“30 Ideas in 60 Minutes”

Investigative Reporters & Editors 2019

Houston, Texas

Josh Hinkle Susan Batt

KXAN Austin WTHR Indianapolis
Dir of Investigations & Innovation Investigative/Special Projects Producer
Political Host, “State of Texas” susan.batt@wthr.com
Josh.Hinkle@kxan.com Cell: 317-408-1307
Cell: 512-934-3894 Twitter: @susanbatt
Twitter: @hinklej

Welcome to IRE! We selected these 30 stories because they are topics that have the potential to become stories
in your area. They can be done in all mediums – print, digital and broadcast.

We have included a link to each report and the contact information for the team that did the work. You’ll also
find advice from each team – hints to get started, what records to request and, often, suggestions to avoid
pitfalls. Thank you to the reporters, photographers and producers who were all willing to pass along what they
learned. They’ll also help if you have questions as you dive in!

SCHOOLS
Missing & Mis-reported School Bullying Data – WRTV Indianapolis
bit.ly/2XCvWNE
Indiana law requires public and charter schools to report bullying incidents to the State. WRTV found schools
misreporting their bullying data. 60% of schools reported ZERO bullying incidents the previous year. WRTV has
done a number of follow up reports to this story as well as a number of other bullying-related stories. This
investigation prompted a new law that does more to encourage schools to report incidents and allows the state
to audit schools.
● Looked at school bullying incidents reported to the State Department of Education and searched for
trends. If your state does not collect or track bullying, ask the Dept of Ed why. Ask lawmakers why they
don’t require bullying incidents be reported.
● This is what Indiana’s data looks like: ​https://www.doe.in.gov/safety/student-safetybullying-reporting
● Concerned parents contacted WRTV about bullying. However, you can also reach out to local PTO
groups or Facebook chatter groups to find bullying victims.

Contact: Reporter Kara Kenney – ​Kara.Kenney@wrtv.com

`
School Rainy Day Funds – WCAU Philadelphia
bit.ly/2I5ihJF
Some school districts in the Philadelphia suburbs have amassed large “rainy day” funds or budget surplus
accounts, while still raising property taxes ever year. The state Department of Education sets an annual cap on
the amount districts can raise in new taxes, but their regulations can be circumvented by districts.
● This story can be repeated by analyzing any taxing authority. It requires an excel acumen and a general
understanding of financial documents like balance sheets and statement of cash flows. The numbers
story doesn’t have to be complex. Ask simple questions: How many tax increases have there been over
the past decade? How much have taxes gone up or down? How have those taxes been spent? Simply
follow the money.
 ● The records to request are school district budgets and any tax approval records. If the financial numbers
become overwhelming, remember this is a story about testing oversight. You are looking to answer one
basic question: Is anyone watching those who tax us?
● Go to boring places to find interesting people. Public meetings are not usually good tv, but they are full
of characters.

Contact: Reporter Mitch Blacher – ​mitch.blacher@nbcuni.com

School Tornado Shelters – WMAQ Chicago

bit.ly/31iGML2
WMAQ found that fewer than one in every 100 Chicago-area public schools has a certified, reinforced tornado
shelter. WMAQ created an interactive map so viewers can find out if their child has this kind of protection.
● Illinois recently passed a law requiring newly-constructed schools and those that undergo major
renovations to have storm shelters that meet national standards, so WMAQ filed requests with 400
public districts in 17 counties to see which campuses already had shelters
● Most districts didn’t have shelters, because it’s very expensive. WMAQ was careful not to put those
districts in a negative light; they aren’t breaking the law.
● Storm shelters must meet the standards of the National Storm Shelter Association and the International
Code Council.
● Suggestion for future reporting – Consider whether FEMA or other grants might be available to help
schools build shelters.

