of a history of similar cases in other states. He have FOI laws, and there are many centers ac- lit up: That’s your story! journalism. There was no education in investi- tively using and documenting how they work. Soon, the O.J. Simpson chase began on gation journalism. The in In 2013, Spain became the latest European TV. Any talk of work ended. the 1970s inspired many young people to country to adopt an FOI law. I went back and reported the story want a career as a journalist. The (EU) also now has a the way Ron suggested. We were about In Europe, only Sweden had a freedom of to publish when the principal players regulation on access to documents and files, were charged with threatening to blow information (FOI) law from 1766, followed by but there is only a small amount of investiga- up a federal judge’s house. The “pro se” Finland in 1951, Norway in 1970 and Den- tive journalism covering EU stories. activists were in jail when we published mark in 1970. Half of Europe was behind the In 2003, the Denmark-based SCOOP was the story – it said, as Ron had predicted, Iron Curtain with no press freedom. that regulators and law enforcement agents formed as a network for supporting and con- suspected they’d never have been arrested AROUND 1990 ducting investigative journalism in Southeast had it not been for that threat. The former socialist countries turned into Europe and Ukraine and now includes many Thanks to IRE, I’ve been getting great democratic states and began to establish FOI other countries. advice on stories ever since. laws. Slowly, we saw a change in journalistic In 2005, FarmSubsidy.org was created as Sarah Cohen is a database editor for The methods in these countries, adopting some the first European network of journalists and New York Times and IRE Board President. investigative methods rather than writing long activists to share data on EU farm subsidies.

MAY 2000 JUNE 2000 APRIL 2001 IRE PUBLISHES IRE CELEBRATES IRE COLLABORATES WITH FIRST BEAT BOOK 25TH ANNIVERSARY DANISH JOURNALISTS The first of IRE’s IRE celebrates 25 IRE and DICAR, a Danish journalism seven beat years at the national organization, collaborate on the first books, “Covering conference in New four-day Global Investigative Journalism Aviation Safety: An York City. Conference. More than 300 journalists Investigator’s Guide,” from 40 countries participate in the is published. ’00 CAR Conference program conference in Copenhagen.

SECOND QUARTER 19 TESTIMONIALS 2015 nomenon that happens in the U.S. journal- CONTINUED ... There are a growing number of centers ism industry today repeats itself in Brazil’s for investigative journalism working across industry tomorrow. This is especially true IRE and I began our love affair the night I Europe, but it is a challenge for them to find for the rapid decline of print news. All was reporting in the middle of a corn field in rural . Hundreds of bugs were funding. Coordinating cross-border projects major Brazilian newspapers and magazines flying around my head, drawn to the only light is only in its infancy. The Journalismfund.eu are suffering from an unprecedented loss of source for miles, when I swallowed a gnat on supports some cross-border reporting, ad revenue, which produced a succession live television. while groups like the Washington-based of cuts in newsrooms and lots of job losses. That’s when I decided to start putting away International Consortium of Investigative Some of those who lost their jobs were $100 from every paycheck and using up all my among the best reporters and editors — precious vacation to go to the IRE and NICAR Journalists (ICIJ), and the Sarajevo-based conferences. I came back home after those Organized Crime and Corruption Report- and were higher on the pay scale. While conferences and turned a story on the rotting ing Project (OCCP) work with various news print journalism still is the foundation of and crumbling bridges of Western Kentucky media on big projects. investigative journalism in Brazil, there’s an using NICAR’s bridge data. “Orloff effect” up and down the food chain, A few months later I had a new job as a full- contaminating the quality of investigative time investigative reporter that allowed me to do Nils Mulvad was among a handful of Danish journal- the journalism I really wanted to do. ists who formed FUJ, Denmark’s association of in- journalism in TV and radio broadcasts, even For every story I’ve told and every law vestigative journalists, in 1989. Together with former on the Internet. I’ve helped change, I can point to a NICAR IRE director Brant Houston, Mulvad organized the As newsrooms are less populated and dataset or an IRE panel on which I relied on first two global conferences and founded the Global sometimes lack experience, some major to make it happen. Investigations involving Investigative Journalism Network in 2003. He was stories that need deep coverage — such as hidden cameras, interactive data, interviewing the many political scandals happening in techniques, confrontations, FOIA fights - all of also a co-founder of SCOOP and FarmSubsidy.org. it comes from IRE and its gracious members In 2006, he was awarded European journalist of the Brazil — don’t receive a proper investiga- who are always willing to share their hard- year by European Voice and in 2007, received an tion. The journalists are too dependent on earned knowledge for free. IRE award for his work on freedom of information. police and prosecutors’ leaks — in the best IRE is the ultimate support network. IRE is He now works as editor at Kaas & Mulvad, a data scenario. There’s too much influence on the a dedicated and passionate group of people narrative from outside the newsroom, and who understand you, know what you’re trying journalism consulting firm. to do and understand how many obstacles, few investigative reporters dig their own stories from first-hand sources, not from big and small, you face every day. They will Brazilian investigative journalism never let you down. From answering basic police reports. questions via the listserv to banding together and the ‘Tequila Effect’ The good side of the “tequila effect” is that to finish your untold story, they will be there BY JOSE ROBERTO DE TOLEDO there are many young journalists experi- for you, no matter how hard it gets. They menting with data journalism, DataViz and were and continue to be there for me. And I Many years ago, when Latin America was will always be there for IRE. Vox-like explanatory journalism. It seems in a financial crisis, there was this popu- like every month there’s a new nonprofit Tisha Thompson is an investigative lar TV ad in Brazil. As a guy in black tie reporter at NBC4 Washington. journo outlet launching its own operation prepares to drink a “caipirinha” at a bar, — although many of them don’t have the I have learned so much from being part of IRE someone who looks just like him, but wear- necessary funding to last. Mimicking the over the past decade. I remember who taught ing pajamas, grabs the drink from his hands goals of IRE, we created Abraji (the Brazil- me specific writing tips, how I learned to do and asks the bartender for another one ian Association of Investigative Journalism) data analysis and who bothered to talk with — this time, made with a more expensive me at that first conference when I knew no 13 years ago (no complaints about any side one. I’ve met mentors, bosses and of course, brand of vodka. The black-tie guy asks the effects until now). tons of friends. It’s amazing that a group of pajama guy who is he. The answer became So, Brazilian journalism is struggling, but journalists, 40 years ago, could spark some- a catch phrase for Brazilian economists: “I’m we’re hoping that the tequila effect brings us thing so incredible. I’m hugely grateful for their you tomorrow” — because the Argentinian some light at the end of the tunnel — or, at work and to everyone who has spent their time economic crisis that day would result in the least, good medicine for the hangover. building this organization. Brazilian hangover the day after. Ellen Gabler is an IRE Board member This hangover became known as the “Or- Jose Roberto de Toledo has been a journalist since and investigative reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. loff effect,” after the vodka brand from the 1986. He specializes in data journalism and writes a TV ad. By comparison, Brazilian journalism political column for major Brazilian newspapers. He Continued on page 23 is in a kind of a “tequila effect”: Any phe- is currently the president of Abraji.

SEPT 2001 SEPT 2001 APRIL 2002 CAR CONFERENCE KNIGHT FOUNDATION IRE, SPJ COLLABORATE POSTPONED EXPANDS FUNDING OF IRE ON WATCHDOG WORKSHOPS IRE reschedules a The John S. and James L. IRE and The Society of Professional Journalists begin a CAR Conference Knight Foundation awards IRE three-year collaboration on one-day “Better Watchdog for Philadelphia in up to $2 million for operations Workshops” with an initial grant from the Sigma Delta the aftermath of the and endowment. Chi Foundation. The number of workshops quickly Sept. 11 attacks. grows to more than a dozen a year and continues with

Jan/Feb 2002 grants from other foundations and newsrooms.

