Bits, Bytes and Barks — Uplink Archive

IRE announced the postponement of its Philadelphia national conference to March 2002 due to 9/11 attacks, while promoting a January 2002 DC regional conference on topics including terrorism and the U.S. Census, and updated its NASA Air Safety Reporting System database for journalists.

Bits, Bytes and Barks

NICAR national conference

Because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast, the IRE Board postponed the Philadelphia conference until March 14-17, 2002. Much of the program will be unchanged and the conference will remain in Philadelphia (See details below). However, we are adding new sessions to discuss coverage of the attacks. The conference site is now the Double Tree Hotel (Broad Street at Locust), in the heart of Philly's theater district. For hotel reservations call: (215)-893-1600. Please ask for the Investigative Reporters and Editors room block. Reservation cut-off is Friday, Feb. 8. Room Cost is $129 single/double, $139 triple/quad. For more information call IRE at (573) 882-2042 or go to www.ire.org/training/philly/

DC regional conference

Plan to attend one of the most practical training events in Washington, D.C. The 2002 regional conference, to be held on January 26, will address hot topics like the U.S. Census, terrorism, aviation, health, and education. You can also learn about important Web sites and crucial Internet search techniques. There will also be an optional CAR day on January 27 at the nearby Medill School of Journalism Washington bureau. The conference hosts are The National Press Club, Investigative Reporters and Editors, and the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting. For more information on the conference, including registration information, go to www.ire.org/training/dc00

Data update

The database library recently updated the NASA Air Safety Reporting System database. It is current to February 2001. The ASRS database consists of anonymous reports about aviation safety. Anyone is eligible to file an ASRS report, including air traffic controllers, pilots, flight attendants and passengers. The database has information on more than 98,000 events back to 1988. The cost of the database is: $65 for small news organizations, $130 for medium news organizations and $155 for large news organizations. For more information about the ASRS database or other NICAR databases, go to www.ire.org/datalibrary/databases. To order, call (573) 884-7711 or (573) 884-7332.