Contact: Reporter Phil Rogers – ​Phil.Rogers@nbcuni.com

Producer Katy Smyser – ​Katy.Smyser@nbcuni.com

Violent Classrooms – KGW Portland

bit.ly/2UE6y87
Verbal, physical and sometimes violent outbursts are plaguing Oregon classrooms. The situation has gotten so
dire that the Oregon Education Association – the union that represents 44,000 teachers across the state –
released a report calling classroom disruptions a “significant and growing problem in classrooms.” KGW
received incredible response to the initial report, and they’ve now done more than 20 stories and an hour-long
special.
● Focus on elementary schools. This is where the problem is happening most. Yes, middle and high school
teachers are seeing it too, but the emotional outbursts are mostly with young kids.
● School districts do NOT track these incidents, but they do track injuries. Request the staff injuries caused
by students for the last three to five years. This will give you the hard data you need.

Contact: Reporter Cristin Severance – ​cseverance@kgw.com

Photographer Gene Cotton – ​gcotton@kgw.com

CRIME & POLICE

Police Officers Paid While Under Misconduct Investigation – KMGH Denver
bit.ly/2WUg8Zr
KMGH shows some area law enforcement agencies have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to officers and
deputies while they sit at home during a misconduct investigation.
● Check to see how far agencies can go back in terms of a records search. KMGH ran into an issue where
Denver could only provide two years of electronic data – which made it tough to make comparisons.
 Paper copes were available further back but were very expensive! Still it took a while to get back the
data. KMGH sent requests to several departments.
● Eliminate officer-involved shootings or medical leave when you make the request… or specifically ask
for that to be broken out. It muddies up the numbers unless you have each reason broken out. You
wouldn’t — for this story — probably include an officer on paid leave for three days after an OIS because
that is standard in every case (in Denver.)
● KMGH found that even when discipline matters were concluded, some agencies would not provide a
synopsis of the case and some refused to name the officers, even though everything involves taxpayer
money.

Contact: Reporter Jace Larson – ​Jace.Larson@TheDenverChannel.com

Fired & Rehired Officers – WEWS Cleveland

bit.ly/2Vr3Rac
WEWS found Northeast Ohio police officers fired for misconduct often get their jobs back. Since 2004, fewer
than 100 officers were fired from police departments in more than 50 Northeast Ohio towns and cities across
ten counties. However, police departments were often forced to reinstate those officers after appeals required
by union contracts. WEWS expanded the details online… suing maps, documents and an Infogram.
● Request information from numerous departments covering a long period of time. They found police
officers are rarely fired, so they requested a list of all officers fired over a 15-year period from more than
50 police departments to get enough data for the story.
● Ask for copies of arbitration decisions, because they explain why officers were reinstated after they
were fired. Reviewing their decisions revealed patterns related to how fired officers end up back on the
streets.
● Get expert advice. WEWS found an arbitration expert at Harvard Law School who agreed to review
several documents. His insight helped WEWS show how police departments often fail to follow tehir
own disciplinary policies, which leads to fired officers being restored to the force.

Contact: Reporter Sarah Buduson – ​buduson@wews.com​ – 216-214-3188

Missing Guns – KNXV Phoenix

bit.ly/2XmHNQa
KNXV discovered Valley law enforcement agencies are missing at least 110 firearms. But the true number of
missing weapons is likely higher and impossible to calculate due to poor and incomplete record keeping. This
investigation developed out of a breaking news event that everyone covered, but the KNXV that shut down a
highway. They found a gun from a specific incident came from the sheriff’s department. So, they kept looking
and found even more missing weapons.
● Request a list or database of any and all missing, stolen, and/or unaccounted for department firearms
and other weapons. Ask the department to inclue any information about the type of firearms/weapons
and provide the date they were reported missing, stolen or unaccounted.
● Request a copy of any and all policies, directives, and/or orders regarding the documentation of missing,
stolen, and/or unaccounted for firearms and weapons.
● Ask for all police reports filed related to missing, stolen and/or unaccounted for firearms and weapons.
Departments sometimes file police reports for when it goes missing. They may also file reports when
those guns are recovered at crime scenes, traffic stops, shootings, etc. Those instances can provide
specifics of when a gun was used in a crime.

