Watch this recording from MuckRock's Sunlight Research Center and award-winning investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell for a practical workshop on reopening and reporting on cold cases, and finding the truth buried in decades-old evidence. Drawing on his experience helping solve cold cases, Mitchell walks through how to piece together investigations that law enforcement left unresolved and how to turn fragments of old records into new leads.

In this workshop, Sunlight Research Desk and Anna Massoglia walked through how to use public and open-source records to identify who really controls entities; trace entities across jurisdictions even when data is fragmented; uncover cross-border foreign influence and lobbying; connect corporate structures to political and financial power; and navigate language and cultural barriers when records aren’t in English.

Join experts from MuckRock and Sunlight for a hands-on session exploring how to use public records laws to investigate state and local politicians and candidates. This workshop will prepare you to file effective requests, handle common pushback, and use state transparency laws to uncover vital information. Whether you’re new to FOIA or looking to sharpen your skills, you’ll walk away equipped to access the records your community needs to make informed decisions at the ballot

Join Sunlight’s investigative research experts for a deep dive into the political pasts of state and local candidates and elected officials. This session will equip you with the tools to uncover a politician’s voting history, campaign involvement, public statements and policy positions. After this workshop, you’ll be ready to piece together political narratives that inform your audience about the background of politicians seeking to lead their community. 

Sunlight investigative experts will teach you to find key personal financial details for state and local politicians. After this session, you’ll be better prepared to analyze assets, business connections and financial disclosures to inform your audience about the financial background of the candidates seeking their trust.

Join research experts from Sunlight Research Center for a focused workshop that will show you how to thoroughly background state and local candidates without relying on expensive proprietary databases. After this session, you’ll be ready to conduct deep candidate research that helps voters understand who's asking for their vote.

Join investigative journalist Andrea Ball for a hands-on workshop exploring the art and craft of narrative investigations — a storytelling approach that uses real people as the engine of deep, fact-based journalism.

Join The Marshall Project, Arizona Luminaria, Ocala Gazette, and Sunlight Research Center for a hands-on workshop on investigating deaths in custody — a largely underreported and deeply consequential issue.

Join Sunlight Research Center, Data Rescue Project (DRP), MuckRock, and the Data Curation Network (DCN) for a workshop on identifying, preserving and reporting on government data. In an era where federal data is at risk of disappearing or being altered, this training will equip you with the tools and knowledge to safeguard critical information.

Join Sunlight Research Center and Trusting News Network for a hands-on workshop on building stronger relationships between newsrooms and communities. In an era of mistrust, this session will equip journalists with actionable strategies to demonstrate credibility and actively earn audience trust.

Join Sunlight Research Center and Andrea Suozzo, lead maintainer of ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer, for a deep dive into nonprofits and the financial records they file. After this session, you’ll be able to confidently navigate IRS Form 990s, spot red flags and uncover important details about nonprofit finances and operations.

Watch this panel recording with Tony Plohetski and Daphne Duret, investigative journalists with tools and tips for impactful investigations.

Watch this panel recording with Walter Smith Randolph and Andrea Ball, investigative journalists with tools and tips for investigations.

This workshop recording shows social platforms that can be useful in background reporting and finding more information on an individual.

Watch this workshop recording to learn what you can find and analyze in personal financial disclosures from members of Congress.

This workshop recording shows how to find more information about an individual's professional and educational background.

This workshop recording shows different ways to track legislators at the state and local levels.

This workshop recording is the first session in our series of five, in which we discuss the importance of and ways to start backgrounding.

Watch It's All Political to learn from our partners at OpenSecrets about various tips and tricks for tracking political history.

Learn tools and techniques to investigate businesses from Sunlight, Lecia Kaslofsky, and Laurie Cohen.