20 THE IRE JOURNAL 40th Anniversary Ebb and Flow of Access Forty years later IRE still fights for transparency

BY GEOFF WEST » UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI

he battle for open records began available to the public at no charge. In 1888, long before the founding of IRE. Colombia enacted similar legislation. Fin- But relinquishing govern- land, once a Swedish territory, adopted its ments’ grasp on public infor- FOI law in 1951. mation has been a fundamental More than 100 countries now have FOI Tfight for investigative reporters since IRE’s birth laws or constitutional provisions promoting four decades ago, a story well documented in open government, and according to a 2012 the IRE Journal since the late 1970s. IRE Journal article by of The In the U.S., the Watergate, Cold War and Associated Press, 85 percent of the world’s post-9/11 eras each helped shape important population had access-to-information rights federal and state legislation, court decisions by the end of 2010. and executive orders that have empowered Simply having a FOI law doesn’t guarantee or revoked “openness” since passage of the transparency in government, however, David Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in 1966. Cuillier, director of the University of Arizona Yet, the U.S. law has been slow to ma- School of Journalism and chair of the Society ture as it lags behind countries with stronger of Professional Journalists’ Freedom of Infor- access-to-information rights, including 16 mation Committee, said. former communist countries and others with “FOI laws can actually be worse because it developing economies, according to a global gives governments the legal right to delay, deny FOI ranking by Access Info Europe and the the idea of transparency the next best thing or charge exorbitant fees for public records,” Centre for Law and Democracy. — an expectation. Cuillier said. “If we’re not going to have laws It’s a story of wins and losses for open re- with teeth, it’s better to have no laws at all.” cords advocates and a reminder of how frag- BIRTH OF FOIA Citing national security concerns during ile public access is. In 1997, a New York Times obituary cred- the height of the Cold War, President Ron- As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel ited former U.S. Congressman John E. Moss ald Reagan and his administration repeated- Alito wrote in 2013, little is promised: “The as the “Father of Anti-Secrecy Law.” ly tried to curtail the flow of information, ac- Constitution does not guarantee the exis- Moss, a 13-term congressman from Sac- cording to IRE Journal entries by its former tence of FOIA laws. Moreover, no such right ramento, not only authored the Freedom of executive editor John Ullmann and others was recognized at common law or in the Information Act, but he championed the bill during the 1980s. early Republic.” through three presidential administrations Angry at a Washington Post story that Alito’s words appeared as part of a U.S. until it was passed and begrudgingly signed disclosed defense spending could go wild- Supreme Court ruling to allow the state of by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. (According to ly over budget — a possibility discussed Virginia the right to ignore public records a 2002 National Public Radio series on the in a closed Department of Defense bud- requests from nonresidents, a provision ad- history of FOIA, it took “some last-minute get meeting — Reagan drafted a letter to opted by several states. calls to LBJ from a handful of newspaper edi- National Security Advisor William P. Clark But the fact that open government isn’t tors” for Johnson to sign.) outlining new protocols for handling com- specifically outlined in the Constitution as an The U.S. was exactly 200 years behind. In munication with the media. inherent right is also a testament to the will of 1766, Sweden passed the world’s first right- The administration’s goal of curtailing those who fought and succeeded in making to-access law, making official documents leaks cooled relationships between reporters

JAN 2003 FEB 2003 FEB 2005 NICAR DATABASE COLLECTION EXTRA! EXTRA! ETHICS AND EXCELLENCE REACHES 40 IN NUMBER BLOG DEBUTS FUNDS IRE The IRE and NICAR Database IRE debuts daily Extra! The Ethics and Excellence in Library continues to expand Extra! feature on its Journalism Foundation continues its collection of government website to recognize its support of the Better Watchdog databases, which now reaches the latest investigative Workshop series. about 40 databases. and computer- assisted work. March/April 2002 Jan/Feb 2005

SECOND QUARTER 21 and sources, Pentagon beat reporters told the provided reporters with new opportunity cies declaring, “openness in government is IRE Journal at the time. News that Pentagon and further challenges. essential to accountability … the existence officials were being subject to lie detector Since open records laws were drafted to as- of unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles has no tests and rumors of in-house wiretapping led sume that records appear on paper instead of place in its implementation.” to long-time sources abruptly canceling in- a computer screen, FOIA’s technological trans- That wasn’t surprising. Each president, terviews, declining to talk or forwarding ba- formation sparked a debate over whether elec- even , has played lip service to sic questions to press agents. tronic records were subject to the same laws. the value of open government, Cuillier said. “A climate of terror was being generated,” In a 1987 Journal article, John R. Bender, “It doesn’t matter who the president is, they Walter Mossberg, a Pentagon reporter for then editor of the FOI Notebook, shared the all suck.” The Wall Street Journal, told the IRE Journal story of an Arkansas judge who “refused to Despite his “openness” pledge, Clinton in 1982. declare a computerized voting list a public signed two pieces of noteworthy legislation Federal employees weren’t the only ones record. The judge said the tapes were more that limited access to information: The Driv- targeted. In May 1986, CIA Director William like office equipment than records.” er’s Privacy Protection Act restricts access Casey threatened to prosecute media out- The debate ended with the passage of to state motor vehicle records, while the lets that broadcast or published information the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Health Insurance Portability and Account- about U.S. covert intelligence activities — Amendments of 1996, which officially recog- ability Act, known as HIPAA, limits how essentially equating leaks with espionage. nized electronic records and paper records as much patient information hospitals could No news outlets were ever prosecuted. one in the same. share with reporters. On the bright side, the 1990s also spawned Each president, even Richard Nixon, has played lip service the birth of open records audits by state and regional newspapers, an idea hatched by a to the value of open government, Cuillier said. “It doesn’t group of students and a public policy profes- sor at Brown University in 1997, according matter who the president is, they all suck.” to a 2000 Journal entry by former NFOIC ex- ecutive director Charles Davis. FEE WAIVERS Another challenge for journalists in the A year later, seven Indiana newspapers The Reagan administration had other early days of computer-assisted reporting sent reporters to all 92 counties in the state ways of keeping reporters at bay. centered on the cost to extract electronic to document their search for basic public re- In 1974, Congress added a fee waiver provi- records from an agency’s database. cords data, which resulted in an exposé on sion to FOIA, which allowed federal agencies For open records advocates, the “arbi- the failings of open government that earned to release records at no charge if the informa- trary and prohibitively high fees” assessed IRE’s first FOI Award. tion would primarily benefit the public good. by state agencies were a convenient tactic The fee waiver provision was tightened, to prevent disclosure, according to Ben- CHALLENGES IN THE however, in new guidelines issued by Jonathan dor, who provided the example of a Boston NEW MILLENNIUM C. Rose, Reagan’s assistant attorney general. news outlet being quoted a computer pro- The Homeland Security Act — or the Under the revisions, requesters would gramming fee of $600 per minute. “most severe weakening of the Freedom have to meet new thresholds to qualify for Fees to secure electronic records are still of Information Act in its 36-year history,” a waiver, such as proving they had the ex- an issue for reporters. With emails, text Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said at the time pertise to understand the subject material. messages and other digital information now — provided new hurdles to transparency in Richard Huff of the Justice Department’s subject to open records law, state legislators the wake of 9/11, including provisions that Office of Information Law and Policy told are responding with legislation that adds blocked access to infrastructure data and the Journal that the revisions were necessary exemptions and increases fees for those re- exempted from FOIA certain information to ensure waivers weren’t granted to a “high cords, Daniel Bevarly, National Freedom of provided voluntarily by businesses to gov- school senior writing a term paper on the Information Coalition (NFOIC) interim ex- ernment agencies. Kennedy Administration.” ecutive director, said. Citing national security concerns, sev- eral federal agencies also quickly re- COMPUTER PROBLEMS NEW OPTIMISM moved records and documents related to In the 1980s and 1990s, state and federal In 1993, newly sworn-in U.S. President infrastructure from their websites. General agencies began storing information in com- Bill Clinton and Attorney General Janet John Ashcroft backed the move and sent puter databases. This shift simultaneously Reno issued a memo to all executive agen- a memo to agencies expressing support

JUNE 2005 FEB 2007 JUNE 2008 SEPT 2009 IRE CELEBRATES 30TH FOUNDATION FREELANCE JOURNALISTS IRE COLLABORATES ON ANNIVERSARY FUNDS TRAINING AWARDED FELLOWSHIP CAMPUS COVERAGE PROJECT Nearly 900 journalists attend IRE launches IRE announces the first IRE, in partnership with Education IRE’s annual conference in an initiative to winners of an endowed Writers Association and the Denver. IRE launched a new provide training to fellowship that provides Student Press Law Center, part of the website, IRE journalists from support for freelance launches a program to share Español, aimed at providing ethnic media funded journalists working on investigative reporting skills with resources to Spanish- by the McCormick investigative projects. Spring 2009 college and university students speaking journalists. Foundation. funded by the Lumina Foundation.