Contact: Reporter Dave Biscobing – ​Dbiscobing@abc15.com

TRANSPORTATION
Major Troubles with Bus Service for Riders with Disabilities – WTHR Indianapolis
bit.ly/2IBltvz
WTHR discovered Indianapolis’ bus service for riders with disabilities plagued by extremely long wait times and
ride times. As a result, many riders were trapped on buses for hours, forced to miss critical appointments/
services and were often stranded going to and from work.
In many cities, the Americans with Disabilities Act mandates a paratransit program to provide door-to-door
service for people who, because of their disability, can’t use the regular bus system.
After the investigation, Indy’s bus service withheld nearly $1 million in payments to the company that provides
the paratransit service. Follow up stories show the wait times are improving.
● Ask for three to six months of complaints about the paratransit bus service. Also ask for three to six
months of “on-time” rates. These will help you spot any trends. It will also lead you to good people
impacted by the issue to tell your story.
● In Indianapolis, they city’s bus service expanded the paratransit service area beyond the
federally-mandated distance from a regular bus stop. That exacerbated the problem and over-extended
resources.
● Your city’s bus service should be able to tell you how many people are registered for the paratransit
service in your area and what the boundaries are for that service. Eligibility criteria set by the US
Department of Transportation under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.

Contact: Reporter Bob Segall – ​bob.segall@wthr.com

Producer Cyndee Hebert – ​cyndee.hebert@wthr.com

Gas Meter Crashes – KXAS Dallas

bit.ly/2Tybu1u
Gas meters found close to roads are damaged in crashes far more than one might expect. TxDOT data shows
vehicles struck roadside gas meters more than 3,600 times in eight years, sparking concerns of leaks and
explosions.
● KXAS and the Dallas Morning News obtained motor vehicle crash data from 2010 through 2018 from the
Texas Department of Transportation. Law enforcement agencies file these reports for any crashes on
public roadways that involve a death, injury or more than $1,000 in property damage.
● TxDOT’s crash report database includes a section for damaged property (other than vehicles), so they
searched for gas meters that way. However, the data didn’t give the exact location of the meters,
whether they were protected, or the extend of the meter damage.

Contact: Reporter Scott Friedman - ​Scott.Friedman@nbcuni.com

Train Crash Odds – WSMV Nashville

bit.ly/2WmThBn
The federal government scores every location where a railroad crosses a public street. They track how likely a
particular crossing will be to have a collision in any given year. WSMV used those prediction numbers to identify
the top 10 railroad-highway crossings in Nashville and surrounding counties that are at the highest risk for a
collision.
● You can build custom reports on the Federal Railroad Administration website. Choose your state or
certain counties. Beware that if you search by county, you may not always include every city in that
county.
● Once you have crossings of interest, check with your state DOT to see if the crossings have been
upgraded. FRA data was not always current.
 ● In the case where there was an accident, request the accident report from your local police department.
It will generally have the victim’s name and phone number.
● Good chance to use your drone in storytelling. The shots helped following the trains through
problematic crossings.

Contact: Reporter Nancy Amons – ​namons@wsmv.com

WORKPLACE
Stay Away Pay – KARE Minneapolis
kare11.tv/31tgp58
KARE found public employees across Minnesota have been paid millions of dollars to stay away from their jobs
while their bosses consider allegations of possible misconduct, malfeasance or even crimes. Some of those
internal investigations lasted only a few days or weeks, but others dragged on for months, even years.
● Request from state and local governments all data for “paid disciplinary leave” that lasted longer than
three months… and happened during the last several years.
● Once you have the data, zero in on some of the most egregious/long/expensive cases, then request the
underlying case files.
● Word of caution from KARE – Give yourself plenty of lead time before planning to air. It took several
months to get all the paid leave data and then several more months to get the records on the cases.

