The Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting
idabwellssociety.bsky.social
The Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting
@idabwellssociety.bsky.social
The Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting aims to increase the ranks, retention and profile of reporters/editors of color in investigative reporting.

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We're back!

The Ida B. Wells Society Summer Investigative Reporting Internship Program is back for 2026!

Learn more about this year's program and apply here: idabwellssociety.org/ida-b-wells-...
Religion is an intrinsic part of people’s lives. But these very factors make reporting on religions and faiths challenging. Journalists at GIJC25 spoke about how to find stories and angles when reporting on issues linked with religious groups and faith-based cults.
gijn.org/stories/gijc...
The Business of Faith: How to Investigate Cults and Religious Groups
Tackling religion stories can require creative ways to overcome lack of access, and how to seek help during difficult times.
gijn.org
December 9, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Data about LGBTQ+ experiences and identities is either missing, mislabeled, inconsistently collected, contradictory, or trapped in dozens of incompatible systems. When data doesn’t exist, journalists must collect it and create it.
gijn.org/stories/gijc...
Tips and Advice for Investigating the Stories that Impact the LGBTQ+ Community
Rising political backlash and harmful policies threaten queer lives. Covering systemic failures that affect LGBTQ+ people requires rigorous, sensitive reporting.
gijn.org
December 8, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Chicago-area hospitals recently initiated hundreds of guardianship petitions in just 18 months, a Tribune investigation has found, sometimes to the dismay of family members or friends who did not want people they loved to be placed under someone else’s control.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/23/g...
Chicago hospitals funnel patients into long-lasting guardianships, angering friends and family
Chicago-area hospitals recently initiated hundreds of guardianship petitions in just 18 months, a Chicago Tribune investigation has found.
www.chicagotribune.com
December 8, 2025 at 3:38 PM
#JournalismJobs The Idaho Statesman seeks an accountability editor/reporter who will spend about 80% of their time managing three to five reporters with a focus on investigative journalism and the other 20% working on their own reporting projects.
idabwellssociety.org/job/mcclatch...
Accountability Editor/Reporter – Ida B. Wells Society
Ida B. Wells Society
idabwellssociety.org
December 5, 2025 at 9:15 PM
NPR spent months looking into Trajector, a company that started with a mission to help disabled vets, but that former workers say now is intent on aggressive debt collection and maximizing profits.
www.npr.org/2025/12/02/n...
www.npr.org
December 5, 2025 at 5:27 PM
ProPublica identified 30 regulatory actions taken by the DOT under the new administration that current and former agency officials as well as safety advocates said are at odds with the agency’s mission to protect the public.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
How Trump’s Transportation Department Is Loosening Safety Rules Meant to Protect the Public
ProPublica has identified dozens of instances in which the Trump administration’s DOT has moved to cut, soften or delay safety regulations for cars, trucks, planes, trains and even oil pipelines.…
www.propublica.org
December 4, 2025 at 9:15 PM
We're excited to partner with Report for America for a webinar where our members can learn more about Report for America before applications open in January!

Join us on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. ET using this link!

thegtp-org.zoom.us/j/8807370244...
December 4, 2025 at 5:27 PM
The US Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious, The AP found. The program has resulted in people being stopped, searched and in some cases arrested.
apnews.com/article/immi...
Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with 'suspicious' travel patterns
The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious.
apnews.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Just over a month to apply to our two flagship training programs: the Investigative Reporting Internship and the Investigative Reporting Fellowship!

Learn more about both programs and apply by Jan. 3:
idabwellssociety.org/ida-b-wells-...
idabwellssociety.org/the-ida-b-we...
December 3, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Burning Skies, a year-long cross-border, collaborative investigation revealed that companies, including BP and ExxonMobil, understated flaring emissions across Africa and the Middle East, obscuring damage to the environment and people’s health.
gijn.org/stories/gijc...
How to Investigate the Impact of Global Energy Companies on Local Public Health
Multimedia investigations across Africa and the Middle East highlight the links between environmental damage and public health, while seeking to expose who is responsible.
gijn.org
December 2, 2025 at 9:15 PM
When you give to the Ida B. Wells Society, you support efforts to increase and maintain the ranks, retention and profile of reporters and editors of color in the kind of journalism that significantly benefits the public interest. #GivingTuesday
idabwellssociety.org/support-the-...
SUPPORT THE SOCIETY – Ida B. Wells Society
Ida B. Wells Society
idabwellssociety.org
December 2, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Alaska's rural schools have been neglected for decades. In some cases, the buildings that function as safe havens in times of emergency are becoming emergencies themselves.
www.npr.org/2025/11/10/g...
www.npr.org
December 1, 2025 at 9:15 PM
In states that ban abortion, patients with chronic conditions and other high-risk pregnancies often have nowhere to turn. They enter pregnancy sick and are expected to get sicker. Yet lawmakers who wrote the bans have refused to create exceptions for health risks.
www.propublica.org/article/texa...
“Ticking Time Bomb”: A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas.
Walker is one of several women ProPublica found with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions.
www.propublica.org
December 1, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Our two major programs accepting applications right now!