22 THE IRE JOURNAL for decisions to withhold information under TESTIMONIALS CONTINUED ... post-graduate with a psychology degree and bills FOIA, according to Jennifer LaFleur, now a racking up. I had dreams of living a life of service. senior editor at The Center for Investigative But I was career-less, and I lacked direction. I struggled with frustration and with doubt. Yet, as Reporting, writing in 2002 for the Journal. soon as I sat down at my first IRE Conference, As new state and federal legislation eroded the light bulb turned on. I didn’t know how I access to information, the news industry re- was going to do it, but for the first time the path sponded to financial problems by laying off became clear: I wanted to become a journalist. journalists and cutting resources. Dwindling I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to be just like those amazing IRE reporters I saw giving manpower and supplies affected the “level workshops and sharing knowledge. and intensity of FOI work,” according to a A year later, thanks to IRE members, magic 2010 NFOIC survey, which found a downward struck and I landed my first journalism position. trend in the number of news outlets making IRE taught me data skills so powerful that they Twelve years, two IRE mentors and hundreds of FOI requests, appealing denied requests and quite literally armed me with a deadly weapon tipsheet study sessions later, my wildest dreams have been fulfilled. I now routinely pester filing lawsuits. to question Missouri officials about failing bridges. As a student I knew right where to bureaucrats, obtain secret documents, tell vital find the worst bridges in the state, including stories and, most importantly, foster positive FAILED PROMISE one dropping large chunks of concrete into change through the power of sound, careful, On his second day in office in 2009, Presi- highway traffic. The confronted official never contextual journalism. I now reach back to help dent said transparency would expected a 21-year-old student to have others discover the IRE magic for themselves. be one of the “touchstones of this presidency” statistics and the heavy concrete with him in Corey G. Johnson is an award-winning his backpack when he claimed on camera — a phrase that has turned into a punch line investigative reporter at The Marshall Project, bridges were safe. The official had to admit, a newly formed nonprofit news organization for investigative reporters. reluctantly, that he “hoped” people wouldn’t focused on covering the nation’s criminal As Katie Townsend for Reporters Committee die. The legislature responded with $25 million justice system. for Freedom of the Press explained in the Jour- for the state’s worst bridges. Thanks IRE! nal’s fall 2014 issue, “Increased government Mark Greenblatt is a national investigative My first IRE Conference was in Phoenix in 1997. I secrecy, subpoenas, search warrants targeting correspondent at the Scripps D.C. Bureau. was the Miami Herald’s rookie City Hall reporter. I had no clue what I was doing. I attended panels journalists and the ongoing threat of govern- featuring top-shelf beat reporters, Pulitzer Prize ment surveillance have made sources harder to and IRE Award winners – great journalists who come by and have obstructed the flow of infor- invested in me. I returned to Miami to a massive mation to reporters and, in turn, to the public.” public corruption scandal, better prepared to Similar to the Reagan era, government em- tackle bid rigging and even voter fraud. My story is not unique. That’s what makes IRE ployees are discouraged from speaking with great. Members help each other, which in return the media, calls from reporters are increasing- makes our world better: we expose corruption, ly forwarded to a media spokesman and fed- protect taxpayers, oust politicians, change laws, eral agencies are denying a growing number save lives – and we have fun doing it. of FOIA requests under the Obama Adminis- Manny Garcia is executive editor of tration, Townsend explained, citing an Associ- the and former IRE President. ated Press report. I owe basically my entire career to IRE and NICAR. It’s been a place where my mentors and idols I don’t even know why my boss sent me to NICAR, Meanwhile, the Free Flow of Information have quickly become my colleagues and friends. and I was scared. This conference turned my Act, a proposed federal shield law to protect I love IRE and NICAR so much, I got a tattoo that whole career around. At the “Introduction to CAR journalists, has been repeatedly debated, but included the two organizations in the design along session,” Ron Nixon fielded the first question from consistently defeated. The FOIA Improvement with a quote from Walter Williams’ Journalist’s me, and I begged him to help me understand how Act, a bill to reduce the exemptions used by Creed. It’s a hit at conferences and happy hours this weekend would help my work. Ron gently in DC. It’s the least I could do to show my love federal agencies to deny FOIA requests, has assured me everything was going to be good, and support for an organization that for years has and he put me in touch with the energetic Tisha bipartisan support in Congress, but House helped me and many other journalists comfort the Thompson. Both set me on the right path and now Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) tabled a afflicted and afflict the comfortable. everything I do is driven by data. I’m not a great House vote in December. Steven Rich is a Washington Post database editor journalist yet, but thanks to NICAR I’ll get there. and former IRE/NICAR graduate student. Chad Petri is a data journalist at WKRG-TV in Geoff West is a graduate student in investigative Mobile, Alabama. reporting at the University of Missouri. Previously, he My life was in turmoil when I first discovered IRE. It was the summer of 2003, and I was a young was a reporter for newspapers in central Texas. Continued on page 25

FEB 2011 JUNE 2011 JUNE 2011 CAR CONFERENCE DOCUMENTCLOUD JOINS IRE IRE LAUNCHES CENSUS DATA SERVICE EXPANDS DocumentCloud, funded through IRE launches online Census data service The CAR Conference a grant from the Knight News census.ire.org. Journalists from The Chicago in Raleigh expands Challenge, becomes part of IRE. Tribune, The New York Times, USA TODAY, CNN, sessions and hands-on Launched in 2009, the service at the the Spokesman-Review and the University of classes designed for time was used by more than 250 Nebraska-Lincoln worked on the project, which programmers. news organizations and was home to was funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism more than 80,000 documents. Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism. Winter 2011

SECOND QUARTER 23 40th Anniversary What’s next for investigative journalism?

Making data journalism Exploratory data analysis is just a good devices, too. I know of i-teams now using more visual starting point. Beginning a data journalism Black Phone encrypted cell phones for BY ALBERTO CAIRO and visualization class by explaining, for voice and messaging out of suspicion that a instance, how to reveal potential stories StingRay unit is being used on them. I’m not very good at making predictions, in data through charts and maps can be GPS TRACKERS: Long a staple of spy but I’m certainly good at voicing hopes, so an excellent way to get more students and novels, these inconspicuous gadgets can be here it goes: I hope that investigative report- faculty interested in what we do. surreptitiously attached to a reporter’s car ers and news designers and developers will It might also help them understand, at and reveal in real time anywhere the vehicle embrace the power of visualization not just last, that this stuff isn’t unicorn wizardry. goes. They’re sold openly for anything from to tell stories, but to explore their own data. locating lost pets to keeping tabs on straying It has been almost four decades since the Alberto Cairo is the Knight Chair in Visual Journalism spouses. Reporters shouldn’t forget that their famous statistician John W. Tukey wrote his at the School of Communication at the University of cellphones can pinpoint their location, too. book “Exploratory Data Analysis,” in which Miami, where he teaches infographics and data visual- The most effective countermeasure against he described how to systematically use ization. He’s also director of the visualization program GPS trackers is to avoid taking your own car visualization to discover interesting stories of UM’s Center for Computational Science. He’s the — or your cellphone — to that meeting in in data sets of any size. This is a power- author of the book “The Functional Art” (2012) and the parking garage at midnight. ful technique that, unfortunately, has been is working on a follow-up, titled “The Truthful Art” TRAITOR-TRACING WATERMARKS: If overlooked by many programs teaching data (March 2016), which will focus on data analysis and your whistleblower source is feeding you journalism, visualization and infographics. visualization techniques for journalists and designers. documents possessed only by a few in the In the past, those of us teaching in organization, beware that the files might these areas have focused a bit too much Growing security threats have been invisibly watermarked with on databases, programming languages for reporters unique identifiers. It’s always tempting to and traditional, math-based statistics and openly post documents on IRE’s Document- BY STEVE DOIG social science concepts. The result has Cloud, which is great for adding evidentiary been that many of our students are scared Protecting the identities of confidential weight to an investigative project. But don’t to death because they believe (wrongly) sources has always been a mandate for do it if you suspect that your target organiza- that data analysis and statistics are ob- investigative reporters. But it’s apparent that tion might have watermarked some files. scure, difficult-to-understand disciplines. many of us need to step up our spycraft In journalism education, data is still seen skills, thanks to the revelations of Edward Steve Doig, a former IRE board member and as a knowledge domain that belongs to Snowden’s NSA leaks and the proliferation investigative reporter for the Miami Herald, has done a special group of geeky students and of off-the-shelf surveillance tools available data-aided projects that have won the Pulitzer for faculty rather than something that must to anyone who wants to snoop. Public Service, the IRE Award and the George Polk permeate the entire program. Here are three growing threats to con- Award. He now teaches data reporting at the Cronkite Exploratory data analysis can help us sider even by reporters who aren’t on the School of Journalism at Arizona State University. solve these challenges because it’s visual, a national security beat: bit casual and fun — also, because it’s based STINGRAY: This portable spying Looking ahead in FOI on simple arithmetic and basic design. Is it device creates a fake cell tower to grab the BY DAVID CUILLIER the only tool that we should teach and that digital stream of any cellphones being used data journalists should use to analyze data? nearby. Sold to law enforcement agencies Since Investigative Reporters and Editors Obviously not. Classic confirmatory analysis in the U.S., these should be of concern to was founded, the state of freedom of in- and collaborating with specialists familiar reporters getting information from agency formation in the United States has steadily with specific kinds of data are still para- whistleblowers; actually, there’s little declined, and unless citizens and journal- mount. Sources matter. reason other targets couldn’t get similar ists push back, it will continue to do so in

OCT 2012 JAN 2013 SEPT 2013 FEB 2014 MAY 2014 IRE LAUNCHES DATA TOTAL NEWSROOM IRE LAUNCHES NICAR CONFERENCE IRE RADIO JOURNALISM FUND TRAINING LAUNCHED STUDENT ATTENDANCE PODCAST IRE launches data IRE launched Total SPONSORSHIP BREAKS RECORD LAUNCHES journalism fund after a Newsroom Training PROGRAM Record-breaking attendance donation from Google — free, customized at NICAR Conference in Ideas. Eight newsrooms watchdog training in Baltimore. Just under 1,000 people were awarded grants in small and medium-sized attended, making it the largest early 2013. newsrooms. NICAR Conference to date.