Contact: A. J. Lagoe – ​ajlagoe@kare11.com​ – Cell: 612-834-6086

Deaths On the Job – WPTA Fort Wayne

bit.ly/2BhE38o
Indiana and a number of other states, severely limit how much victims families can receive if their loved on dies
on the job, even if the company is negligent. WPTA showed how little Indiana companies have to pay if one of
their workers dies. (In some cases, it’s just a few thousand dollars.) A few months after these reports, the
legislature changed the law, increasing the maximum penalties for businesses who disregard worker safety.
● Get to know your state OSHA website. Safety violation investigation reports should be published and
readily available without a public record request. Download the settlement reports (they give you a
good idea of "what went wrong" and compare the number of violations/fine amount that the OSHA
office could have enforced versus what they ultimately settled for. Pay extra close attention to violations
that "exposed workers to risk of death." From there, ask the coroner's office to find the names of
deceased workers matching the dates/locations on the report. Because most worker deaths are
considered accidents, they found there were many more worker deaths in our area than they ever heard
of or covered from relying solely on the newsroom police scanner or press releases.
● If the victim's family has legal representation, ask for everything they obtained during discovery. In a
weak public records state like Indiana, this was huge. They got pictures from the scene, the serial
number of the machine that killed the worker, and letters between the state and attorneys for the
victim and the employer. They used this as leverage to get even more information (including diagrams of
how the machine was supposed to work) from the manufacturer.
● Be proactive about getting the story in front of people who can create change. WPTA reached out to
state lawmakers from the area who served on the labor committee at the Statehouse.

Contact: Reporter Alexis Shear – ​alexisreporting@gmail.com​ – Cell: 260-450-5070

Photojournalist/Producer Daniel Beals – ​dbeals@wpta21.com
Public Cost of Sexual Harassment – WMAQ
bit.ly/2XCGQTA
WMAQ, Telemundo Chicago and the ​Better Government Association​, tracked down case after case of
government employees in the Chicago area accused of sexual misconduct, harassment, abuse, assault and even
rape. They found hundreds of lawsuits, complaints and internal investigations filed over the past ten years,
costing taxpayers at least $55 million – so far. They’re still counting!
● They email blasted 2,000 public agencies across the Chicago area – from school districts to
administrative offices to park districts to public library boards, etc., asking for all money paid in
settlements, judgements, separation agreements and attorney fees as result of those claims by any
agency employee, official or contractor. Got about 800 responses initially. (Most any one doing this
story will want to query a much smaller number of agencies!)
● Make sure to request payouts made by insurance companies on behalf of the agency or its workers as
well. Some places did not supply details since, technically, the agency didn’t make the payment.
● WMAQ realized their initial request was too narrow. The original intention was to “follow the money,”
but – in fact – when they asked, agencies gave ALL of their complaints – whether they resulted in a
payout or not. So, for anyone embarking on this project, ask for everything, and make sure, when asking
for money, you also request money paid by insurance companies.
● They’ve used the standard --- No mere allegations of sex discrimination and nothing that might simply
have been misunderstood as harassment.
● Spotting trends – harassers often allowed to retire, often with big parachutes, and are allowed to collect
a public pension. Sometimes victims forced to leave.

Contact: Reporter Phil Rogers – ​Phil.Rogers@nbcuni.com

Producer Katy Smyser – ​Katy.Smyser@nbcuni.com

HEALTH & MEDICAL

Concussion Safety – KNTV San Francisco
bit.ly/2ysGu7e
Children’s sports leagues across California are required, by law, to follow certain safety measures to guard
against injuries resulting from concussions, however, an NBC Bay Area investigation revealed a widespread
disparity in training and a serious lack of enforcement could be putting thousands of children at higher risk for
brain injuries.
● Youth sports leagues, unlike private or public schools, often have volunteer coaches, who may not be
familiar with the state’s safety requirements.
● California does not require teams to submit documentation proving compliance, nor does the state
lodge any type of penalties against teams who break the law.
● KNTV surveyed 252 youth sports leagues across the Bay Area to see if they are following the law. More
than 70 percent wouldn’t share details on their safety protocols. 47 percent admitted to not following
all of the state’s safety requirements – responsible for the safety of nearly 20,000 children.

