Jim Heaney

Jim Heaney is editor and executive director of Investigative Post. He was an investigative reporter with The Buffalo News from 1986 to 2011 and a reporter and editor with The Orlando Sentinel from 1980-86. His coverage over the years has focused on economic development, local and state government, politics, education, housing and transportation, and he was an early practitioner of computer-assisted reporting. Heaney has won more than 20 journalism awards and was a finalist for the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting.

May 11

2017

Buffalo Niagara’s middling job gains

To hear Gov. Andrew Cuomo tell it, the Western New York economy is a “national success story.” Indeed, there has been improvement during his six years in office, including the addition of 29,500 jobs and a drop in the unemployment rate. But while Buffalo Niagara is faring well against its sorry history, the region’s recovery is modest by national standards, an Investigative Post analysis found. Its job growth during the Cuomo years is one-half to one-quarter the national average, depending on which statistics you use. And half the drop in the unemployment rate can be attributed to a shrinking workforce,[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Apr 25

2017

Heaney talks mayoral race on ‘Pressroom

Jim Heaney handicaps Buffalo’s upcoming race for mayor with Susan Arbetter on The Capitol Pressroom. Heaney, in an interview taped April 20, said challenger Mark Schroeder, the city comptroller, faces an uphill battle against incumbent Byron Brown. But he cited several factors that could change the dynamics of the election, including a decision by Erie County Legislator Betty Jean Grant to enter the Democratic primary. Grant announced several days after the interview that she, indeed, intended to enter the race.

Posted 8 years ago

Mar 30

2017

Heaney talks subsidy reform in ‘Pressroom

Continuing a discussion that started Tuesday on Capitol Pressroom, Jim Heaney and Susan Arbetter discuss the “State of Subsidies” series published this week by Investigative Post in partnership with ProPublica and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Posted 8 years ago

Mar 30

2017

Heaney discusses subsidies on WBFO

Jay Moran, host of WBFO’s morning edition, interviewed Jim Heaney on the subsidy series published this week by Investigative Post in partnership with ProPublica and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Posted below is the unabridged version of the interview. An edited version aired on WBFO.

Posted 8 years ago

Mar 28

2017

Heaney talks subsidies with ‘Pressroom

Susan Arbetter of The Capitol Pressroom interviews Jim Heaney on the “State of Subsidies” series being published this week by Investigative Post and select newspapers across the state. They were joined partway through the interview by E.J. McMahon, research director of the Empire Center for Public Policy, and Ron Deutsch, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute.

Posted 8 years ago

Mar 27

2017

Heaney talks subsidies with WNYC

Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney, in an interview with New York City’s NPR station, discusses the key findings of the first installment of “State of Subsidies,” a series produced in collaboration with ProPublica and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. The complete lineup of stories and interviews can be found here.

Posted 8 years ago

Mar 2

2017

Heaney talks Buffalo police on ‘Pressroom

Susan Arbetter of The Capitol Pressroom interviewed Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney on Thursday about his organization’s recent reporting on problems within the Buffalo Police Department. Recent stories include a story Heaney did with Steve Brown of WGRZ on the city’s low homicide clearance rate and a piece by Daniela Porat on a the inadequate monitoring of police conduct.

Posted 8 years ago

Mar 1

2017

Still getting away with murder in Buffalo

Two years ago, Investigative Post and WGRZ teamed up to examine the Buffalo Police Department’s inability to solve murders. At the time, police were solving only about a quarter of homicides. A follow-up investigation which aired Wednesday on WGRZ found the department still has a low batting average. Police have cleared only 38 percent of murders committed in the past three years, including 25 percent last year. That compares with a national clearance rate of about 60 percent. Investigative Post and WGRZ found that police are clearing about three-quarters of murders involving robberies, domestic disputes, child abuse and the like.[...]

Posted 8 years ago