April 2012 Archive
Meet the Media Companies Lobbying Against Transparency
Corporations that own some of the country’s biggest news outlets are fighting an FCC measure to post political ad data on the Internet.
A Punishment BP Can’t Pay Off
What is missing is a criminal prosecution that holds BP individuals responsible.
The EPA’s First Fracking Rules — Limited and Delayed
The nation’s first ever standards for fracking, which apply to air pollution and not groundwater, won’t take full effect until 2015.
Read the Tax Returns From Karl Rove’s ‘Dark Money’ Group (Donors Still a Mystery)
The returns for nonprofit Crossroads GPS are the first glimpse of how much the group, which has spent millions on political ads, raised in 2010 and 2011.
Whale of a Problem: Regulators Subvert Will of Congress
Congress wrote in protections to prevent banks from disguising proprietary trading. But regulators are weakening the law.
Selfless Tee Offers ProPublica T-Shirts
We're very happy to announce a partnership with the folks at Selfless Tee to produce ProPublica T-shirts.
Broadcasters Are ‘Against Transparency,’ Says FCC Chairman
Julius Genachowski criticizes TV stations for trying to keep political ad data off the Internet.
No Forensic Background? No Problem
There are no national standards for forensic experts. This is how I, a journalism grad student, became certified by the American College of Forensic Examiners International, a leading provider of forensic credentials.
Updated: Dialysis Facility Tracker
ProPublica obtained data about the performance of more than 5,000 U.S. dialysis clinics. Our Dialysis Facility Tracker allows patients to compare clinics on such measures as patient survival, infection control, hospitalization rates and transplant rates.
Big Banks Slack on Maintaining Foreclosed Homes in Minority Areas, Complaint Charges
Housing advocates allege that Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank violated the Fair Housing Act by taking better care of foreclosed homes in white neighborhoods than in black and Latino neighborhoods.
Why the FCC Fined Google Just 68 Seconds in Profits
The FCC found that Google stonewalled a probe. The punishment? $25,000.
Bank of New York Case Tests IRS Power to Halt Foreign Tax Abuses
A trial starting Monday in tax court will decide whether a complex financial deal developed by Barclays allowed the Bank of New York to claim foreign tax credits for “phantom” expenses booked in the U.K.
Behind Closed Doors, Broadcasters Battle Online Disclosure of Political Ad Buys
TV stations are taking their lobbying efforts directly to the FCC, which is expected to vote later this month on whether public data about what ads are bought, who bought them and for how much must be posted online.
Top MuckReads: Bahrain’s PR, Juvenile Detention and a Jump in Justifiable Homicides
The best accountability journalism of the past week.
Four Big Takeaways From This Week’s Fracking Talk
In case you couldn’t make it, or don’t have time to watch the hour-plus recording, we pulled out the highlights.
The Return of CREEP
New FEC filings show 324 super PACs, including 159 with money and one named for the infamous fundraising committee embroiled in the Watergate scandal
