CONTENTS THE IRE JOURNAL 18 EXPOSING HEALTH ISSUES TABLE OF CONTENTS 19 HEALTH INSPECTIONS Restaurant violations serve up MAY/JUNE 2001 graphic picture of food gone bad 4 Don’t forsake training By Rick Linsk of the St. Paul Pioneer Press By Brant Houston 20 MEDICAL ERRORS 5 NEWS BRIEFS AND MEMBER NEWS Series delves into nursing 6 WINNERS NAMED IN 2000 IRE AWARDS mistakes that lead to injuries – or even deaths By The IRE Journal Staff By Michael J. Berens 9 CHICAGO LINEUP of the Chicago Tribune By The IRE Journal Staff 22 OVERSEAS TESTING 10 PROPOSED BUDGET Drug firms avoid IRE takes conservative approach in forecasting U.S. watchdogs by conference, seminar fees using world’s most desperate By Brant Houston By Joe Stephens, Mary Pat Flaherty for The IRE Journal and Deborah Nelson 11 FOI COLUMN of TheWashington Post Fears over privacy lead to 10 more government secrecy 24 TRACKING THE HMO Red ink oozes as top executives profit By Charles Davis By Mitchell Schnurman of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram 14 LACK OF TRAINING, 27 BODY BROKERS EQUIPMENT LEAD From skin and bones to fat profits TO FATAL FIRES By Ronald Campbell IN DETROIT of The Orange County Register By Melvin Claxton and Charles Hurt of The 33 COPS AND MONEY Detroit News Probe of national forfeiture laws leads to scrutiny of police intent By Karen Dillon of The Kansas City Star 15 LEGAL CORNER ABOUT THE COVER Cameras in courtrooms: An in-depth look at poorly Revisiting the experiment By David Smallman run medical facilities, critical care mistakes, drug testing 16 KESSLER’S GOVERNMENT and body brokers. INSIDER BOOK HOLDS BUILT-IN DRAMA, FEWER CALORIES By Steve Weinberg of The IRE Journal Cover story, page 18 17 GUEST COLUMN Cover photo by, Business is everyone’s business Corbis By Diana Henriques MAY/JUNE 2001 3 THE IRE JOURNAL FROM THE IRE OFFICES VOLUME 24 NUMBER 3 Don’t forsake training DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS & EDITOR Len Bruzzese ewsrooms across the U.S. have slashed – if not obliterated – MANAGING EDITOR Anita Bruzzese training budgets this year. We’ve been through this challenge N several times before in the 26-year history of IRE and each time ART DIRECTOR our members find a way to get to our seminars and conferences. Wendy Gray For many journalists, IRE is the one constant element of their careers and IRE becomes a second home. In a profession where a reporter or BRANT HOUSTON SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR editor will likely switch jobs four or five times, IRE has always been there with support Steve Weinberg and a ready network. CONTRIBUTING LEGAL EDITOR A centerpiece of IRE is the national conference. It has become the gathering place for David Smallman journalists to rejuvenate their passion for the pursuit of challenging stories. The conference provides a venue for journalists to offer each other advice on how to do the stories that matter EDITORIAL INTERN despite difficult financial times. And IRE events are where editors and reporters find out which Suzanne Bessette newsrooms continue to believe in public service and investigative reporting. This year’s national conference – in Chicago, June 14-17 – will have all of this and more. In addition to about 100 panels and workshops, we are making Sunday morning a time during IRE which participants can get more individual attention on their reporting, writing, editing IRE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR and careers. IRE and The Poynter Institute will offer workshops and one-on-ones on the Brant Houston so-called career day. The day will focus on the personal improvement each journalist can make with or without training budgets. BOARD OF DIRECTORS We know that some of our members will convince their organizations to steer the limited dollars left toward the IRE conference and its practical training. Others have to make personal CHAIRMAN Judy Miller, The Miami Herald sacrifices and investments to get to the conference. Because of this, we are keeping registration fees as low as possible (the lowest of all major journalism organizations) and at the same PRESIDENT level of the last five years. James Neff, author At the same time, we are working hard to ensure the conference will be the most worthwhile VICE PRESIDENT event this year for journalists, especially those who cover beat and daily stories. David Dietz, Bloomberg News TREASURER Reporting Conference Shawn McIntosh, The Clarion-Ledger On the subject of conferences, the turnout for our reporting conference in March for journalism students, faculty and young professionals far exceeded our hopes. More than 350 SECRETARY Ed Delaney, Barnes and Thornburg enthusiastic participants turned out for a full day of panels and hands-on training in computer- assisted reporting at the Missouri School of Journalism where IRE is headquartered. Paul Adrian, KDFW - Dallas It had been a busy week already with the judging for the IRE Awards and an IRE board Rosemary Armao, Sarasota Herald-Tribune meeting, but the board and contest judges stayed on to serve as