Welcome to The IRE Journal! Here you'll find all the in-depth stories and regular sections you've enjoyed in the print version, plus new audio and interactive features, including the latest IRE Radio Podcast episodes. Let us know what you think at journal@ire.org.
The latest From the Editor: The IRE Journal re-launch, the future of investigative journalism, and how journalists can support each other amid ever-escalating attacks on press freedom.
Inside The New York Times’s A.I. toolkit
By Duy Nguyen, The New York Times The daily reality of journalism often involves painstaking work that, while important, has little to do with breaking a story. It’s the mundane task of sifting through thousands of documents, the repetitive cycle of drafting a dozen SEO headlines for the same news event, or the challenge of…
TOP NEWS
Whiplash from the backlash: the state of DBEI work in newsrooms in 2025
By Francisco Vara-Orta, IRE & NICAR For anyone who values diversity, belonging, equity and inclusion, it would be an understatement to say this year has taken a toll on those who rely on these principles and champion them. But that doesn’t mean we give up the fight. After the 2024 presidential election results, a rollercoaster…
Read MoreInside The New York Times’s A.I. toolkit
By Duy Nguyen, The New York Times The daily reality of journalism often involves painstaking work that, while important, has little to do with breaking a story. It’s the mundane task of sifting through thousands of documents, the repetitive cycle of drafting a dozen SEO headlines for the same news event, or the challenge of…
Read MoreThe 2024 IRE Award Winners Spill Their Secrets
The incredible work done by the winners of of the 2024 IRE Awards has changed and saved lives. These spectacular journalists have crossed borders, built databases, dug through thousands of pages of confidential records, and risked their own safety to reveal wrongdoing from incredibly powerful people. And in a time when those powerful people increasingly…
Read MoreHonoring longtime IRE member and mentor Susan Carroll
Honoring longtime IRE member and mentor Susan Carroll By Lise Olsen, The Texas Observer As a monster storm approached in August 2017, my friend Susan Carroll arranged for others to care for her young children in order to camp out in the Houston Chronicle newsroom along busy Loop 610. She stayed there awaiting the arrival…
Read MoreRemembering Paul Williams
By Doug Meigs In towering all-caps, a 1972 Omaha Sun headline proclaimed: “BOYS TOWN: AMERICA’S WEALTHIEST CITY?” followed by a biblical quote: “‘Give an account of thy stewardship…’ (Luke, 16)” So began an eight-page broadsheet investigation into the murky finances of Boys Town, an esteemed charitable institution that Father Edward J. Flanagan (now on the…
Read MoreCapturing global investigative journalism’s oral history
By Silas Tsang, WTOL-TV There is a new effort to document the oral history of investigative journalism around the world. It’s the brainchild of investigative reporter Adiel Kaplan at Columbia Journalism School. The goal of her project is to preserve key perspectives on how the methods and tools of accountability reporting spread globally since the…
Read MoreIRE partnership receives Press Forward funding to train local newsrooms
Investigative Reporters and Editors will be working with Internet Archive and Poynter Institute on a program to archive and preserve local news, thanks to funding from Press Forward, a national initiative to reimagine local news.
Read MoreFEATURES
Inside The New York Times’s A.I. toolkit
By Duy Nguyen, The New York Times The daily reality of journalism often involves painstaking work that, while important, has little to do with breaking a story. It’s the mundane task of sifting through thousands of documents, the repetitive cycle of drafting a dozen SEO headlines for the same news event, or the challenge of…
Honoring longtime IRE member and mentor Susan Carroll
Honoring longtime IRE member and mentor Susan Carroll By Lise Olsen, The Texas Observer As a monster storm approached in August 2017, my friend Susan Carroll arranged for others to care for her young children in order to camp out in the Houston Chronicle newsroom along busy Loop 610. She stayed there awaiting the arrival…
Remembering Paul Williams
By Doug Meigs In towering all-caps, a 1972 Omaha Sun headline proclaimed: “BOYS TOWN: AMERICA’S WEALTHIEST CITY?” followed by a biblical quote: “‘Give an account of thy stewardship…’ (Luke, 16)” So began an eight-page broadsheet investigation into the murky finances of Boys Town, an esteemed charitable institution that Father Edward J. Flanagan (now on the…
Capturing global investigative journalism’s oral history
By Silas Tsang, WTOL-TV There is a new effort to document the oral history of investigative journalism around the world. It’s the brainchild of investigative reporter Adiel Kaplan at Columbia Journalism School. The goal of her project is to preserve key perspectives on how the methods and tools of accountability reporting spread globally since the…
Despite attacks, industry turmoil, journalists declare: We are staying
By IRE staff Editor’s note: Legendary journalist James B. Steele was one of the first to join IRE after it started in 1975 and has stayed active throughout the years in the organization, serving as a mentor for countless young journalists and participating in dozens of conference sessions, among other roles. A former contributing editor at…
Probing the ethics of controversial brain research
By Audrey Carleton, Bruce Gil, Emily Nadal and Zachary Smith The four of us met in a classroom in midtown Manhattan in the fall of 2021 — donning masks during the throes of the pandemic. Then final-semester graduate students at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, we…
IRE RADIO PODCAST
IRE Radio Podcast: The quest for diversity evolves
For the January 2025 IRE Radio Podcast, Francisco Vara-Orta — IRE’s director of diversity and inclusion — reads an excerpt from his Nieman Lab Predictions for Journalism 2025 piece titled, “The quest for diversity evolves.”
IRE Radio: Supporting journalists with disabilities
This edition of IRE Radio highlights the AccessFest24 panel, “Supporting Journalists with Disabilities and Improving Disability Coverage.”