24 THE IRE JOURNAL the future. Three things to look for ahead in • The Bloomberg data box that finances TESTIMONIALS freedom of information: the company’s editorial efforts. CONTINUED ... 1. Continued decay of public record laws • The subscription to an electronic news- through exemptions, charges for search and letter that is expert on a specific topic. I am where I am because of IRE. This organiza- tion and its members have supported me every redaction and public officials gaming the • The nonprofit mix of donations and step of the way. IRE gave me training I’d have a system. The continued gradual demise of earned revenue that has kept Mother hard time getting anywhere else.Through con- access through paper cuts while freedom of Jones going for decades and is fueling ferences and workshops, many of its members information is bolstered in other nations all The Texas Tribune. got to know me as a journalist and a person. around the world. Also, government agen- But over the next few years, new business They hung out with me. Read my colleagues’ and my work. Encouraged me. Taught me. cies will continue to become more effective models will aggressively adapt to the digital Recommended me. Hired me. If you are com- at stonewalling and applying overly zealous ways people get and share their news. They mitted to investigative journalism, I believe IRE tactics at controlling the message — unless will take advantage of the power of collabora- and its members can do the same for you. Your journalists push back and don’t go along. tion across platforms and the different ways to first step: Decide, “I want to do this.” 2. Potential pushback that could result in stream stories and content. They will rely on Griff Palmer is a 35-year career journalist. penalties and fines being added to public algorithms to customize stories and data for record laws. If the laws are going to work, different parts of their audiences, much the My first IRE Conference was in Las Vegas in then they need teeth. This means giving the way social media does now. 2010. As a recent J-school grad and a foreigner, I was completely shocked by how much informa- federal Office of Government Information In the short term, the natural bonding of the tion journalists shared with the crowd —­ even Services the power to force agencies to nonprofit startups and if they were competitors. In my native Spain, cough up records, as well as impose hefty most likely will grow into a generally accept- scenes like that are rare, and we don’t have an fines on state and federal agencies that fla- ed model. The startups bring experience and investigative reporters association. I was inspired grantly violate the law. Penalties have been new content to NPR and PBS newsrooms, to change that. In 2012, I co-created the first ever master’s degree in investigative reporting, effective in Washington, Florida and other which offer in return to the centers broadcast data journalism and visualization. In 2013, I co- states. They need to be imposed everywhere skills, greater community engagement and organized the national data journalism confer- — and with punch. wider distribution of stories. ence, which now attracts around 500 journalists 3. Stronger access to electronic records, In the longer term, both for-profit and every year. I’m very happy that what happened particularly public officials’ emails and social nonprofit newsrooms will develop ways to in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas. media. Consensus is building among the connect directly to the audience through Mar Cabra is a Spanish investigative reporter and courts that the public’s business should be mobile devices and social media — and data journalism trainer who is currently the editor of the Data & Research Unit at the International public, even if transacted on officials’ private create the opportunity for crowdfunding Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). email accounts, personal cellphones and and microtransactions. Facebook pages. In the future, the Hillary But for investigative journalism, the most at- My first memory of IRE, and of Mizzou, reaches Clintons and Sarah Palins of politics should be tractive strategy will be to remain credible and back to my arrival for CAR Boot Camp in held accountable for hiding their business in trustworthy and clearly not be a mouthpiece 1997. A new professor at Southern Methodist University, I came eager to learn more about the for governments or a front for companies that private electronic accounts. emerging form of data-driven journalism I had are currently creating their own newsrooms. heard about from my friend Shawn McIntosh at David Cuillier is director of the University of Arizona Consumer Reports has shown that people the Dallas Morning News. On her advice, I ap- School of Journalism and Freedom of Information will pay for and donate to a newsroom that plied and was accepted. Little did I know how Committee chair for the Society of Professional Journal- looks out for them. In the end, it’s an endur- that week would change my life. I recall working twelve hours a day under the tutelage of Brant ists. He is co-author, with Charles Davis, of “The Art of ing business model, but the key will be for Houston, marveling as new doors were thrown Access: Strategies for Acquiring Public Records.” those kinds of newsrooms to figure out how open into the ways that documents could help to make sure people know they are there. inform journalism, and then and there, I vowed Business models: Next up to somehow, some way, lend a hand through Brant Houston is the Knight Chair of Investigative what little I knew about freedom of information BY BRANT HOUSTON law. A moonlight stroll through the Quad ended Reporting at the University of Illinois. He also works with a call to my wife. “This place is journalism The search goes on for the right business with startup nonprofit centers that do investigative Mecca,” I told her. “If I could work here…” models for journalism, especially investiga- journalism. He formerly was executive director of IRE Charles N. Davis, dean of the Henry W. Grady tive reporting. and is author of “Computer-Assisted Reporting: A College of Journalism and Mass Communication There are already successes that might be Practical Guide” and co-author of “The Investigative at the University of Georgia, has served for years replicated: Reporter’s Handbook.” on the FOI Committee of IRE.

MAY 2014 JUNE 2014 JUNE 2014 MARCH 2015 APRIL 2015 DOCUMENTCLOUD IRE CONFERENCE BREAKS NICAR STUDENTS GAIN IRE RECEIVES GRANT ATTENDANCE RECORD COURSES RIGHT TO VOTE MEMBERSHIP John S. and James L. Record-breaking attendance LAUNCH Students are given REACHES Knight Foundation awards at the IRE Conference in the right to vote in ALL-TIME NICAR Courses, HIGH OF 5,473 a $1.4 million grant to San Francisco. Approximately a hands-on IRE elections. The IRE DocumentCloud. The grant 1,664 people attended, course package membership approved goes toward improvements making it the largest IRE for instructors, the change at the CAR and sustainability. Conference to date. launches. Winter 2014 Conference in Atlanta.

SECOND QUARTER 25 2014 IRE AWARD WINNERS THE 2014 WINNERS of the IRE Awards is an incredible list that demonstrates the power of investigative reporting and its crucial role in society. “This year’s entries show groundbreaking investigative journalism is being produced at all levels, from a small Oregon weekly to the nation’s largest newspapers, nonprofits and broadcasters,” said Ziva Branstetter, chair of the IRE Contest Committee. “The entries had impact in their communities and across the country, prompting campaign finance reforms, investigations and resignations as well as better care for veterans.”

“The entries also show several important trends continue to grow,” Established at the June 7, 1979 IRE Conference in Boston, the Branstetter said. “Journalists are finding inventive ways to tell stories IRE Awards recognize the most outstanding watchdog journalism on multiple platforms and collaborating with other media outlets to of the year. The contest began with six categories in newspapers, produce ambitious projects for a variety of audiences.” television, radio, books and magazines. Today, it covers 16 catego- “The next time you hear someone lamenting the loss of great ries across media platforms and a range of market sizes. Though investigative journalism, show them this list.” several things have changed since the 1979 contest, the winning This year’s winners were selected from among more than criteria has stayed the same throughout the years: reporting on 550 entries. One organization — ProPublica — is a multiple award one’s own initiative; a story’s importance; fair and accurate report- winner, in both the Multiplatform and the Gannett Award for Inno- ing; the mount of difficulty; elements of peril, work and sacrifice; vation in Watchdog Journalism categories, for two separate projects. and a story’s impact.

26 THE IRE JOURNAL IRE MEDALS SPECIAL AWARDS The highest honor IRE can bestow for investigative Medals are also awarded reporting is the IRE Medal. This year’s medal winners are: to winners of two special award categories:

