MEMBER NEWS

Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. The IRE Journal, Summer 2009

Michael Beebe and Maki Becker have written "The Bike Path Killer," which chronicles the life of Altemio Sanchez, a seemingly respectable community member who raped and murdered women in the Buffalo, N.Y., area for 30 years.

Abbie Boudreau and Scott Zamost of CNN won a 2009 national Clarion Award for investigative reporting for their series "Hurricane Giveaway."

Dwayne Bray and William Weinbaum of ESPN were part of a team that won a 2009 Deadline Club Award in feature reporting for "The Lyman Bostock Tragedy," which aired on "Outside the Lines."

Ron Chepesiuk's book "Black Gangsters of Chicago" won a 2009 National Indie Excellence Book Award in the African American nonfiction category, and his book "Gangsters of Harlem" won in the true crime category. He also was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach journalism in Indonesia.

Dan Froomkin is now the Washington bureau chief and blogger for The Huffingion Post.

Elaine M. Grossman won first place in the Society of Professional Journalists 2008 Washington Dateline Awards in the daily newspaper-general news category for "Critics question Army readiness for post-WMD-attack domestic patrols." The article was published in the National Journal Group's Global Security Newswire.

Brad Heath and Blake Morrison of USA Today won the 2009 Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment for "The Smokestack Effect: Toxic air and America's schools."

Mark Katches is now editorial director of California Watch, a nonprofit reporting initiative under the Center for Investigative Reporting. He was deputy managing editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Meg Kissinger and Susanne Rust of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel received an award of special merit from the Grantham Prize jurors for "Chemical Fallout."

Julie Kramer has written "Missing Mark," which is a sequel to her debut novel "Stalking Susan" that won the Minnesota Book Award for genre fiction and best first mystery from the RT Reviewers Choice Awards.

Jennifer Peebles of Texas Watchdog received the Open Doors Award from the Fort Worth Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for making Texas legislators' financial disclosures available via an interactive online map.

Rob Perez and others at the Honolulu Advertiser won the 2009 Award for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma for "Crossing the Line: Abuse in Hawaii Home."

Benny Polacca joined the Osage News in Pawhuska, OkIa., as a staff writer in March. He previously worked as a reporter for The Forum in Fargo, N.D.

Maurice Possley, who left the Chicago Tribune in 2008, is joining the Northern California Innocence Project at Santa Clara University Law School.

Steve Rhodes is the founder, editor and publisher of www.BeachwoodReporter.com. The Web site, along with www.ChicagoTalks.org, was awarded best online investigative project by independent media in 2008 by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Sherry Ricchiardi, a professor at the Indiana University School of Journalism and a writer for American Journalism Review, has won the National Press Club's Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism for a second time.

Hank Phillippi Ryan of WHDH-Boston won the Agatha Award for best first novel for her debut mystery "Prime Time." Her series of mysteries featuring investigative reporter Charlotte McNaIIy continues from MIRA Books with "Face Time" in July, "Air Time" in August and "Drive Time" in February 2010.

Ed Sharpe of the Glendaie Daily Planet won the third annual Arizona Media Diversity Award, which is given by the Arizona Association of Black Journalists.

John Wasik has written "The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome," a book that digs into the housing crisis. He also has written "The Audacity of Help," which investigates the Obama administration's stimulus plan and budget and was published in August.

Rosemary Winters, Matt Canham and Matthew D. LaPlante of The Salt Lake Tribune won the Roy B. Gibson Freedom of Information Award from the Utah Society of Professional Journalists for stories on secret bonuses paid to Sandy City officials.

Please send Member News items to Doug Haddix (doug@ire.org). Read updates online at http://data.nicar.org/irejournal/membernews.