IRE Radio: Disability is part of every beat
In a panel titled, “Disability is part of every beat,” three accomplished journalists joined in discussion at AccessFest24. We have excerpted from their panel in this edition of The IRE Radio Podcast.
IRE Radio Podcast: Introducing the Knight Election Hub
The Knight Election Hub contains more than 100 free and discounted resources for covering elections. Learn how to use this powerful one-stop destination for election reporting with the IRE Radio Podcast.
IRE Radio Podcast features Marion County Record and AJC
The IRE Radio Podcast has released two new episodes exploring recent developments since Investigative Reporters & Editors awarded its annual Don Bolles Medal and Golden Padlock Award at the 2024 IRE Conference.
IRE Radio Podcast on education, Uvalde and Philip Meyer
The IRE Radio Podcast is back after a four-year hiatus. Check out these three new episodes on education-related topics: “Finding stories on the education beat,” “A look inside Uvalde: 365,” and “The legacy of Philip Meyer.” Find the podcast on Soundcloud, Spotify for Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and other streaming platforms.
IRE Radio Podcast | Broken Breath Tests
Police rely on alcohol breath tests to convict drunken drivers. But what happens when the machines they use aren’t reliable? Stacy Cowley of The New York Times looked into the problem of faulty breath test machines and found thousands of cases where the tests were thrown out. On this episode, Stacy breaks down how she…
IRE Radio Podcast | Fighting Fentanyl
Opioid addiction is a decades-long crisis that killed roughly 47,000 people in 2017 alone, largely due to the potency of fentanyl. But despite all the warning signs, Congress didn’t pass any legislation on opioids until 2016. On this week’s episode, we’ll hear how Katie Zezima of the Washington Post tracked inaction in Congress and visited…
WHAT'S NEW AT IRE
Call for applications: Today’s News for Tomorrow
November 10, 2025 Content deletion. Link rot. Server disconnections. Site moves. Digital decay. The threads that chronicle the stories of your community could vanish without a trace. A 2019 study from the Reynolds Journalism Institute found that “the majority of news outlets had not given any thought to even basic strategies for preserving their digital…
The value of an IRE membership
These are trying times for many in journalism, but there is strength in numbers. If you’ve been thinking about joining IRE or renewing your membership, our fall membership drive is the perfect time to take action. Join today! Membership is just $75 per year for professionals, with a discounted rate of $50 for early-career professionals…
Announcing IRE’s 2026 Chauncey Bailey Investigative Reporting Fellows
(Oct. 15, 2025) — Daniel Thomas Mollenkamp of EdSurge in Richmond, Virginia and Lea Zora Scruggs of KRIS 6/Scripps News in Corpus Christi, Texas have been selectedfor IRE’s Chauncey Bailey Journalist of Color Investigative Reporting Fellowship. The prestigious yearlong fellowship is designed to increase the range of backgrounds, experiences and interests within the field of…
Donate to IRE: Shine a light. Fund the fight.
(October 1, 2025) — Journalism has the power to shine a light on the truth no matter how dark it gets. That’s what our membership at Investigative Reporters and Editors, nearly 5,000 journalists strong, prove day after day around the world. From local newspapers and TV stations, to global nonprofit newsrooms, they tirelessly follow leads, question…
IRE statement on Pentagon press freedom constraints
(September 23, 2025) — Investigative Reporters & Editors and its Board of Directors join with numerous newsrooms and journalism organizations in condemning the Pentagon’s new requirement for reporters to sign a pledge limiting their ability to report without government approval in exchange for a press credential. “This unprecedented move undermines the fundamental principles of journalistic…
Demanding release of detained journalist Mario Guevara
(September 23, 2025) — Investigative Reporters and Editors joins dozens of organizations in demanding the release of detained journalist Mario Guevara. Guevara was arrested June 14 in metro Atlanta while covering a protest, then transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, where he remains. He has been detained for more than 100 days —…
New IRE fellowship honors Susan Carroll
(September 23, 2025) — Investigative Reporters and Editors has a new fellowship in honor of the late Susan Carroll Alvarez, a fearless watchdog journalist beloved for her mentorship and leadership skills. Family members, friends and journalists around the country have raised more than $25,000 to create the new Susan Carroll Fellowship to support journalists covering…
IRE 50th Anniversary Gala raises record $1.5 million for journalism training
(September 18, 2025) — Investigative Reporters and Editors hosted a star-studded 50th Anniversary Gala in New York City this week, bringing together the industry’s biggest trailblazers and raising more than $1.5 million for the grassroots nonprofit. With donations from $50 to $150,000, and the support of major funders including the ProPublica Board of Directors and…
Michael Keaton to accept IRE’s Champion of Investigative Journalism Award
(September 4, 2025) — One of Hollywood’s most celebrated stars will join a parade of journalism legends in New York this month for the Investigative Reporters and Editors 50th Anniversary Gala, honoring five decades of grit, guts and glory. Michael Keaton, acclaimed actor, director and press freedom advocate, will receive IRE’s first Champion of Investigative…
Adam Rhodes named editor of The IRE Journal
(Sept. 2, 2025) — IRE Training Director Adam Rhodes will take over editing The IRE Journal, Investigative Reporter and Editors’ online publication offering stories about investigative journalism, blueprints for award-winning work, useful tips for accessing public records and much more. “I’m excited to take the helm of the publication for so many reasons, but two…
An endowment by Dr. James Richard Bennett, Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Arkansas, supports publication of The IRE Journal. The IRE Journal is the online magazine of Investigative Reporters & Editors, headquartered at the Missouri School of Journalism.