HEATH

GILDERMAN GRANATSTEIN KATZ WIGGIN CARLOS FREY KAPLAN Tom Renner Award “Fugitives Next Door,” USA TODAY, Brad Heath With contributions from dozens of journalists at Gannett community FALCON VENEGAS EFRAN KIEFFER newspapers, TV stations and Gannett Digital. “The Real Death Valley / Muriendo por Cruzar,” Judges’ comments: “Fugitives Next Door” , The Investigative Fund, is an ambitious project that reveals a and Efran Films (Category: Broadcast/Video – Large) nationwide problem hiding in plain sight — tens of thousands of criminals The Weather Channel: Gregory Gilderman, , escaping justice because law enforcement Neil Katz and Katie Wiggin agencies nationwide refused to pursue The Investigative Fund: and Esther Kaplan them. Imaginative, exhaustive reporting Telemundo: Alina Falcon and Marisa Venegas that required more than a hundred public Efran Films: and Brandon Kieffer records requests and scraping millions of records online led to important Judges’ comments: This masterful production takes a fresh and human approach conclusions law enforcement agencies to issues surrounding immigration enforcement and reframes the debate by did not want us to know and strong focusing on the deaths of hundreds of migrants in one rural Texas county. results that include reforms in several Reporting in English and Spanish, the team uses interviews and 911 emergency states. Leveraging Gannett’s network call tapes to tell a gripping and complex tale of human striving and hard choices. of newspapers and TV stations proved The reporters used radio logs and other records to find that migrants stranded critical to ensuring this story had national in the desert who called 911 waited more than two hours on average for help scope. The interactive presentation was from the Border Patrol. In vivid detail, the reporters told the story of the Palomo excellent and leveraged the depth of the brothers, undocumented immigrants from El Salvador who tried to cross through reporting. This was a complex story to the county. One of the brothers fell ill while the other repeatedly called 911 for put together and the reporter did it with help. Over the course of nine hours and five 911 calls, Border Patrol agents failed grace, humanizing the problem. to arrive at the scene as the ill brother died. Video crews hiked through searing heat and traveled to El Salvador to put a human face on the tale. Finalists: “Revenge Beatdown,” Alabama Media Group, Challen Stephens “First Lady Inc.,” “For Jared Remy, Leniency Was the Rule (Category: Print/Online – Small), Until One Lethal Night,” The Boston Judges’ comments: This small news organization punched Globe, Eric Moskowitz way above its weight, taking on a powerful governor and his “Crime in Punishment,” WSMV- fiancée. Reporter Nigel Jaquiss’ reporting exposed the secret Nashville, Jeremy Finley, Brittany deals made by Oregon Gov. ’s fiancée, Cylvia Freeman and Jason Finley Hayes, who secured lucrative consulting contracts with special interests seeking to influence the governor. Jaquiss’ work stood JAQUISS “Unholy Alliances,” Organized Crime out due to his clear and fair writing style, persistent legal and Corruption Reporting Project, advocacy for records and unflinching reporting. Kitzhaber, Miranda Patrucic, Dejan Milovac, Stevan at the time the longest serving governor in Oregon’s history, Dojcinovic, Lejla Camdzic, Drew Sullivan, resigned in February 2015. Jody McPhillips and Rosemary Armao

SECOND QUARTER 27 FOI Award 2014 AWARD WINNERS AND FINALISTS BY CATEGORY: “Medicare Unmasked,” The Wall Street Journal John Carreyrou, Christopher Weaver, Christopher S. Stewart, Rob Barry, Anna Wilde Mathews, Tom McGinty, Michael PRINT/ONLINE Siconolfi, Janet Adamy, Martin Burch, Chris Canipe, Madeline Farbman, Jon Keegan, Palani Kumanan and Stuart A. Print/Online – Small Thompson Judges’ comments: With a sustained, aggressive legal battle, “First Lady Inc.,” staff at The Wall Street Journal pried open an opaque — and Willamette Week (medal winner) often times corrupt — pillar of the U.S. health system: Medicare Nigel Jaquiss billing. The resulting release of court-ordered data last year gave the nation an unprecedented look at why taxpayers are funding Finalists: JAQUISS $60 billion in unnecessary Medicare payments each year. Their “Gaming the Lottery,” The Palm Beach public release of the data also allowed hundreds of other media Post, Lawrence Mower, Fedor Zarkhin, outlets and the public to examine Medicare billing data. Pat Beall, Michelle Quigley, Melanie Mena and Niels Heimeriks Finalists: “Diplomatic Drivers,” NBC4 Washington, Tisha Thompson, “Till Death Do Us Part,” The Post and Courier, Doug Pardue, Steve Jones, Rick Yarborough and Mike Goldrick Glenn Smith, Jennifer Berry Hawes and Natalie Caula Hauff “Crossing Alone,” , Susan Carroll, Connor “Juvenile Justice?” The Florida Times-Union, Topher Radnovich, Vernon Loeb, Maria Carrillo and Mizanur Rahman Sanders and Meredith Rutland “Fatally Flawed,” The Charlotte Observer, Ames Alexander, Gavin “Dying for Care,” , Pat Beall Off, Fred Clasen-Kelly, Elizabeth Leland, Jim Walser, Doug Miller, “West Virginia Water Crisis,” The Charleston Gazette, Ken Tony Lone Fight, Kathy Sheldon, Dee-Dee Strickland, David Ward Jr., David Gutman and the Charleston Gazette staff Puckett, Rob Adams, Stephanie Swanson, Eric Edwards, Diedra Laird, John Simmons, Todd Sumlin, Ortega Gaines, Jeff Willhelm and Bert Fox Print/Online – Medium “The Business of Dying,” The Washington Post, Peter “VA Scandal,” Whoriskey, Dan Keating, Darla Cameron, Cristina Rivero and Arizona Republic; Dennis Shelly Tan Wagner, Craig Harris, “Protecting the Players — How Safe Are Your School’s Rob O’Dell and Paul Giblin Helmets?” Gannett TV, WXIA, KUSA, WCSH, KENS, KTHV, KVUE, KHOU, WVEC, WTLV, WZZM, WKYC, WUSA, KPNX, Judges’ comments: While the WAGNER HARRIS WLTX, KARE, WVUE and KSDK story of poor care for veterans has been told well by media outlets across the country, reporting by The Arizona Republic propelled this story into a national scandal with sweeping O’DELL GIBLIN results. The team’s stories CARREYROU WEAVER STEWART BARRY revealed that veterans were dying while waiting for basic health care services within the Phoenix VA Health Care System. Meanwhile, officials were manipulating records to hide the long wait times. Writing more than 100 stories during the year, the reporters told WILDE MATHEWS MCGINTY SICONOLFI ADAMY the stories of individual veterans whose pleas for treatment were ignored until it was too late. This skillfully reported series helped lead to national reform, investigations and resignations, including U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki. The project demonstrates the benefits of solid beat reporting and not letting go of a story once the BURCH CANIPE FARBMAN KEEGAN national media jumps in. Finalists: “Unguarded,” The Columbus Dispatch, Mike Wagner, Lucas Sullivan, Josh Jarman and Jill Riepenhoff

KUMANAN THOMPSON

28 THE IRE JOURNAL “Innocents Lost,” Miami Herald, Carol Marbin Miller and Audra D.S. Burch MULTIPLATFORM “Undue Force,” The Baltimore Sun, Mark Puente, Dave Rosenthal and Algerina Perna Multiplatform – Small “Prison Scandal,” Omaha World-Herald, Todd “An Impossible Choice,” Cooper, Matt Wynn, Alissa Skelton, Paul inewsource, Joanne Faryon, Hammel and Cate Folsom FARYON RACINO HEARN Brad Racino and Lorie Hearn Print/Online – Large Judges’ comments: inewsource exposed and documented a world where thousands of people, tethered to tubes and machines, are kept alive in “Courting Favor,” places called “vent farms.” The state of California pays for all of their care, The New York Times, Eric Lipton more than $600 million in 2013. A reporter and videographer secured unprecedented access to one of these units, producing an unvarnished portrayal of a system that keeps people alive at all costs. “An Impossible Choice” was presented in written narratives, radio stories, video vignettes, graphics, a survey, a Q&A with medical experts, a 10-minute mini- documentary and an animated storybook that could easily be shared on social media. The project sparked discussion throughout the community LIPTON about the importance of making critical end-of-life choices.

