Articles for Investigative Post staff

Jul 12

2022

iPost’s redistricting coverage in The Nation

For the past month, Investigative Post’s Geoff Kelly has been covering the showdown between Buffalo’s Common Council and a coalition of activists and good government organizations over the once-in-a-decade opportunity to redraw the city’s Council districts. First he set up the conflict, providing background on the gerrymandering of a decade ago, then reporting on the largely opaque process undertaken by the Council this year and the mobilization of those urging the Council to do a better job. Then he described the extraordinary June 28 public hearing on the Council’s plan, which kept the current gerrymandered districts largely the same. More[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Jun 7

2022

Heaney to lecture at Chautauqua

Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney is teaching a three-day class on the media next month at the Chautauqua Institution. Here’s the synopsis for Heaney’s class, entitled The Media In Crisis: Causes and Consequences: Journalism is in crisis, and with it, democracy. We’ll examine the economic, social, political and technological forces that have undermined mainstream media outlets at both the local and national level, and explain the ramifications on civil society. We’ll also examine the rise of nonprofit news outlets and their growing reach and influence. Heaney is the founder, editor and executive director of Investigative Post, a nonprofit investigative reporting[...]

Posted 3 years ago

May 4

2022

Investigative Post is hiring

Investigative Post is seeking an aggressive reporter to produce deeply reported, high-impact investigative and enterprise stories on urban affairs in Buffalo, NY, for our website and television and radio partners. We are seeking a reporter who: Is aggressive and has produced in-depth stories on any subject. We don’t expect everyone to be an “investigative” reporter, but we are looking for someone who has shown they can dig for the truth and has a passion for stories that are both important and written in an engaging way. Wants to hone their investigative reporting skills for digital, radio and television audiences, and[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Mar 4

2022

iPost sues over suppressed stadium records

Investigative Post filed a lawsuit Monday in state Supreme Court seeking the release of an engineering report that assessed the condition of Highmark Stadium. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Pegula Sports and Entertainment have asserted the stadium is in need of replacement. But the county, which commissioned an engineering study completed in 2021, has refused to provide details. The study, conducted by the engineering firm DiDonato Associates, identified problems with the upper deck and water and electrical systems while concluding that the 50-year-old stadium “remains in overall fair to good condition.” Investigative Post requested a copy of the report[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Feb 23

2022

Changes afoot at WGRZ

Big doings this week at WGRZ. Tuesday came the announcement that the station’s parent company, TEGNA, has been sold, pending approval by shareholders and the FCC. The buyer, Standard General, a hedge fund, presently owns just a handful of television stations; TEGNA consists of 64 stations, three of which will be sold as part of the transaction. TEGNA, NextStar and Sinclair, are considered the “Big Three” of television chains. Standard General is presently TEGNA’s largest shareholder. Ownership of the stations will go private when the transaction is finalized, which is expected in the second half of this year. The Manhattan-based[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Feb 21

2022

Subscribe to our newsletter for free

Editor’s note: WeeklyPost is an email newsletter written by Jim Heaney and published Sunday mornings. It recaps our coverage of the previous week and highlights other local, state and national stories that Heaney finds of interest, along with a bit of commentary. If you don’t already subscribe, you can do so at this link. To give you a flavor, here’s a sampling of the “What I’m Reading” section of yesterday’s newsletter. The Buffalo News published some very good pieces last week. Matt Spina reported on how former Erie County Sheriff Tim Howard continues to sponge off taxpayers. Mark Sommer reported on the[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Feb 7

2022

DailyPost

Welcome to Daily Post, which we’ll produce Monday through Friday, featuring short enterprise pieces and summaries of full-length stories. Thursday, March 3, 2022 Cash calls it quits Kriner Cash has officially cashed out as Buffalo schools’ superintendent. He’s resigned after leading the district for five and a half years. The district’s Board of Education unanimously accepted his resignation at a special work session tonight. “Both the Board and the superintendent came to an agreement that we were going to part ways,” Board of Education President Louis Petrucci said. The full terms of the agreement aren’t clear — “You can FOIL[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Jan 11

2022

Top iPost story of the year

Readers voted Phil Gambini’s report on high levels of E. coli bacteria in local waterways at our top story of 2021. Blame it on the discharge of untreated sewage which is spewed into waterways after heavy rains.. Gambini reported: There’s a particular problem with the Black Rock Canal, popular with fishermen, the occasional swimmer and, most notably, the West Side Rowing Club and high school and college crew teams. E. coli readings consistently exceed safe limits — by up to 14 times — established by the federal government. “There are people coming in contact with water with E. coli from[...]

Posted 3 years ago