The Chicago Reporter’s investigation of the State of Illinois’ contracts with minority and disabled business owners has found limited impact, missed goals. Photo by: Jason Reblando. “Empty Jackpot“: Illinois celebrates its program to steer state contracts to businesses owned by minorities, women and people with a disability. But a closer look shows the state may not be fulfilling its goals. “Less ...
In its September/October issue, City Limits, an investigative magazine based in New York City, explores whether the New York Fire Department has learned lessons from Sept. 11 and – as important – after firefighters die in routine fires. “The prospect of another Sept. 11 is as unlikely as it is terrifying. Fires in basements and factories and two-story homes, however, will happen all the time. So ...
Winner of FIJ’s Gene Roberts Book Award, “All the Justice Money Can Buy,” by Snigdha Prakash, is being favorably reviewed: “One can read Snigdha Prakash’s disturbing book on two levels: either as in–depth reporting of a major corporate scandal, or as a legal thriller, the denouement of which is left hanging until the final pages. On any score, she offers a ...
Scott Carney, Jason Miklian, and Kristian Hoelscher report on Fortress India: Why is Delhi building a new Berlin Wall to keep out its Bangladeshi neighbors? “Felani wore her gold bridal jewelry as she crouched out of sight inside the squalid concrete building. The 15-year-old’s father, Nurul Islam, peeked cautiously out the window and scanned the steel and barbed-wire fence that ...
For Mother Jones, Trevor Aaronson writes: “The FBI has built a massive network of spies to prevent another domestic attack. But are they busting terrorist plots-or leading them?” Here is an excerpt from his article, “The Informants”: “Here’s how it works: Informants report to their handlers on people who have, say, made statements sympathizing with terrorists. Those names are then ...
Mary Lou Simms investigated the U. S. Department of Agriculture program that exterminates wild birds and animals for the McClatchy-Tribune News Service. “Wildlife Services is the little-known branch of the USDA deemed largely responsible for geese slaughters coast to coast. Buried under several layers of bureaucracy, Wildlife Services prefers to stay under the radar. However, a copy of a 2010 report obtained ...
Bogota, COLOMBIA — As Isabel Morales and Julian Resendiz report for the Dallas Morning News: The death of her 20-year-old son at the hands of Colombia’s military was but the beginning of Gloria Mancera’s ordeal. In the four years that followed, Mancera, 44, fled her small farm in the town of Granada with her daughters in tow, changed her name, slept on ...
In “Render Unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church,” author Jason Berry exposes the secrecy and deceit that run counter to the values of the Catholic Church. There is no doubt that historically the Catholic Church has been one of the great engines of charity in history. But what happens to tens of millions of dollars ...
Press Release Contact information: Sandy Bergo, 202-391-0206 Washington DC-based Fund for Investigative Journalism Chosen for 2011-12 Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington The Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington is proud to announce that The Fund for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) has been selected to be featured in the 2011-12 Catalogue. A panel of 110 expert reviewers from area foundations, corporate giving programs, ...
A year after the BP oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, a growing number of cleanup workers and coastal residents are reporting debilitating health problems associated with exposure to toxic chemicals in crude oil and dispersants. Faced with inaction from the federal government, victims are organizing a grassroots movement to demand action. The investigation also examined the broader problem ...