Judges’ comments: “Courting Favor” offers Finalists: a disturbing journey into the world of state “Louisiana Purchased,” WVUE-New Orleans and NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune attorneys general who increasingly are For WVUE: Lee Zurik, Tom Wright, Jon Turnipseed, Mikel Schaefer, Greg targeted by corporate and plaintiffs’ lawyers Phillips and E.Q. Vance for lavish lobbying efforts and campaign cash. For NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune: Manuel Torres, Heather Nolan, Lauren The investigation was meticulously built on McGaughy, Dmitriy Pritykin, Ted Jackson, Dan Swenson and Tim Morris public records gathered from 25 states and “The Scajaquada is a Crippled Creek,” Investigative Post and WGRZ-Buffalo through on-the-ground reporting. “Courting For Investigative Post: Dan Telvock and Jim Heaney Favor” found that attorneys general have For WGRZ-Buffalo: Andy DeSantis, Franco Ardito and Athan Kompos halted investigations at the behest of lobbying efforts; taken material written by industry “State of Confusion,” Arizona Daily Star, Perla Trevizo, Carli Brosseau and representatives or private lawyers and used it Jill Jorden Spitz verbatim in lawsuits, legislation and official letters; and entered into contracts Multiplatform – Medium with private firms seeking contingency fees after those firms made campaign “Drugging Our Kids,” San Jose contributions. The reporting sparked Mercury News, Karen de Sá and Dai Sugano DE SÁ SUGANO investigations in four states and legislation to restrict gifts and contributions. Judges’ comments: The San Jose Mercury News series dove into the disturbing use of pharmaceuticals to Finalists: control the behavior of foster youth. After fighting the California Department “Medicare Unmasked,” The Wall Street Journal, of Health Care Services for months, the newspaper obtained Medicaid claim John Carreyrou, Christopher Weaver, Christopher data on prescriptions administered to the state’s thousands of foster kids. S. Stewart, Rob Barry, Anna Wilde Mathews, Tom The five-part series combined exclusive data analysis, powerful narratives, McGinty, Michael Siconolfi, Janet Adamy, Martin interactive online graphics, poignant photos and a 40-minute documentary Burch, Chris Canipe, Madeline Farbman, Jon video to uncover how foster care providers are relying on a risky but Keegan, Palani Kumanan and Stuart A. Thompson convenient remedy to control the behavior of thousands of troubled kids: “Shadow Campus,” The Boston Globe, numbing them with drugs that are untested and often not approved for Jenn Abelson, Jonathan Saltzman, Thomas children. The series prompted an investigation by the state medical board and Farragher, Casey Ross, Todd Wallack and Scott promises of legislation to curb the practice. LaPierre Finalists: “Unfit for Flight,” USA TODAY, Thomas Frank “Trouble with Taxes,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Raquel Rutledge, Kevin with contributors, Terry Byrne, Morgan Fecto, Crowe and Allan James Vestal Leigh Giangreco, Shannon Green, Mark Hannan, “Questionable Drugs,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and MedPage Today John Hillkirk, Kelly Jordan, John Kelly, Lauren For Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: John Fauber Kirkwood, Tim Loehrke and Allison Wrabel For MedPage Today: Elbert Chu and Coulter Jones “Product of Mexico,” Los Angeles Times, “Betrayed by Silence,” Minnesota Public Radio News, Madeleine Baran, Richard Marosi and Don Bartletti Sasha Aslanian, Tom Scheck, Laura Yuen, Mike Cronin, Chris Worthington, Mike Edgerly, Bill Wareham, Eric Ringham, Regina McCombs, Jeffrey Thompson, Jennifer Simonson, Amanda Snyder, Meg Martin, William Lager and Justin Heideman

SECOND QUARTER 29 Multiplatform – Large Ezeamalu, Emmanuel Ogala, David Sleight, spots and made viewers care about issues Matt Rota, Terry Parris Jr., David Fanning, often neglected. The sources of the revela- “Firestone and the Warlord,” Raney Aronson and Andrew Metz tions were all on camera and detailed in documents. The result is a concise history PBS FRONTLINE, ProPublica Judges’ comments: This reporting col- and Rain Media of a disturbing episode that the public laboration told a gripping story of how largely overlooked and a rare window Marcela Gaviria, Will Cohen, Maeve Firestone managed to continue operating into the interrelationships of corporations O’Boyle, Jonathan Jones, T. Christian Miller, during the brutal Liberian Civil War, a that supply our consumer goods and re- Nesa Azimi, Abel Welwean, Leah Bartos, tale informed by diplomatic cables, court gimes linked to crimes against humanity. Daisy Squires, Hannah Birch, June Thomas, documents and accounts from Americans Ashley Gilbertson, Timothy Grucza and who ran a rubber plantation as Liberia de- Finalists: Rachel Anderson; Martin Foster, Tesun scended into chaos. The team excelled in “Subsidized Squalor,” The Center for Oh, Clair MacDougall, Erasmus Tweh, Ben one of the world’s most difficult reporting Investigative Reporting, San Francisco

GAVIRIA COHEN O’BOYLE JONES MILLER BIRCH GILBERTSON ANDERSON MACDOUGALL FANNING

BROADCAST/VIDEO

Broadcast/Video – that show direct influence Small peddling going on across the state. In the wake of the “Louisiana Purchased,” series, state lawmakers passed five campaign finance reform WVUE-New Orleans and ZURIK PHILLIPS PRITYKIN WRIGHT NOLA.com/The Times- laws, 10 politicians returned Picayune money to taxpayers, state and federal authorities launched For WVUE: Lee Zurik, investigations, and politicians Tom Wright, Jon Turnipseed, returned more than $300,000 in Mikel Schaefer, Greg Phillips illegal contributions. and E.Q. Vance VANCE JACKSON TURNIPSEED TORRES Finalists: For NOLA.com/The Times- Picayune: Manuel Torres, “SCDSS: The System Failed,” Heather Nolan, Lauren WLTX-Columbia, Clark Fouraker, McGaughy, Dmitriy Pritykin, Jennifer Bellamy, Darci Strickland Ted Jackson, Dan Swenson and Marybeth Jacoby SWENSON SCHAEFER NOLAN MORRIS and Tim Morris “Holding Officials Accountable,” Judges’ comments: “Louisiana WVUE-New Orleans, Lee Zurik, Purchased” — a comprehensive Tom Wright, Jon Turnipseed, investigation into the big Mikel Schaefer and Greg Phillips business of the state’s campaign “Policing for Profit,” WTVF- financing — exposed illegal Nashville, Phil Williams, Bryan MCGAUGHY activities, questionable Staples and Kevin Wisniewski practices and toothless ethics enforcement. The reporting team “Crime in Punishment,” WSMV- uncovered volumes of data Nashville, Jeremy Finley, Brittany from campaign finance records Freeman and Jason Finley

30 THE IRE JOURNAL Chronicle, KQED News, RAW Talent, the “Product of Mexico,” Los Angeles Times, Buford, Rosalind Adams, Ben Wieder, Off/Page Project Richard Marosi and Don Bartletti Alan Suderman, Eleanor Bell, Alexander For The Center for Investigative Reporting: Cohen, Chris Zubak-Skees, Peter Smith “Big Oil, Bad Air,” InsideClimate News, Amy Julia Harris; Corey G. Johnson, The Center for Public Integrity and The and Aaron Williams, LaToya Tooles, Andrew Weather Channel For The Weather Channel: Gregory Donohue, Mark Katches and Robert For InsideClimate News: , David Gilderman, Neil Katz, Faisal Azam, Eric Salladay Hasemyer, Susan White, Zahra Hirji, Jankstrom, Shawn Efran and Katie Wiggin For the San Francisco Chronicle: Lacy Atkins Paul Horn, Lance Rosenfield, Sabrina For KQED News: Julia McEvoy Shankman, Marcus Stern, John Bolger and “Losing Ground,” ProPublica and For RAW Talent: William Hartfield- Hannah Robbins The Lens, Al Shaw and Brian Jacobs Peoples, Donte Clark and Deandre Evans For The Center for Public Integrity: Jim of ProPublica and Bob Marshall of For The Off/Page Project: José Vadi Morris, Jamie Smith Hopkins, Talia The Lens

ARONSON METZ SLEIGHT ROTA PARRIS JR.

Broadcast/Video – Medium Broadcast/Video – Large “Ticket-Rigging “The Real Death Valley/ Traffic Enforcement,” Muriendo por Cruzar,” KHOU-Houston, Jeremy The Weather Channel, The Investigative Fund, GILDERMAN GRANATSTEIN Telemundo and Efran Films Rogalski and Keith Tomshe ROGALSKI Judges’ comments: You can’t be For Telemundo: Alina Falcon and Marisa Venegas in two places at once. KHOU For The Investigative Fund: John Carlos Frey and used extensive data analysis to Esther Kaplan prove that members of the Hous- For The Weather Channel: Gregory Gilderman, KATZ WIGGIN ton Police Department’s traffic enforcement division were TOMSHE Solly Granatstein, Neil Katz and Katie Wiggin falsifying tickets so they could Efran Films: Shawn Efran and Brandon Kieffer collect more overtime money in court. A group of officers listed Finalists: each other as witnesses on traffic tickets, even “Broken Dreams: The Boeing 787,” Al Jazeera, CARLOS FREY KAPLAN though KHOU proved they were somewhere Will Jordan, Kevin Hirten, Colin McIntyre and else, writing a different ticket at the same Marc Shaffer time. Rogalski used traffic ticket data to find “United States of Secrets,” PBS FRONTLINE, Kirk suspicious tickets, and then cross-referenced the tickets with GPS data from the officers’ Documentary Group, Rain Media, Michael Kirk, Mike Wiser, Jim Gilmore, , Martin locations. The investigation led prosecutors to FALCON VENEGAS dismiss more than 6,000 tickets. Three officers Smith, Linda Hirsch, Ben Gold, Raney Aronson-Rath quit and were indicted on felony charges. and David Fanning Finalists: “Failure to Recall: Investigating GM,” CNBC, Nik Deogun, Phil LeBeau, Mitch Weitzner, Wally “Broken Bond,” WXIA-Atlanta, Shawn Griffith, Mary Noonan Robichaux, Deborah Camiel, Hoder and Catherine Beck Rich Gardella, Meghan Lisson, Jeff Pohlman, EFRAN KIEFFER “How to Call 911 at the USPS,” NBC Bay Meghan Reeder, James Segelstein, Mike Beyman Area, Liz Wagner, and Felipe and Christie Gripenburg Escamilla “Crisis at the VA,” CNN, Drew Griffin, Nelli Black, “The Human Toll of Hanford's Dirty Secrets,” Scott Bronstein, Patricia DiCarlo, Curt Devine, KING-Seattle, Susannah Frame, Steve Douglas, Charlie Moore and Terence Burke Doug Burgess, Russ Walker and Mark Ginther “Mission Investigate: The Swedish Nazis,” SVT, Axel “Recruit’s Death,” WSB-Atlanta, Erica Byfield, Gordh Humlesjö, Janne Josefsson, Henrik Bergsten, Terah Boyd, LeVar James and Matt Serafin Lisa Jonsson, Frans Huhta Karlsson and Nils Hanson

