[IRE Journal Issue Irejournaljanfeb2004; Mon Dec
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
CONTENTSFEATURES THE IRE JOURNAL 17 FOI REPORT More daunting tests ahead pitting ‘right to know’ TABLE OF CONTENTS against ‘need to know’ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2004 By Charles Davis Freedom of Information Center 4 Awesome pace of 2003 sets bar for future years By Brant Houston The IRE Journal 18 - 29 BRINGING NUMBERS TO LIFE 5 NEWS BRIEFS AND MEMBER NEWS Add strength to investigations, snap to beat stories 6 2004 CAR CONFERENCE By Ronald Campbell Make plans to get the latest The Orange County Register journalism training in Cincinnati By Rick Kennedy IRS migration data show income The IRE Journal trends, points to possible two- tiered economy 7 New service makes data available more quickly By David Washburn By Hsuju Ho and Lori Weisberg The IRE Journal The San Diego Union-Tribune 8 BOOKS OF 2003 PUMS: Up-close sampling can Vietnam-era history but one of year’s best reveal the bigger story worthy of your time By Robert Gebeloff By Steve Weinberg The (Newark) Star-Ledger The IRE Journal Demographic data help 13 DNA TESTING pinpoint disparity in city’s teen Study calls into question long-trusted lab results programs By David Raziq and Anna Werner By Darnell Little KHOU-Houston Chicago Tribune 15 PUBLIC HEALTH What’s ahead? Despite city-state stonewalling, Census data key to government persistence uncovers syphilis epidemic actions of the next decade By Kimberly Hayes Taylor By Paul Overberg The Detroit News USA Today 16 IRANIAN NUKES Mapping your way to great demographic stories Checking and rechecking By David Herzog credibility of varied sources The IRE Journal By Douglas Frantz Los Angeles Times ABOUT THE COVER 31 LEGAL CORNER Libel claims after Suzuki: From breaking news to lifestyle Costly road ahead? features and sports analysis, David Smallman census and other demographic 32 Federal data highlight data can provide depth and state hit-and-run trend meaning to beat stories. By Erin McCormick and Michael Cabanatuan San Francisco Chronicle Cover illustration by Wendy Gray, The IRE Journal JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2004 3 ������������������������������������������������� FEATURES ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������ ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������� ����������� ������������� ���������������� �������������� �������������� ������������ ���������� ������������ �������������� ������������� ������������������������������������������������������������ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2004 3 FEATURES FEATURES THE IRE JOURNAL FROM THE IRE OFFICES VOLUME 27 NUMBER 1 Awesome pace of 2003 EDITOR & IRE DEPUTY DIRECTOR Len Bruzzese sets bar for future years MANAGING EDITOR Anita Bruzzese n 2003 it seemed as though IRE’s staff, members and supporters never ART DIRECTOR I stopped to catch their collective breath. BRANT HOUSTON Wendy Gray IRE conducted 65 training conferences and seminars in the United States and other countries SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR over the past year. Steve Weinberg Among those seminars were our Better Watchdog Workshops, which we strategically scatter across the country to increase training opportunities for journalists who can’t make it to an annual CONTRIBUTING LEGAL EDITOR conference. With help of the Society of Professional Journalists, its local chapters and 44 other David Smallman local sponsors, we conducted 19 of the Better Watchdog Workshops in 17 states for more than 1,900 print and broadcast journalists. EDITORIAL INTERN We held our annual conference on computer-assisted reporting in Charlotte and attracted nearly Rick Kennedy 300 journalists despite the impending war in Iraq. Our annual conference in Washington, D.C., last June brought in more than 1,100 journalists from the United States and 12 other countries. In the spring, we held our second Global Investigative Journalism Conference with our Danish IRE colleagues in Copenhagen for 300 journalists from 30 countries. We also traveled to Korea, IRE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Argentina, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Canada to conduct training in investigative reporting Brant Houston and computer-assisted reporting. We published six information-packed issues of the award-winning magazine you are read- BOARD OF DIRECTORS ing – The IRE Journal – and six issues of Uplink, our growing newsletter on computer-assisted reporting. We published a fifth beat book – this one on campaign finance titled “Unstacking the CHAIRMAN Deck” – and have two more nearing publication. David Dietz, Bloomberg News The IRE Resource Center assisted more than 300 news organizations (some numerous times) PRESIDENT in news research and administered a contest that attracted 551 entries, one of the highest numbers Shawn McIntosh, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in our history. The IRE and NICAR Database Library assisted about 200 news organizations, providing data VICE PRESIDENT and training, often six to seven days a week. David Boardman, The Seattle Times Our membership averaged 5,000 for the year. TREASURER The Web site provided countless training and resource pages, a vibrant job site, and new feature, Duane Pohlman, WEWS-Cleveland Extra!Extra!, that allows journalists and the public to see some of the week’s best investigative stories being done despite legal and monetary challenges at every turn. The staff put together Paul Adrian, KDFW-Dallas/Fort Worth 15 breaking-news Web resource packages on deadline, pulling together tipsheets, data, and Web Stephen K. Doig, Arizona State University links on the shuttle crash, fires in California, building collapses and other disasters. James V. Grimaldi, The Washington Post We also forged ahead on our endowment drive with current and previous board members pledging more than $100,000 to help us to reach our $5 million goal. We are almost at $2 million Andy Hall, Wisconsin State Journal now. With a partial matching grant of $1 million from the Knight Foundation ($1 for every $2 Dianna Hunt, Fort Worth Star-Telegram raised), we can reach our goal by raising another $2 million. Stephen C. Miller, The New York Times We did this all with only a dozen full-time staff members, a group of dedicated part-time staff Cheryl Phillips, The Seattle Times and students, and an army of volunteers. Deborah Sherman, KUSA-Denver All of this shows that IRE is still a strong grassroots organization that depends on extensive donations of time, resources and money. Nancy Stancill, The Charlotte Observer For example, the Missouri School of Journalism – our host for 25 years – donates our office Stuart Watson, WCNC-Charlotte space, Web connections, seminar rooms and computer labs. It also gives us constant exposure to groups and visitors who would not otherwise know about IRE. In addition, the school draws top The IRE Journal (ISSN0164-7016) is published students from across the country and around the world, many of whom end up working at IRE six times a year by Investigative Reporters and or NICAR, a joint program of the school and IRE. Editors, Inc. 138 Neff Annex, Missouri School of Countless IRE members give what little free time they have – especially on weekends – to Journalism, Columbia, MO 65211, 573-882-2042. help train other journalists, to contribute to our publications, and to organize our training events. E-mail: [email protected]. U.S. subscriptions are $70 for individuals, $85 for libraries and $125 And the IRE Board of Directors devotes endless hours to the conferences, fundraising and plan- for institutions/businesses. International sub- ning for the future. scriptions are $90 for individuals and $150 for We thank all of you for your unfaltering support in 2003 and look forward to another great all others. Periodical postage paid at Columbia, year in 2004. MO. Postmaster: Please send address changes to IRE. USPS #451-760 Brant Houston is executive director of IRE and the National Institute for Computer-Assisted © 2004 Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. Reporting. He can be reached through e-mail at [email protected] or by calling 573-882-2042. 4 THE IRE JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2004 5 FEATURES I FEATURESR E N E W S IRE awards fellowships IRE members score wins MEMBER NEWS to 2004 CAR boot camps in DuPont broadcast awards arisa Agha has joined the Riverside IRE has awarded fellowships to seven journalists Several IRE members were among the winners from across the country to attend six-day intensive of the 2004 DuPont-Columbia