Jennifer Preston welcomes students at the Knight Scholars luncheon at IRE 2016. Photo by Michael Bolden.

We’re attending the 2016 Investigative Reporters and Editors Conference in New Orleans this week, a convening that highlights the best in investigative journalism while providing a forum for sharing techniques, tools and ideas that help move journalism forward.

Knight Foundation is one of the primary sponsors of the conference being held through June 19 at the New Orleans Marriott, while Knight Scholars from historically black universities and colleges are writing about the event.

Knight is also supporting several panels, including “Tools and Tips for the Reporting Process,” “Robots That Report: How Fact-Checkers Worldwide Are Experimenting With Automation,” and a conversation with the 2016 winners of the Livingston Awards. Conferees also have a chance to hear from several Knight grantees, including DocumentCloud, ProPublica and many others.  

Members of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) are also gathered in New Orleans, holding business development workshops alongside IRE events. Knight hosted the INN group during a reception Wednesday night at the International House Hotel.

Follow the IRE Conference blog for updates, check out tip sheets from the conference, and track the conversation on Twitter using #IRE16. Audio from most conference sessions will be available later on the IRE website.

Michael D. Bolden is editorial director of Knight Foundation. Email him via [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @michaelbolden.