SECOND QUARTER 31 RADIO/AUDIO STUDENT

“Delinquent Mines,” “Payday Nation,” National Public Radio and Mine Safety The Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism and Health News at Columbia University, Julia Harte, NPR: Howard Berkes, Robert Little, Joanna Zuckerman Bernstein and Nicholas Anna Boiko-Weyrauch, Robert Benincasa Nehamas HARTE and Nicole Beemsterboer Judges’ comments: In “Payday Nation,” reporters at Mine Safety and Health News: Ellen Smith Columbia University’s Stabile Center for Investigative Judges’ comments: “Delinquent Mines” used Journalism detailed the rise of a new money-making innovative data analysis to find that 2,700 venture among Native American tribes: online payday American coal and mineral mining companies lending. Reporters visited tribes in California and South Dakota. The stories used government data and had failed to pay nearly $70 million in delinquent NEHAMAS mine safety penalties for years or even decades. interviews with reluctant sources to reveal a system These mining companies operated more than of exploitation, both at the individual level for poor 4,000 mines and while they were delinquent Native American consumers and for tribal leaders committed 131,000 violations, exposing a chasing false promises of economic prosperity. The loophole in federal regulation and enforcement project was published by Al Jazeera America. that places miners at risk. The collaboration Finalists: BERNSTEIN found human stories to illustrate the data, from “The State Where Giving Birth Can Be Criminal,” The anguished families whose relatives were killed in CUNY Graduate School of Journalism (in partnership mining accidents to one billionaire owner whose with The Nation magazine and The Investigative Fund), mines had large unpaid fines. The stories led the Rosa Goldensohn and Rachael Levy federal Mine Safety and Health Administration to cite a major delinquent mining company “The Costs and Benefits of an Elite College Chess for failure to pay its fines and then shut down Team,” Webster University, Dan Bauman and Megan the mine when the operator failed to meet a Favignano deadline for payment. The agency also said it “Gun Wars: A News21 Investigation of Rights and was considering an “early warning system” for Regulations in America,” ASU-News21. This project delinquent mines so that it could begin court was produced by 29 journalism students from 16 action against them sooner. universities working under the direction of Jacquee Finalists: Petchel, Leonard Downie Jr. and Peter Bhatia “The Insider,” Swedish Radio, Daniel Öhman The multimedia investigative student journalists and Bo-Göran Bodin were: Claudia Balthazar (Hofstra University), Jacob “L.A. Schools iPad Debacle,” KPCC-FM 89.3, Byk (Kent State University), Jessica Boehm (Arizona Annie Gilbertson State University), Marlena Chertock (University of Maryland), Jacqueline Delpilar (University of “WBEZ Probe Leads to Indictment of Chicago Tennessee), Emilie Eaton (Arizona State University), Police Commander,” WBEZ Public Radio, Chip Sarah Ferris (George Washington University), Carmen Mitchell and Derek John Forman (University of Oklahoma), Allison Griner “Betrayed by Silence,” Minnesota Public Radio (University of British Columbia), Kristen Hwang News, Madeleine Baran, Sasha Aslanian, Mike (Arizona State University), Kelsey Jukam (University of Edgerly, Meg Martin and Chris Worthington Texas-Austin), Robby Korth (University of Nebraska), Natalie Krebs (University of Texas-Austin), Jon LaFlamme (Arizona State University), Alex Lancial (Arizona State University), Lauren Loftus (Arizona State University), Erin Patrick O’Connor (Arizona State University), Jacy Marmaduke (University of Nebraska), Aaron Maybin (Marquette University), Wade Millward BERKES LITTLE BOIKO-WEYRAUCH (University of Florida), Justine McDaniel (University of Maryland), Brittany Elena Morris (Arizona State University), Kate Murphy (Elon University), Jordan Rubio (Texas Christian University), Amy Slanchik (University of Oklahoma), Morgan Spiehs (University of Nebraska), Sydney Stavinoha (University of BENINCASA BEEMSTERBOER SMITH Oklahoma), Sam Stites (University of Oregon) and Jim Tuttle (Syracuse University).

32 THE IRE JOURNAL INVESTIGATIONS TRIGGERED BOOK

BY BREAKING NEWS “The Burglary: The Discovery MEDSGER of J. Edgar Hoover’s Secret FBI,” “A Deadly Slope: Examining the Betty Medsger Oso, Washington Disaster,” Judges’ comments: The break-in took place in 1971 The Seattle Times, and over ensuing years has largely faded from public Mike Baker, Ken Armstrong, Justin Mayo, memory. But Betty Medsger never stopped searching Mike Carter, Hal Bernton and Craig Welch for the true origin of the revelations that marked the beginning of J. Edgar Hoover’s long slide from his perch as perhaps Judges’ comments: This investigation uncovered in the most admired man in America. Medsger succeeds where the FBI a short period of time state negligence and cover- failed, identifying the average-citizen burglars who stole evidence of ups in the wake of the deadly landslide that killed the FBI’s surveillance of law-abiding citizens. Her book painstakingly 43 people. Despite officials’ claims the landslide documents how the burglary moved the public and Congress, long “came out of nowhere,” The Seattle Times revealed intimidated by Hoover, to finally turn against the bureau’s extra- how there had been a litany of warnings, going legal activities. “The Burglary” fills a hole in our collective history back seven decades. The team had to master the and — for the first time — pulls the complete story of the Media, scientific knowledge to accurately report what it burglary together in one place. was discovering, and then present the findings in a Finalists: way readers could digest using everyday language as well as informative, easy-to-understand graphics. “American Catch: The Fight for Our Local Seafood,” Paul Greenberg Reporting that would have taken others months “The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat & Cheese Belong in a Healthy produced five deep stories in just days. The state Diet,” Nina Teicholz has adopted new rules for timber companies and procedures for evaluating unstable slopes. Finalists: “Mexico Violence,” The Associated Press, Mark Stevenson, Eduardo Castillo and Katherine Corcoran GANNETT AWARD FOR INNOVATION “GM Recall Investigation,” CBS News, Jeff Glor, Kimberly Godwin, Dan Ruetenik, Charlie Brooks, IN WATCHDOG JOURNALISM Matt Joseloff, , Jim McGlinchy and Patricia Shevlin “Losing Ground,” “Dan River Coal Ash Spill,” The Associated Press, ProPublica and The Lens Michael Biesecker and ProPublica: Al Shaw and Brian Jacobs “Fatal Leak,” Houston Chronicle, Lise Olsen, Mark The Lens: Bob Marshall Collette, Karen Chen, Matthew Tresaugue, Anita Hassan, Craig Hlavaty, Mike Morris, St. John Barned- Judges’ comments: “Losing Ground” told a story we have seen before, Smith, Michelle Iracheta and Marie D. De Jesús but in a completely novel way with a custom, user-tested interface for browsing maps. The judges were impressed by the effort as well as the careful, innovative thinking the team put into image collection and matching for the maps. In addition to using high-resolution satellite imagery from typical commercial and government sources, the reporters worked with experts to create their own low-cost solution for adding spectral depth to their images — a crucial layer BAKER ARMSTRONG MAYO of data needed to fully tell the story. Not only did “Losing Ground” apply innovative techniques coupled with extensive shoe-leather reporting, it furthered The Lens’ ability to be a watchdog for its community. This is a masterful piece of reporting and one of the best examples we’ve seen of how journalism and technology can work hand-in-hand to tell stories. CARTER BERNTON WELCH

SHAW JACOBS MARSHALL

SECOND QUARTER 33 tips, success stories and reporting IRE Blogs resources from recent blog posts

