ProPublica is a nonprofit news company that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches, a newsletter focused on fraud across the country, and get it delivered to your inbox every week.
In my early days in New Jersey, Newark told me how hundreds of police officers and firefighters obtained anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, and other forms of testosterone at taxpayer expense for medically unnecessary reasons. I vividly remember the Star Ledger reporting on this. It was a masterpiece of local journalism. I had a better understanding of the state I lived in.
Sadly, as Jersey newspapers struggle financially, this type of journalism is even harder to find. Because our state is sandwiched between two large television media markets, New York City and Philadelphia, the issues facing our towns and cities receive less attention.
In fact, The Star Ledger will cease print publication altogether in February and move to an online-only format. In the years leading up to this decision, the paper had imposed multiple layoffs and its content had shrunk, even as the remaining staff continued to produce important journalism. Company executives say they will reinvest funds from ending print publication into its core newsroom.
i hope so. That’s because the decline of the local news industry has become more pronounced with each passing year. Fired. Newspaper closed. There will be fewer investigative stories.
That’s why I’m so proud to share how ProPublica is working to fill this void through the many new initiatives we’ve launched and will continue to roll out in the new year.
In early 2024, we announced the 50-State Initiative, through which we committed to telling our accountability story with partners in all 50 states over the next five years. We are currently working with our first 10 local newsrooms, including a project in North Dakota (the first time we’re working with a news organization in the state), and we plan to select 10 more newsrooms in 2025 is.
As part of this effort, we will pay our reporters’ salaries and benefits for one year, allowing them to work deeply on projects that matter to their communities and regions. We’ll also pair these reporters with editors here and members of ProPublica’s data, investigations, crowdsourcing, and news applications teams to help them apply new and innovative technologies to their reporting. One of the consequences of newsroom downsizing is the significant reduction or elimination of investigative and data teams. Providing partners with access to these resources greatly expands the possibilities for their stories.
The 50-state initiative grew out of the Local Reporting Network, which began in 2018 and has produced nearly 100 projects to date. Those stories changed laws and changed lives. These actions declared a national emergency in Alaska, forgave debt in Memphis, Tennessee, and allocated large sums of money to fix long-standing problems in Idaho and Hawaii. Almost every week, we see the impact of journalism from reporters in our network. Changes were observed in both the blue and red conditions. So many issues are bipartisan. When people notice a problem where they live, they want to solve it.
Reporter Jennifer Smith Richards looks through archived newspapers at the Mount Vernon Public Library in Ohio. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney/ProPublica
This success has been made possible because of our wide range of publications, including traditional newspapers, radio and television stations, and new leadership at nonprofit newsrooms that have stepped up to provide more sources of news for local residents. Because we cooperate. We have learned time and time again that even though people in different communities get their news in different ways, the desire for fact-based reporting transcends location.
Good journalism makes a difference.
Our nonprofit, independent newsroom has one job: to hold those in power accountable. Here’s how our research is driving real-world change.
We are trying something new. Was it helpful?
We will continue to build on this achievement next year. In January, we will launch what we call the Sustainability Desk. The desk will work with former partners to produce stories even after a reporter’s one-year fellowship ends. We are hiring an editor and several other staff members to continue these relationships and identify opportunities to match our partners’ local knowledge with ProPublica’s research expertise. Look out for stories from these partnerships early this year.
We’re also launching a new initiative with our Texas Tribune partners. In addition to continuing the work of our joint investigative unit, we identify key issues facing the state and work with five local news outlets each year to cover one of those issues from a variety of perspectives. I’ll go.
Texas helps spark national conversations on issues ranging from education to health care to immigration. Gov. Greg Abbott drew national attention to the border by busing more than 100,000 newly arrived migrants to New York, Chicago and other large cities. The state is poised to adopt private school vouchers in the next legislative session. It also has the highest percentage of residents without health insurance in the nation. We will provide financial, editorial and audience support to five newsrooms across the state, and we hope the investment in journalism comes at the right time. As Texas lawmakers consolidate power in Austin and news organizations scale back their presence in the nation’s capital, this new approach means news organizations from El Paso to Tyler, Lubbock to Laredo, are reaching out to people in different parts of the state. It would be helpful to be able to know how they are coping. Similar problem.
Reporter Mark Olalde uses a handheld gas monitor to test for explosive methane and toxic hydrogen sulfide as part of his writing about the cleanup of oil wells in New Mexico. Credit: Nick Bowlin/Capital & Main
Finally, we plan to hire a Florida-based reporter. This will be our first full-scale reporting experience in the state, but we have partnered with the Palm Beach Post and Local Reporting Network on the damage caused by sugar cane burning, as well as reporting in Florida. He has done some memorable work in the state, including partnering with the Miami Herald on ongoing programs. The terrible job of caring for a child born with brain damage.
The changes Donald Trump has promised in preparation for his second administration are sure to have a local impact. We are ready to document our community impact in an unprecedented way. When Trump first took the oath of office, we didn’t have local offices and we didn’t yet have a local news network.
Open letter to Elon Musk
Currently, ProPublica has journalists in 17 states: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Florida will have 18 people.
There are also 21 active Local Reporting Network partnerships across the country. Overall, ProPublica has nearly 50 reporters in various communities covering local news through an investigative lens.
It may not be able to completely replace hyperlocal coverage of high school sports, police blotters, town council meetings, etc. But we believe all Americans deserve the benefits of responsible journalism, no matter where they live.