Contact: Reporter Bigad Shaban – ​Bigad.Shaban@nbcuni.com

Nursing Homes Penalties – KPRC Houston

bit.ly/2MKIGAy
Texas nursing homes are among the worst in the country when it comes to caring for vulnerable elderly and
disabled people. A new law meant to punish the repeat offenders took effect in 2017. KPRC in Houston followed
up to find out if stiffer financial penalties are making a difference.
 ● Obtained data from ​Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services​ to determine which facilities had the
most violations and most serious violations. You can also ​file a FOIA with CMS and get a spreadsheet.
Violations are categorized from A to L with violations F-L being the most serious that cause actual harm
and immediate jeopardy. KPRC asked for violations F through L for the last three years. Don’t waste
your time dealing with the volume of small, non-life threatening violations.
● Looked at sites with most violations for specific time period, categorized by violation level.
● Most violations are not major – so “most” doesn’t mean “worst.”
● A local attorney who specialize in nursing home neglect and abuse may be able to help you find a victim.

Contact: Reporter Amy Davis – ​adavis@kprc.com​ - Cell: 832-493-3946

Choking in Schools – WITI Milwaukee

bit.ly/2XAd95x
In Wisconsin, high school students are now required to get CPR, Heimlich maneuver, and first aid training before
they're allowed to graduate. It's a different story for the adults in charge.
● Search your own archives and other local news databases for stories of choking incidents or fatalities.
Victims and their families often want to share their stories as a warning to others.
● A Michigan-based training ​company tracks which states require teachers​ to learn CPR. They also ​track
where students have to learn​ CPR. Check your state at these links.
● Ask what your state requires (if anything.) ​Does the training include choking response or just chest
compressions? If it’s not required, why not? If it is required, who’s checking to ensure it happens? Who
does the training? How thorough is it? Who pays for it? How often do teachers or school staff members
have to recertify?

Contact: Reporter Bryan Polcyn - ​Bryan.polcyn@fox6now.com​ – 414-748-2190

PUBLIC SAFETY
Volunteer Firefighter Training – KXAN Austin
bit.ly/2J4XqqO
Three years after the deadly West fertilizer plant explosion, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board sent out a list of
safety recommendations, including an unfulfilled requirement for all Texas volunteer firefighters to be trained
on fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate. But KXAN found only a small number the 30,000 volunteers statewide
have taken the voluntary course creased after that catastrophe.
● This certification was created in Texas, but other states can use it if they decide to require the training.
States with large agriculture industries may consider it, so reach out to lawmakers with connections to
those areas.
● Check to see how many fertilizer facilities there are in your area. The state fire marshal’s office gave us
challenges in obtaining that information due to security concerns, but they were able to obtain data
from the Texas Department of State Health Services – and found 121 facilities in 71 Texas counties that
stored more than 10,000 pounds of the same type of fertilizer.
● Because the volunteer fire departments require state safety checks and get funding from the state, they
are required to submit training reports to the state fire marshal’s office – so that’s the way to find how
many firefighters have taken part in this training and also how many of them live/work in areas where
these facilities exist.

Contact: Josh Hinkle – Josh.Hinkle@kxan.com

Wildfire Brush Citations – KGTV San Diego
bit.ly/2Is0jjn
More than 40,000 homes in San Diego are canyon rim properties, next to native or naturalized vegetation.
Legally, those homeowners must have defensible space of 100 feet – making sure brush isn’t out of control.
Keep this in mind when the summer gets hot and really dry wherever you are.
● Look at timely stories. California is prone to wildfires, so they did this one as the anniversary of one of
the fires was approaching.
● Check to see if you actually need to make a public records request, or just ask the agency for the
information which might be more readily available or translatable.

Contact: Melissa Mecija - ​Melissa.mecija@10news.com

Dangerous Dogs – WSMV Nashville

bit.ly/2Ze2AWa
Dogs deemed vicious by a city court, some ordered to be euthanized for their violent attacks, are still living in
Nashville neighborhoods.
● File open records requests in the city clerk’s office for the ​entire file​ of all the animals deemed “vicious”
in your city. You’ll need the entire file to get the victims who live near the animals.
● Be ​very ​transparent with your victims, especially if they still live near the vicious animal, that you would
like to interview them but it may inflame the situation again.
● File requests to have a camera in the city court that deems animals as “vicious” and document a few
cases – they’re always emotional and good TV.

