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.
Mar 27
2017
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.
Mar 2
2017
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.
Mar 1
2017
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.[...]
Feb 22
2017
Today marks a milestone for Investigative Post: We celebrate our fifth year in business. We launched with what turned out to be a prophetic story: an analysis of what was then a fledgling program known as the Buffalo Billion. I quoted experts offering advice on how to make smart use of the money and cautioning against the temptation of spending tax dollars to secure on trophy projects. I re-read the story a couple of months ago and it seems as though Gov. Andrew Cuomo has done the opposite of what the experts recommended. Investigative Post has built its reputation for[...]
Jan 19
2017
Susan Arbetter of The Capitol Pressroom interviews Jim Heaney on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed second phase of the Buffalo Billion. Heaney’s take: It doesn’t have much to do with economic development. He also discusses Howard Zemsky, the state’s economic development czar and Buffalo civic leader.
Jan 11
2017
WBFO reporter Michael Mroziak interviews Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to extend the Buffalo Billion program with an additional $500 million in funding. Heaney previously provided analysis to WGRZ on the topic.
Jan 9
2017
WGRZ News Anchor Maryalice Demler interviewed Editor Jim Heaney hours after Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled a broad outline of a $500 million extension of his Buffalo Billion program. You can catch Heaney’s comments in the video below or in the slightly revised text that follows. Heaney also provided analysis to WBFO. What do you find striking in the governor’s proposal? It’s very short on spending details. There’s no talk of reforms to avoid the corruption we’ve seen so far in the programs. But more than that, a lot of the spending has little or nothing to do with economic development. I[...]
Jan 5
2017
Susan Arbetter of The Capitol Pressroom interviews Jim Heaney on Carl Paladino’s latest outburst and his history of transgressions. The interview, which aired Thursday, runs from 22:16 to 36:51. It complements blog posts Heaney wrote regarding Paladino that can be found here and here.