Articles for Investigative Post staff

Aug 15

2022

Judge tosses libel lawsuit against iPost

A state Supreme Court judge has dismissed a libel lawsuit brought by a Buffalo developer against Investigative Post and reporter Dan Telvock.  State Supreme Court Judge Mark Montour also ruled developer James Sweizy and his company Greenleaf Development & Construction failed to prove Telvock’s story, published in 2017, contained any false information and dismissed a related “injurious falsehood” claim.  The 2017 report documented how officials at SUNY Buffalo State failed to follow usual procurement rules in dealing with Greenleaf regarding construction of student housing adjacent to the Elmwood Avenue campus. The story also reported that Swiezy gave a college official[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Aug 12

2022

Meet Investigative Post’s newest reporter

The hiring of I’Jaz Ja’ciel completes the rebuilding of Investigative Post’s reporting staff. A Buffalo native, Ja’ciel comes to Investigative Post from Spectrum News, where she was a multimedia, general assignment journalist. Before that, she was a weekend anchor for WBFO. Ja’ciel, 29, earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism at SUNY Buffalo State, winning numerous awards for academic excellence. She went on to earn a master’s degree from Buffalo State in data science and analytics. “I’Jaz brings a lot of skills, including broadcast production and data-based reporting, to our newsroom,” said Editor Jim Heaney. Said Ja’ciel: “Having lived in Buffalo[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Aug 9

2022

iPost adds another reporter

Garrett Looker has joined Investigative Post’s reporting staff. An Indiana native, Looker won a Best News Feature award from the Iowa Newspaper Association while an intern at the Sioux City Journal. While a student at Ball State University, he produced and directed award-winning documentary videos — one examining the history of racial segregation in Muncie, another following Ball State’s bid to take over the city’s struggling public school system. Looker, 25, earned a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism and a master’s degree in digital storytelling from Ball State. “Garrett’s skill set as a storyteller, visual and otherwise, makes him a[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Jul 18

2022

Investigative Post adds a reporter

J. Dale Shoemaker has joined the reporting staff of Investigative Post. A native of central Pennsylvania, he most recently reported for The Sun News in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He worked for three years with PublicSource, a nonprofit news organization in Pittsburgh after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, where he served as managing editor of The Pitt News, the student newspaper which publishes daily. He also served a stint as reporter at the Newark Star-Ledger. Shoemaker’s reporting for PublicSource prompted Pittsburgh to pass a transparency law for city contracts that requires the release of additional information on spending prior[...]

Posted 2 years ago

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 2 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 2 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 2 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 2 years ago
Investigative Post

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