Contact: Jeremy Finley​ - ​jfinley@wsmv.com​ – Cell: 615-830-1269

Emergency Inside 911 – WTHR Indianapolis

bit.ly/2F6rZt4
WTHR reported emergency operators in Indianapolis have been dealing with an emergency of their own: a
severe shortage of dispatchers that is contributing to rising 911 wait times. Callers sometimes wait several
minutes just for their call to be answered by a dispatcher. WTHR showed how Marion Co paid dispatchers far
less than surrounding counties, which contributed to the problem. Marion County officials used WTHR’s
reporting and data to get elected lawmakers to increase pay for dispatchers immediately.
● Request the call response time data from the 911 call center (the time to pick up a call and talk to a
caller… not the time for an ambulance/emergency responder to arrive on scene.) We suggest going
back at least a year because sometimes the numbers and types of calls can be seasonal. Compare the
call pickup times to the standards from the National Emergency Number Association.
● Dispatcher pay became an important factor to look at why Marion Co has trouble keeping dispatchers.
Request starting salaries from all of the surrounding or relevant counties for comparison.
● Don’t assume the 911 center officials won’t talk about the problem. After a lot of conversation and
discussion about the topic, the people who run Marion County’s 911 dispatch center invited WTHR in to
see the facility and their call times. They sat down for an interview.

Contact: Reporter Bob Segall – ​bob.segall@wthr.com

Producer Cyndee Hebert – ​cyndee.hebert@wthr.com
ENVIRONMENTAL
Radon Testing at Schools – WRTV Indianapolis & KARE Minneapolis
bit.ly/2JckC4a​ (WRTV) & k​ are11.tv/2I6gdyz​ (KARE)
This is a good example of how a good story idea from IRE can pay off for another station in another city. KARE
shared its radon story last year, and WRTV picked up the idea and ran with it. Both stories changed laws in their
respective states.
WRTV uncovered that most Indiana schools do not test for radon gas, a carcinogen known to cause lung cancer,
despite federal recommendations that all schools test at least once every five years.
● Ask the State Department of Health or State Department of Education for data on which schools have
been tested for radon and when. If they do not have data for schools, ask the agency for a data dump of
all radon test results and sort out schools by name/address.
● If they do not have any data, conduct your own survey of schools, email dozens of schools and ask when
they last tested and what those results were.
● To help find people for the story – reached out to American Lung Assoc, Cancer Survivors Against Radon,
environmental groups, parent groups, etc.
● Check the IRE Resource Library for A. J. Lagoe’s tip sheet from 2018.

Contacts: A. J. Lagoe – ​ajlagoe@kare11.com​ - @AJInvestigates

Kara Kenney – Kara.Kenney @wrtv.com

Firefighter Asbestos – KNSD San Diego

bit.ly/2WMGU67
Asbestos at a fire academy put thousands of San Diego firefighters at risk of serious lung disease. Documents
obtained by KNSD revealed the department failed to act quickly and decisively to protect first responders in
training.
● Requested data or inspection reports for your city’s “Asbestos, Lead & Mold Program” or division. Data
will show where inspectors are going most often and detail about what they found.
● Check your state law for asbestos and lead abatement requirements.
● The EPA has good information about “superfund sites” or the “National Priorities List,” which is a list of
federal properties that have been deemed to contain hazardous materials.
● Good to put asbestos into perspective, as the material is not harmful if left undisturbed. Find an expert!