The Investigative Reporting Fellowship and Internship are free programs designed to train journalists to do investigative journalism work.

Applications for both are due Jan. 3, 2026!
Learn more: idabwellssociety.org
November 26, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arrested in a Chicago raid are telling their stories.
www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontli...
After Midnight Raid on Chicago Building, No One Was Charged With a Crime | FRONTLINE | PBS | Official Site | Documentary Series
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over a Chicago building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. The Venezuelans arrested in the…
www.pbs.org
November 25, 2025 at 9:15 PM
An obvious recommendation that’s worth repeating: back every claim you make with documents and data, and fact check everything, the panelists said. This will help you in any court proceedings and protect your reputation.
gijn.org/stories/gijc...
5 Tips on How to (More) Safely Investigate in Authoritarian States
Four journalists working in authoritarian countries or regions where democracy is backsliding offer their advice on how to deal with the reporting challenges.
gijn.org
November 25, 2025 at 5:27 PM
The investigative project has mapped nearly 3,000 “influence actions” by the tech industry. This reporting has revealed how Google obtained leverage over the media, how proponents of building more data centers made dubious claims about their benefits and more.
themarkup.org/hello-world/...
How American Big Tech guards the profits it extracts around the world – The Markup
A consortium of journalists is revealing how the industry influences governments in Latin America and globally.
themarkup.org
November 24, 2025 at 9:15 PM
We're holding an info session for the Investigative Reporting Fellowship today, Nov. 24 at 6 p.m. ET!

Get answers to your questions and learn what will make your application stand out among the others!

Register here: morehouse.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
November 24, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Over the last year, KYUK, NPR and ProPublica have documented a health and safety crisis inside many rural school buildings across Alaska. The state has largely ignored hundreds of requests from rural school districts to fix deteriorating buildings.
www.npr.org/2025/11/17/g...
Alaska owns dozens of crumbling schools. It wants underfunded districts to take them on
Rural school district superintendents are trying to find the best use of limited resources. Taking on the state's unmaintained buildings, they say, will only increase their burden.
www.npr.org
November 21, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Happening Monday, 11/24: We're answering all your questions about the Investigative Reporting Fellowship!

Join us at 6 p.m. ET to learn about this program and how to build a strong application.

morehouse.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
November 21, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Applications for cohort 2 of the Investigative Reporting Fellowship are open!

We're holding a live info session where you can get answers to all your questions about the program and learn how to make your application strong. Join us 11/24 at 6 p.m. ET.

morehouse.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
November 20, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Months after fighting to keep secret emails between Gov. Greg Abbott and Elon Musk, Texas officials released 1,400 pages of records. But they reveal little about the two men’s relationship or Musk’s influence over state government.
www.propublica.org/article/greg...
Gov. Greg Abbott Was Ordered to Release Some of His Emails With Elon Musk. Most Are Blacked Out.
Months after fighting to keep secret emails between Gov. Greg Abbott and Elon Musk, Texas officials released 1,400 pages of records. But they reveal little about the two men’s relationship or Musk’s i...
www.propublica.org
November 20, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Interested in our Investigative Reporting Fellowship but want more information? Join us on Monday, Nov. 24 at 6 p.m. ET for an info session on the application process and the program.

Register to attend here: morehouse.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
November 19, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Applications for cohort 2 of the Ida B Wells Society Investigative Reporting Fellowship are now open!

This intensive program is designed to sharpen participants' investigative reporting skills under the guidance of accomplished reporters/editors in the industry.
idabwellssociety.org/the-ida-b-we...
November 19, 2025 at 5:27 PM
New from Society Investigative Reporting Intern Dasia Garner:

"An investigation by The Associated Press found that over the past 10 years, hundreds of school crossing guards have suffered injuries on the job after being hit by a vehicle, and dozens of them have died."

apnews.com/article/scho...
School crossing guards face life-threatening dangers on the job
An investigation by The Associated Press and Cox Media Group Television Stations found that school crossing guards face dangerous conditions, with many injured or killed on the job.
apnews.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:15 PM