Three journalists associated with the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting will teach at the Better Watchdog Workshop, hosted by the Investigative Reporters and Editors, on Sept. 24 and 25 at Florida International University in North Miami.
FCIR Associate Director Mc Nelly Torres and two advisory committee members — El Nuevo Herald executive editor Manny Garcia and FIU journalism professor Neil Reisner — are among the scheduled lecturers on Sept. 24.
During the two-day training sessions, workshop attendees will learn from investigative journalists as they share experiences and techniques about finding and cultivating sources, effective use of the Internet and covering ethnic communities, among other topics.
Computer-assisted reporting classes, involving such programs as Microsoft Excel, will be held on Sept. 25.
Some of the sessions include:
- Public records: How to use federal and state laws to write an open records request and challenge denials.
- Nonprofit business: Where to find information when tracking a company or nonprofit, both in person and online, and key documents to examine.
- Quick-hit investigations: Putting your research together in the real world, with a look at quick-turn watchdog stories that you can produce in your newsroom.
- Digging deeper with data and documents: Advice on how to develop a documents state-of-mind, navigating public records, understanding records retention schedules, exploring key records on a variety of beats and becoming familiar with key national data sets to produce high-impact local stories.
To register and view the full schedule, visit IRE’s website.