Follow the latest news out of the conference on IRE’s 2010 Conference blog. IRE will be blogging panels from the conference and tweeting tips throughout the day.

UNLV students Nicole Villoria and Gregan Wingert will blog events, as well as freelance journalist Cesar Arredondo and Nathan Tobey of PBS Frontline.

Remember to follow IRE on Twitter at @ire_nicar for more information and IRE members will be tweeting with the hashtag #IRE10 at the conference.

The Las Vegas Sun is our our host for the 2010 Conference, which is underway and runs June 10-13.

Watch IRE's Web site, Twitter and Facebook pages to learn about panel discussions, speakers, hands-on classes, mini-boot camps, speakers and special events as they're announced.

Pre-day sessions on Thursday, June 10

The optional sessions will cover computer-assisted reporting, Covering Criminal Justice, and more. An additional registration fee applies.

• Pre-Day Registration - $50
• Student Pre-Day - $35

Keynote Speaker: Vivian Schiller, President and CEO of NPR

Schiller

Media executive and journalist with more than 20 years experience in the industry, Vivian Schiller joined NPR as President and CEO on January 5, 2009. She comes to NPR from The New York Times Company where she served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of NYTimes.com.

As President and CEO, Schiller oversees all NPR operations and initiatives, including the organization's critical partnerships with our 800+ member stations, and their service to the more than 26 million people who listen to NPR programming every week.
Read more...

IRE Showcase Panels explore role of new watchdog centers, anonymous sourcing

Wilson

IRE will host two Showcase Panels at this year's conference. The first panel, Sustainability: Mining new models for new ideas, examines how independent watchdog centers can survive in the changing media landscape. The second panel, Walking the tightrope: The risks and rewards of anonymous sources, looks at the thorny issues surrounding anonymous sources and documents and features former covert CIA operations officer Valerie Plame Wilson among the panelists.
Read more...

Free Reynolds Business Journalism Workshop Wednesday, June 9

Come to Vegas a day before the IRE Conference begins and attend a free workshop presented by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism.

The workshop, Investigative Business Journalism on a Beat, will feature Alec Klein, professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. During this workshop, Klein will take you through the investigative story from start to finish: refining and pitching an idea, developing and interviewing sources, plumbing public documents, and organizing and presenting the story effectively in multimedia.

For additional information or to register visit the Reynolds site.

Broadcast Show-and-Tell

For broadcasters, the Show-and-Tell sessions at the upcoming IRE conference offer new ways to share your investigations with colleagues from around the country. The sessions kick off earlier than in the past, starting Thursday afternoon. Check into your hotel on Thursday, then bring your DVD to the Show-and-Tell room. Don't want to show your quick-turn investigation up against projects that took months? Show-and-Tell sessions on Friday afternoon are limited to quick-turn investigations! Then, you can wrap up the conference Saturday afternoon with one last dose of Show and Tell. (DVDs only!) Sign-up sheets for available slots will be outside Vendome C beginning Thursday afternoon.

Building Investigative Centers

Learn about ways to build and fund the future of investigative journalism through the development of state and regional centers. This special track of Thursday panels will focus on the challenges involved in creating and operating such centers and the creative approaches journalists are taking to building successful operations. Sessions will last from 1-5 p.m. and will examine the do's and don'ts of fund raising, a new pro-bono legal network, the best ways to take advantage of technology and the challenges faced by those who have already taken the plunge.

The program is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, California Watch, Center for Investigative Reporting, The Center for Public Integrity, the Knight Chair in Investigative & Enterprise Reporting at the University of Illinois and ProPublica, and is being organized in conjunction with the Investigative News Network.

Mentoring

The conference offers an opportunity for in-depth, one-on-one coaching on investigative reporting. These private sessions allow attendees to seek advice on challenging stories or followup ideas. You must have registered for the conference and have signed up for a mentor by May 14.

IRE pairs those who signed up with a mentor and contact information is provided to both mentors and those who want to be mentored. Mentors and mentees can then agree on a time and place to meet at the conference.

Read how a mentor helped the mentee publish her first book and other success stories.

These sessions are not for job seekers; they are designed for teaching and sharing information. Mentees should bring examples of work and story ideas. (Note: IRE is unable to provide private access to audiovisual equipment for broadcast mentoring. Please make your own arrangements if your mentor agrees to review a work sample.)

Speaker Info

Speakers: For instructions on sending tipsheets click here.