Seasoned investigative journalists gathered to share strategies for successful probes at Northeastern University on November 17, 2017. We highlight some of their tips:
On FOIA requests:
If you’ve ever pumped gas in the United States, you’ve seen the sticker: “This product may contain up to 10 percent ethanol by volume,” declares one at a Massachusetts Shell station. Since 2005, Washington has mandated that an increasing amount of ethanol be mixed into gasoline every year, encouraging refiners and retailers with cash incentives.
Working as the medical reporter for The Canadian Press, Helen Branswell found herself in the midst of an epidemic.
The issue: Across the country, media organizations have spotlighted an influx of outside money targeting school board elections, which, historically, have been low-budget affairs. Wealthy individuals and national advocacy groups are using their cash to influence politics in various states by helping people who support their causes get elected to local school boards and state-level boards of education.
Infants whose mothers received less than 12 years of education are, in some states, more than twice as likely to die as those born to college educated mothers, a new study finds.
The issue: Education provides tangible benefits, including employment opportunities and knowledge that can improve both the quality and duration of one’s life. But these effects extend beyond just the direct recipients of an education — children also benefit from their parents’ schooling.
The cost of filing federal income tax returns has risen steadily since the 1980s, partly because Americans are filing more forms with their returns, a UCLA researcher has found.
Lead exposure in childhood is linked to antisocial behavior in adolescence, suggests a new study published in Criminology.
The harms of lead exposure are well established: It can cause renal disease, permanent neurological damage and even death.
Loss of obstetric services at hospitals in rural counties puts mothers at a higher risk of preterm birth and birth outside of a hospital or in a hospital without an obstetric unit.
A shorter course of treatment for hepatitis C works just as well as a longer one for black patients.