panelists. Diana Henriques, David Boardman, The Seattle Times the veteran investigative business reporter from The New York Times, gave a keynote speech Mark Lagerkvist, News 12 Long Island that convinced the audience that everyone should know business reporting. (See excerpts Rose Ciotta, The Philadelphia Inquirer of speech, page 17.) Stephen Miller, The New York Times A review of the conference, which received high praises, showed that at least 30 universities Joel Kaplan, Syracuse University and 18 states were represented. Drew Sullivan, Freelance Stuart Watson, WCNC-Charlotte Germans form association IRE volunteer Greg Reeves, whose regular job is computer-assisted reporting at The Kansas City Star, recently went to Germany for several days to share IRE’s experiences The IRE Journal (ISSN0164-7016) is pub- with journalists there. Greg, who had many years of traditional investigative reporting before lished six times a year by Investigative discovering databases, is fluent in German. Reporters and Editors, Inc. 138 Neff It turned out that the invitation to IRE was timed to coincide with the announcement Annex, Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, MO 65211, 573-882-2042. that a group of journalists there had formed an IRE-like organization known as “Netzwerk E-mail: [email protected]. Subscriptions are Recherche.” The group’s formal announcement specifically mentioned IRE and the intention $60 in the U.S., $70 for institutions and those to “improve and intensify contacts between journalists of different countries.” We look outside the U.S. Periodical postage paid at Columbia, MO. Postmaster: Please send forward to working with them. address changes to IRE. USPS #4516708 Brant Houston is executive director of IRE and the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting. He can be reached through e-mail at [email protected] or by calling 573-882-2042. 4 THE IRE JOURNAL I R E N E W S Carnegie Corporation Newsroom math book MEMBER NEWS grants $250,000 to IRE is available from IRE The Carnegie Corporation of New York has IRE has sent to the printer the fourth volume in he 2001 duPont-Columbia Awards for inves- made a grant of $250,000 to IRE to support its its beat book series. “Numbers in the Newsroom: Ttigative reporting honored a number of Using Math and Statistics in News” was written by Campaign Finance Information Center and general IRE members. Stephen Smith of Minnesota training on campaign finance coverage. Sarah Cohen, former IRE training director and now The two-year grant will be used toward train- database editor with The Washington Post. Public Radio’s American RadioWorks accepted ing state and local news media on campaign Cohen offers a quick guide to making numbers the highest award, the Gold Baton, for his radio clear in daily reporting. The book includes sections finance issues. Activities will include providing documentary “Massacre at Cuska.” IRE members on fractions, percentages, rates, measuring change, resources and training at workshops, conferences also accepted three of the 11 Silver Baton awards: and through the World Wide Web. understanding averages, working with graphics and “With this grant, IRE can maintain and improve much more. Investigative reporter Anna Werner and producer The book costs $15 for IRE members and $20 upon its efforts to help journalists track the flow of David Raziq, for KHOU-TV’s (Houston) investiga- for non-members. Order online at www.ire.org or money into politics,” says Brant Houston, IRE’s tive series, “Deadly Tires;” Tom Grant for KXLY- call 573-882-3364. executive director. TV’s (Spokane) “Public Funds, Private Profit”; and The Campaign Finance Information Center Reporting Conference (CFIC) is dedicated to more in-depth coverage Laure Quinlivan, who reported and produced of campaigns by following the campaign money draws college students “The I-Team Stadium Investigation” for WCPO-TV trail. The CFIC teaches journalists the skills to An IRE Reporting Conference held March 31 drew (Cincinnati). Agnes Blum, formerly with the work with the data on their own. IRE was able to more than 350 people – most of them college students. Morning News (Wilmington, N.C.), is now with The start the CFIC with help from Joyce Foundation The University of Missouri School of Journalism acted grants. as co-host for the event, which was aimed at exposing Virginian-Pilot. Freelancer Jimmie Briggs was “The Joyce Foundation was and continues to young professionals, student journalists and others from awarded an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellow- small news organizations to some of the most talented be a crucial supporter of our efforts” Houston ship for this year. He will continue documentary says. “We are pleased that Carnegie sees the value reporters and editors in investigative reporting. of expanding this work.” About 30 speakers, including Pulitzer Prize research in Sri Lanka on child soldiers and the Carnegie Corporation of New York was created winners or finalists, IRE Award winners and other impact of war on children for his book.