Schmidt had already established in a different opinion Snapshots that emails in the possession of public agencies are open records, his opinion said. But Schmidt wrote that individual state employees don’t constitute a “public agency” as de- fined by the Kansas Open Records Act. from our blogs Hensley’s inquiry was in response to reporting that showed Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget director had IRE Awards winners take us behind sent a draft of the state budget via private email weeks be- the story in blog posts, podcasts fore it was publicly revealed. Read more here: bit.ly/1EZIHGA BY SARAH HUTCHINS, IRE Over the last year we’ve talked to many of the journalists Texas sends poor teens to adult jail now honored with 2014 IRE Awards. They’ve taken us be- for skipping school hind their award-winning stories, shared tips and provided BY SHAWN SHINNEMAN, IRE valuable insight into the reporting process. We combed our Teenagers in Texas are being sent to adult jail over charges archives to put together a list of all the behind-the-scenes stemming from their truancy, according to a BuzzFeed News interviews we’ve gathered over the last 12 months. You can investigation. find them here: bit.ly/1GIRRCa More than 1,000 teens have done jail time in the last three “First Lady Inc.” by Nigel Jaquiss, Willamette Week years, the investigation found. The students are sentenced (Won: IRE Medal winner and Print/Online Small) after failing to follow court orders associated with truancy • Podcast episode: “The Reporter Who Took Down charges, often because their families can’t afford to pay the the Governor” fines the charges bring. “Fugitives Next Door” by Brad Heath, USA TODAY Texas’ truancy system is meant to keep students on the (Won: Tom Renner Award) path to graduate, but often has the opposite effect ­— driving • Behind the Story: How USA TODAY pieced together a students out of school for good, the investigation found. confidential FBI database to count fugitives who go free Read the investigation here: bzfd.it/1JKIuIn • Uplink: Multiple data sets used to track fugitives who go free Updated inspection data available “VA Scandal” by Dennis Wagner, Craig Harris, Rob on the nation’s bridges O’Dell and Paul Giblin, Arizona Republic (Won: Print/ Online Medium) BY LIZ LUCAS, IRE • Podcast interview with Dennis Wagner for “Scandals Now updated for 2014, the National Bridge Inventory da- at the VA” tabase can help you assess the soundness of bridges in your “Product of Mexico” by Richard Marosi and Don area. Journalists can use the data to investigate bridges by Bartletti, Los Angeles Times (Finalist: Print/Online Large identifying those with structural problems, or those haven’t and Multiplatform Large) been recently inspected. Other key fields include average dai- • Podcast episode “Product of Mexico” goes behind ly traffic and overall sufficiency rating. The records represent the series information from the most recent inspection for each bridge “Losing Ground” by Al Shaw and Brian Jacobs of (which could be several years ago or the current year). ProPublica and Bob Marshall of The Lens (Won: Gannett NICAR gets this data from the Federal Highway Adminis- Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism; Finalist: tration website and converts some fields to make them easier Multiplatform Large) to use, including converting latitude and longitude to deci- • Podcast interview with Bob Marshall of The Lens was part mal degrees. Previous years of data also are provided in a of the episode “The Dark Side of the Oil & Gas Boom” standard text format, and we include an importing guide for “Fatally Flawed,” The Charlotte Observer (Finalist: FOI Award) various database managers. • Uplink: Medical examiner databases shed light on We provide bridge data going back to 2004; you can con- North Carolina’s death investigation system tact us for previous years going back to 1994. Read more here: bit.ly/1DXHNo4 Kansas AG: Private emails on public topics protected BY SHAWN SHINNEMAN, IRE Federal agencies fail FOIA test conducted by Syracuse University Kansas’ attorney general said in April that emails sent by state employees through private accounts aren’t public re- BY SARAH HUTCHINS, IRE cords, even when they deal with public business. If you report on the government, it may not surprise you Attorney General Derek Schmidt was responding to a to read that only seven of the 21 federal agencies recently question from state Sen. Anthony Hensley about whether FOIAed by the Transactional Records Access Clearing- such an email would constitute a public record. Schmidt, house (TRAC) have provided records more than two months who interpreted “private email” to be an email sent not only after the requests went out. through a private account but also on a private device, re- TRAC, a research center that administers the FOIA Proj- plied: “In short, we think the answer is ‘no.’” ect out of Syracuse University, has been trying to gather infor-

34 THE IRE JOURNAL IRE SERVICES mation on FOIA backlogs and processing times. In late Janu- INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS & EDITORS, INC. is a nonprofit organization ary, TRAC sent identical records requests to a group of federal dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting within the field of journalism. IRE was agencies — including the CIA, FBI, Bureau of Prisons, several divisions of the Department of Justice and many others. formed in 1975 with the intent of creating a networking tool and a forum in which journalists from To avoid running into issues like redaction, TRAC tried across the country could raise questions and exchange ideas. IRE provides educational services to keep the requests as simple as possible: copies of the to reporters, editors and others interested in investigative reporting and works to maintain high electronic files the FOIA offices use to keep track of FOIA professional standards. requests, including the tracking number, the date the re- quest was received and the date it was closed. Read more here: bit.ly/1Jjzw1n PROGRAMS AND SERVICES: IRE RESOURCE CENTER – A rich reserve of print and broadcast stories, tipsheets and guides to help you Parking permit data leads to stories, start and complete the best work of your career. This unique library is the starting point of any piece you’re new reporting tool working on. You can search through abstracts of more than 25,500 investigative-reporting stories through BY TODD WALLACK, BOSTON GLOBE, UPLINK our website. Overall, more than 300 Boston households had snapped Contact: Lauren Grandestaff, [email protected], 573-882-3364 up five or more parking permits, potentially making a dif- IRE AND NICAR DATABASE LIBRARY – Administered by IRE and the National Institute for Computer- ficult parking situation even worse. Nearly 1,200 household had four or more permits. Assisted Reporting. The library has copies of many government databases, and makes them available to Why so many? It turns out that unlike some other ma- news organizations at or below actual cost. Analysis services are available on these databases, as is help jor cities, Boston offers residents an unlimited number of in deciphering records you obtain yourself. residential parking permits for free – one for every car they Contact: Elizabeth Lucas, [email protected]. To order data, call 573-884-7711. own. So there’s little deterrent against signing up for as many as possible. ON-THE-ROAD TRAINING – As a top promoter of journalism education, IRE offers loads of training To be sure, the permits don’t guarantee residents a spot opportunities throughout the year. Possibilities range from national conference and regional workshops – just the right to park if they can find one. But the more to weeklong boot camps and on-site newsroom training. Costs are on a sliding scale and fellowships are permits the city grants, the harder it has become for residents available to many of the events. to find parking. Contact: Jaimi Dowdell, [email protected], 314-402-3281, Megan Luther, [email protected], 605-996-3967 or Indeed, I found the number of parking permits had climbed nearly one-quarter over the past decade. That meant even Alex Richards, [email protected], 702-606-4519 more cars were playing a game of musical chairs, circling DOCUMENTCLOUD -- A platform to organize, research, annotate, and publish the documents you gather the block looking for spaces. while reporting. Collaborate on documents across your newsroom, extract entities from text, and use The story didn’t come from a tip. It didn’t come from an powerful visualization and search tools. Visit www.documentcloud.org. editor. It came from looking through city data. I originally requested the residential parking permit data- Contact: Lauren Grandestaff, [email protected], 202-505-1010 base because our newspaper’s chief librarian, Lisa Tuite, sug- gested it could be an excellent source of names, addresses, PUBLICATIONS: and phone numbers to track down residents. She was right. In addition to phone numbers and address- THE IRE JOURNAL – Published four times a year. Contains journalist profiles, how-to stories, reviews, es, the database also contained other valuable information, investigative ideas and backgrounding tips. The Journal also provides members with the latest news on including the make, year and license plate number for every upcoming events and training opportunities from IRE and NICAR. vehicle with a permit. Overall, it had nearly 94,000 rows. Contact: Megan Luther, [email protected], 605-996-3967 Read more at bit.ly/1QiP2Pi UPLINK – An online publication by IRE and NICAR on computer-assisted reporting. Uplink stories are Freddie Gray not the first to come out of written after reporters have had particular success using data to investigate stories. The columns include Baltimore police van with serious injuries valuable information on advanced database techniques as well as success stories written by newly trained FROM THE EXTRA! EXTRA! BLOG CAR reporters. Freddie Gray was not the first person to get seriously in- Contact: David Herzog, [email protected], 573-882-2127 jured during a ride in a Baltimore police van. Gray, 25, died from a spinal injury in April after he was FOR INFORMATION ON: handcuffed and placed in a police van. The Baltimore Sun found that others have been injured during “rough rides,” a ADVERTISING – Stephanie Sinn, [email protected], 901-286-7549 term used to describe the unsanctioned technique of driv- CONFERENCES – Stephanie Sinn, [email protected], 901-286-7549 ing a police van to cause injury or pain to unbuckled and DONATIONS – Mark Horvit, [email protected], 573-882-1984 handcuffed detainees. LISTSERVS, BOOT CAMPS AND EVENT REGISTRATIONS – Amy Johnston, [email protected], 573-884-1444 In 2005 a man was left a paraplegic after riding in a police van. His family won a $7.4 million verdict against the cops. MEMBERSHIP AND SUBSCRIPTIONS – Amy Johnston, [email protected], 573-884-1444 Another man was awarded $39 million after he became paralyzed during a van ride. Read the full investigation here: bsun.md/1aZA9RS MAILING ADDRESS: IRE, 141 Neff Annex , Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, MO 65211

SECOND QUARTER 35 Investigative Reporters & Editors, Inc. Missouri School of Journalism 141 Neff Annex Columbia, MO 65211 www.ire.org

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