This year's conference has a hint of Hollywood... We are thrilled to have award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay as the keynote speaker at IRE24!

With works like “Selma,” “13th” and “When They See Us,” DuVernay is known for breaking barriers in the media industry and shining light on stories critical to our understanding of history. We can't wait for our attendees to be motivated and inspired by her message.

IRE24 has sessions across a dozen tracks, from broadcast and beat reporting, to management and public records. Scroll down to see a brief sample of what to expect, featuring some of California's best journalists!

• Investigating climate change, led by Lauren Etter of Bloomberg News, Miranda Green of Floodlight, Ben Stockton of Centre for Climate Reporting and Amy Westervelt of Drilled.
• How to make investigative reporting about non-English speaking communities more accessible to them, led by Maryam Jameel of ProPublica, independent journalist Wendy Selene Pérez and Maria Mendez of Texas Tribune.
• How to report on what goes on in prisons and jails, led by Mike Balsamo of The Associated Press, Keri Blakinger of the Los Angeles Times, Jan Ransom of The New York Times and Christie Thompson of The Marshall Project.
• Politicization of children and families: Enforcement and consequences of anti-trans policies, led by Tat Bellamy-Walker of The Seattle Times, Taylor Lorenz of The Washington Post and Cora Neas of KXAN.
• Reporting on natural (and human-caused) disasters, led by Jared Bennett of the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting and Brianna Sacks of The Washington Post.

In addition to skills training, IRE24 has sessions to help you take care of yourself and your newsroom. Learn about unions, managing mergers and breaking into freelancing. Plus, get feedback during show and tell sessions specifically for broadcast journalists.

Explore the full conference schedule here.

Investigating toxic waste in California

A recent CalMatters investigation found that California sends nearly half its toxic waste to other states with weaker regulatory laws. One of the biggest out-of-state dumpers? The state’s own hazardous waste watchdog.

"While there is nothing illegal about the practice," CalMatters writes, "critics contend it raises troubling questions for a state that loves to pat itself on the back as an environmental leader and a shining example of how to protect the planet," The investigation — by Robert Lewis, Jeremia Kimelman, Miguel Gutierrez Jr. and Wendy Fry — is an IRE Award finalist.

At IRE24, get training on environmental reporting with panels like "Investigating toxic chemicals" and "Investigating trash."

Investigating the public relations machine within policing

A 2020 Los Angeles Times investigation found that the LAPD and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spend millions of dollars every year on public relations, with investigative reporter Maya Lau reporting on several instances of events spun to reflect favorably on police officers.

In 2021, Sofía Mejías Pascoe at the Voice of San Diego reported a similar story, showing increased public funding for private PR and crisis response firms. But does the public know how their money is being spent?

At IRE24, Lau and Pascoe will offer a behind the scenes look at how their investigations and teach you how to take on similar stories. Get additional training on covering police with panels like "Investigating sheriffs," "How to report on what goes on in prisons and jails" and "Finding the story: Police accountability data."

Go FOIA yourself

Have you been FOIA'd yet? Submitting records requests about yourself can be more insightful than you'd think. You might get unexpected records from a PR person or find out who they are turning to for outside help on your story.

Join this all-star, all-local crew of speakers at IRE24! Featuring Jason Leopold of Bloomberg News, Tyler Kingkade of NBC News and Keri Blakinger of the Los Angeles Times (a 2023 IRE Award finalist for "Peddling Death: Fentanyl in Mexican Pharmacies").

Other sessions on the public records track include "Filing a better FOIA request" and "Tools for FOIA and large project organization."

Covering college campuses

From student protests to campus funding, colleges and universities are rife with opportunities for investigative reporting. If you're a student or journalist covering higher education, consider joining panels like "How to cover protests safely and accurately," "Investigating campus sexual assault" and "Storyball: Finding ideas in sports data." Reminder: students can register for IRE24 at a flat rate of $100.

We also have sessions specifically for educators, including "Tackling big projects with student journalists."

What's new at IRE24?

The IRE Conference has some key moments each year: classes taught by the best and brightest in journalism, the Thursday night Welcome Reception, and of course, the inspirational IRE Awards Luncheon. But we’re always looking for ways to improve our programming and keep up with industry trends.

Read our blog post about what's new this year, including a new and improved "Deep Dive" track.

Don't miss out on IRE's top-notch journalism training. Browse the conference schedule and register here. We hope to see you in Anaheim!

Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) is the nation’s premier training organization for investigative journalism. We provide training, resources and a community of support to journalists around the world. Interested in becoming a member? Learn more here.

#IRE24 | June 20-23, 2024 | Anaheim, CA

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