Contact: Reporter Mari Payton – mari.payton@nbcuni.com

Executive Producer Thomas Jones – ​TomJ@nbcuni.com

Testing Water After Environmental Threat – KHOU Houston

bit.ly/2I0rsve
KHOU did this story as an investigative angle to major breaking news after the ITC fire. They suggest it can be
done anywhere there are chemical plants, cargo trains or any kind of accident involving materials that could be
hazardous to waterways/drinking water.​
KHOU had water samples from the Houston Ship Channel tested by a local environmental lab to find out
whether public parks and local beaches were contaminated after the ITC fire.
● The team spent two days taking samples according to specific rules and turned them over to a certified
lab. Used the lab’s containers and followed their water collection protocol. Tested for several
chemicals, including Benzene, which is known to cause cancer.
● Have plan. Map out your sampling locations before you leave the lab. (And wear shoes/clothes you’re
willing to toss out. It’s dirty!)
● Talk to anyone you see while you are collecting samples. Locals usually know the places people visit
most. If you don’t see anyone, start knocking on doors.
 ● The results didn’t reveal problems but it showed viewers they were looking out for their safety. Make
sure you interview an environmentalist or someone who can “translate” the confusing results for you
and your viewers.

Contact: Reporter Cheryl Mercedes – ​cmerdedes@khou.com

FINANCIAL
Sidewalk Settlements – WCAU Philadelphia
bit.ly/2Zgss3w
Crumbling sidewalks cost Philadelphia taxpayers $17 million in injury settlements over the last three years. It’s a
major expense in ways that reach far beyond pouring new concrete. This was a great opportunity for WCAU to
use mapping and pictures for an online interactive with StoryMap.
● Started as a request to the city for civil settlements, initially looking for sexual harassment payouts. Most
money was spent on “sidewalk fall downs.”
● WCAU took a sample of some of the highest payouts (mostly $200K+) as well as the most common “fall
down” locations (determined with pivot tables.) Then Mitch got the court documents to find people and
specifics. They then checked locations (about 10) to see if the sidewalk had been fixed. Just make sure
to be transparent with your audience that you only took a sample of a larger set of information.
● Look for multiple stories inside a data set.

Contact: Reporter Mitch Blacher – ​mitch.blacher@nbcuni.com

Court-ordered Payments for Fraud Victims – KSL Salt Lake City

bit.ly/2KEkhtV
KSL investigated why federal court-ordered payments to crime victims often go unfulfilled. They reviewed a half
dozen recent fraud cases to understand how judges weighed what amount should be repaid and how. Still, it
added up to a massive amount - $800 million – mush of which will never be collected.
● Federal restitution orders are only good for 20 years but can be extended another 20.
● Find financial fraud cases that have been sentenced. However, sometimes victims are confidential – so
look for their statements in court files/transcripts.

Contact: Producer Mark Stevens – ​mstevens@ksl.com​ – Cell: 309-502-9684

Oil & Gas Regulation – KXAN Austin

kxan.com/oil-empire
Most Texans would be forgiven for not knowing what the Texas Railroad Commission does, or how the
commission's chair and her politically prominent family earn money off hundreds of oil and natural gas leases
checkered across the state — part of the same industry she was elected to regulate. KXAN discovered, since the
start of 2014, she voted at least 320 times on agenda items brought by companies that pay her and her family
royalties or dividends. KXAN also found she cast more than 100 votes on enforcement actions against those
companies.
● To avoid the roadblock of paying thousands of dollars on public information requests and industry
website subscriptions, KXAN traveled to nearly a dozen isolated communities on the west Texas plains to
search through county courthouses in person for mineral and royalty deeds, trusts and more.
● Comparing the results of that research to matters brought before the Railroad Commission, KXAN found
the chair has voted on items that appear to overlap with specific leases in which she and her family have
 financial stakes. The review of meeting minutes and video archives revealed no disclosures of possible
conflicts of interest.

Contact: Josh Hinkle – ​Josh.Hinkle@kxan.com

Charity Spending – WTAE Pittsburgh

bit.ly/2wPOOg5
WTAE found some charities are spending little on their own programs. An analysis of Pennsylvania charity
spending records shows the money frequently goes to fundraising expenses and salaries.
● Check with your state’s charities regulator. Some states gather summary financial information and ​post
on their web site​. You can file an FOI request to get a spreadsheet of the data that is on the web. Or you
could scrape it. Then run a simple Excel formula to determine the percentage of expenses or donations
going to programs.
● To get details on where the money is going for specific charities, check out ​GuideStar​. You want to get
the 990 – the annual tax form filed by charities and foundations. Look for top salaries and top
contractors.

