TapeACall Subscription app ($9.99/yr) for recording calls while on the phone. (Check the law for your state in the RCFP “Reporters Guide for Recording.”)

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Art of the Investigative Interview

PREPARATION PLAN. Before proceeding, take time for mental preparation. Ask yourself what you hope to get from the interview. What information? What documents? What video/audio? Jot down the topics you want to hit on. (Avoid long lists of specific, pre-worded questions. Instead, identify specific facts you need to get.) What concerns is this person likely …

Art of the Sensitive Interview

Interviews with people who have experienced trauma require extra sensitivity but not less rigor. Here are some basic guidelines for survivors of war crimes, combat, domestic violence, violent crime, abuse, neglect, disasters, accidents, illness, poverty, injustice, racism, human trafficking… Prepare. Understand the grieving and recovery process. Have a working knowledge of the immediate and long-term …

Backgrounding & finding people

One-stop shopping: Bellingcat’s Online Investigation Tool Kit Phones and addresses: DexPages phone book – yellow and white pages for landlines Spokeo – cell, email, address history Numberway Phone #s Backgroundchecks.org Fastpeoplesearch.com Email: Skymem.info for finding email addresses by organization or company Social media advanced search: Who Posted What LinkedIn advanced search Twitter advanced search Facebook advanced search …

Backgrounding Nonprofits & Companies

Links with an asterisk * connect to tutorials about how to read the documents. NONPROFITS Tax-exempt corporations file annual financial statements, called 990s,* with the IRS that must be made publicly available at their office. They also are available through a public records request to the IRS and through various online sources. The documents include …

FOI: A Guide to Freeing Data & Documents

A REPORTER’S GUIDE TO UNLEASHING E-DOCS (A.R.G.U.E.) When you file a FOIA request, the government must justify every field, case or cell it plans to withhold with a statutory exemption. Under the 2016 FOIA amendments, they not only must show that a record falls under an exemption but also that release of the record would result …

Getting started: How to pick & pursue investigative projects

People frequently ask how often I spend months investigating something only to hit a dead end. My answer: Rarely. While investigative reporting is by nature risky business, there are steps you can take at the start to improve the chances of delivering at the end. Here’s an excerpt from an IRE Journal article I wrote …

InvestigateLocal: DMV

MARYLAND A-Z records in MD – MDDCPress Maryland open data portal COMPANIES – DMV DC corporate charters (free registration required) Maryland corporate charters Virginia corporate charters COURTS – DMV DC Superior Superior Court and Court of Appeals Maryland courts Journalist’s Guide to Maryland’s Legal System VA courts and virginiacourtdata.org (statewide bulk data for criminal courts) Federal courts PACER (registration …

Safety tips

GOLDEN RULE: NO STORY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR LIFE Risk assessment From Rory Peck Trust, IJNET/Sherri Riccardi Are you covering a high-risk event or visiting a high-risk location? What are the risks? E.g. Injury? Arrest? Are you at increased risk because of your occupation, gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation? Are you meeting someone who …

Verification: If your mother tweets she loves you, check it out

For guides, tip sheets and more, visit Global Investigative Journalism Network GIJN.ORG & IRE.ORG Bellingcat’s Online Investigation Tool Kit Check Debunking Handbook Emergent FactCheck.org FactCheck.org How to spot fake news Field Guide to Fake News Google Fact Check (US & UK) News Verification Guide by Tom Trewinnard Poynter International Fact Checking Network and fact-check research database Snopes Field Guide to …

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