Contact: Reporter Paul Van Osdol – ​pvanosdol@hearst.com​ – Cell: 412-443-5178

DRUGS
Drunk Drivers Avoiding Prison – WRC Washington, D.C.
bit.ly/2I3BXO4
Nearly all drunken drivers who caused crashes on Maryland’s troubled Indian Head Highway in Prince George’s
County avoided jail sentences over the past three years. A review of more than 40 DUI crashes on the highway
between January 2016 and December 2018 shows most drivers were spared from serving time behind bars,
despite causing injuries in many cases and regardless of whether they had prior DUI arrests.
● Police, fire and EMS agencies universally maintain data by address. You should be able to FOIA broader
sets of data (cases, fires, medical emergencies, arrests, crashes) on certain highways, state roads or
county roads.
● Attorneys often do this, so check to see if they already have. That might make the FOIA free!
● Not everyone who you’d think goes to prison, actually does. Also check recent predator teachers, DUI
crash suspects, robbery stories. What was the disposition of each case?

Contact: Reporter Scott MacFarlane – ​Scott.Macfarlane@nbcuni.com

Field Drug Test Kits – WAGA Atlanta

bit.ly/2Ww5YPt​ – initial story
bit.ly/2IDy5Ct​ - 30min special
WAGA found a field drug test kit popular among law enforcement officers actually turned out to be wrong more
than 140 times across Georgia in a single year. False positives implicated innocent people, jailed for crimes like
drug possession or drug trafficking when they really had things like air freshener or vitamins. While other
stations can’t really “discover” the problems with the test kit itself, they can check how their local departments
use it and if they have changed any protocols based on these highly publicized reports from Georgia.
● Ask your state crime lab that processes suspected drugs to provide a database of all negative test results
for a given time period. Make sure they include the original requesting agency.
● Go back to the law enforcement agency you cover (or several) and ask for the incident report that led to
that suspected drug case. Read them and see whether they mention a positive "field test," "NIK test" or
 similar language for that specific item sent off for analysis. If you get a hit, you know you've got a false
positive.
● Find the people falsely arrested. Ask for the bodycam or dashcam video. Ask for department policy for
the use of these kits. Was there additional evidence at the scene that also convinced police that what
they found was an illegal drug? Or did they make an arrest based solely on a $2 disposable test that
even the manufacturer warns shouldn't be taken as gospel?

Contact: Reporter Randy Travis - ​Randy.Travis@foxtv.com​ - 404-898-0146

Students Using THC – WPRI Providence

bit.ly/2WoIzun
Rhode Island public schools have seen a surge in use of drugs with ultra-potent levels of THC — the psychoactive
ingredient in marijuana — over the past year, resulting in some students hauled away in an ambulance. This
comes as vaping has grown in popularity, and teenagers are swapping out nicotine cartridges, or "pods," for
those filled with THC oil.
● State education departments track an enormous amount of data through a Uniformed Chart of Accounts
(UCOA.) It’s a good way to compare districts and schools on many things – so ask for the entire
spreadsheet. But in the case of THC use, the state likely tracks it in two ways: tobacco and controlled
substances. Ask for year over year data.
● Ask for all police and fire calls for service for high schools and middles schools. WPRI chose the 13
largest districts. Separately ask school districts for the number of rescues called to their schools as a
result of an adverse reaction to THC. In some cases, schools weren’t cooperative but public safety
agencies were, and vice versa.
● Consider getting the 911 calls or Broadcastify recordings for key incidents.
● Some of the pictures of the devices came from US Attorneys. Some offices are doing presentations to
schools and other groups, and so they may be willing to share photos.

Contact: Reporter Tim White – ​Twhite@wpri.com