Changing Laws and Changing Lives: Why ProPublica Is Dedicated to Local Investigations by Charles Ornstein

by Charles Ornstein

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week.

In my early years living in New Jersey, I keenly remember The Star-Ledger in Newark reporting on how hundreds of police officers and firefighters got anabolic steroids, human growth hormone and other forms of testosterone at taxpayer expense for medically unnecessary reasons. It was a tour de force of local journalism; something that deepened my understanding of the state where I lived.

Sadly, this kind of journalism has been harder to find as the papers that cover Jersey have struggled financially. Because the state is sandwiched between two big TV media markets — New York City and Philly — the issues facing our towns and cities get far less attention.

Indeed, in February, The Star Ledger is ceasing its print publication entirely and moving to an online-only format. Over the years leading up to this decision, the paper imposed multiple rounds of job cuts and its offerings thinned, even as the staffers who remained continued to produce vital journalism. The company’s leaders say they will reinvest funds from ending the print publication into the core newsroom.

I hope so. Because with each passing year, the reminders of the local news industry’s decline become more pronounced. Layoffs. Newspapers closing. Fewer investigative stories.

That’s why I’m so proud to share how ProPublica is stepping in to help fill this void through a number of new initiatives that we’ve launched and will continue to roll out in the new year.

In early 2024, we announced our 50 State Initiative, through which we pledged to tell accountability stories with partners in all 50 states over the next five years. We’re currently working with our first 10 local newsrooms, including a project in North Dakota (the first time we’re collaborating with an outlet in the state), and we will be selecting another 10 in 2025.

As part of this effort, we pay for a reporter’s salary and benefits for one year so they can dive deep into a project that matters for their communities or regions. We also pair those reporters with editors here and members of ProPublica’s data, research, crowdsourcing and news applications teams so they apply new and innovative techniques to their reporting. One of the consequences of newsroom layoffs has been drastic reductions or the elimination of research and data teams. Giving partners access to those resources greatly expands a story’s possibilities.

The 50 State Initiative is an outgrowth of our Local Reporting Network, which began in 2018 and has generated about 100 projects to date. Those stories have changed laws and changed lives. They’ve led to a national emergency being declared in Alaska, debt being forgiven in Memphis, Tennessee, and vast sums of money being allocated to fix long-standing problems in Idaho and Hawaii. Almost weekly, we see the impact of journalism from reporters in the network. We have seen changes in both blue and red states; so many issues transcend partisanship. People want to fix problems where they live when they become aware of them.

Reporter Jennifer Smith Richards looks through archived newspapers at the Mount Vernon Public Library in Ohio.

(Sarahbeth Maney/ProPublica)

This success is possible because we work with a huge range of publications: legacy newspapers, radio and TV stations, and a new cadre of nonprofit newsrooms that have sprung up seeking to increase the sources of news to local residents. We’ve learned over and over again that people in different communities get their news in different ways, but the appetite for fact-based reporting transcends location.

Next year, we will build on this track record of success. In January, we will launch what we are calling our Sustainability Desk, which will work with previous partners to produce stories even after a reporter’s one-year fellowship has ended. We are hiring an editor and several other members of our staff to keep these relationships going and to identify opportunities to match the local knowledge of our partners with ProPublica’s investigative expertise. Be on the lookout for stories from these partnerships early in the year.

We are also launching a new initiative with our partners at The Texas Tribune. In addition to continuing the work of our shared investigative unit, we will be identifying major issues facing the state and collaborating with five local newsrooms each year to cover one of those issues from different perspectives.

Texas is helping to set the national dialogue on issues from education to health care to immigration. Gov. Greg Abbott focused the national spotlight on the border by busing more than 100,000 newly arriving immigrants to New York, Chicago and other big cities. The state is poised to adopt private school vouchers in its upcoming legislative session. And it also has the highest share of residents without health insurance in the nation. We will provide financial, editorial and audience support to five newsrooms around the state, and we are hoping that our investment in journalism meets the moment. As Texas lawmakers consolidate power in Austin — and newsrooms pare back their presence in the capital — this new approach will help to ensure newsrooms from El Paso to Tyler, Lubbock to Laredo, can learn about how people in various parts of the state are dealing with similar issues.

Reporter Mark Olalde uses a hand-held gas monitor to test for explosive methane and toxic hydrogen sulfide as part of his writing on oil well cleanup in New Mexico.

(Nick Bowlin/Capital & Main)

Lastly, we will be hiring a reporter based in Florida. This will be our first dedicated reporting effort in the state, although we have done memorable work there, including Local Reporting Network partnerships with The Palm Beach Post on the harm caused by sugar cane burning and with the Miami Herald about a Florida program that was doing a poor job taking care of children born with brain damage.

The changes promised by Donald Trump as he prepares for his second administration are sure to create effects that will be felt locally. We are prepared to document the consequences for communities in an unprecedented way. When Trump took the oath of office for the first time, we had no regional offices and we hadn’t yet started our Local Reporting Network.

Now we have ProPublica journalists on the ground 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 make 18.

And we have 21 active Local Reporting Network partnerships across the country. All told, ProPublica has nearly 50 reporters in different communities covering local news through an investigative lens.

We may never fully replace the hyperlocal coverage of high school sports, the police blotter and the town council. But we do believe that every American should have the benefits of accountability journalism, regardless of where they live. by Charles Ornstein

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week.

In my early years living in New Jersey, I keenly remember The Star-Ledger in Newark reporting on how hundreds of police officers and firefighters got anabolic steroids, human growth hormone and other forms of testosterone at taxpayer expense for medically unnecessary reasons. It was a tour de force of local journalism; something that deepened my understanding of the state where I lived.

Sadly, this kind of journalism has been harder to find as the papers that cover Jersey have struggled financially. Because the state is sandwiched between two big TV media markets — New York City and Philly — the issues facing our towns and cities get far less attention.

Indeed, in February, The Star Ledger is ceasing its print publication entirely and moving to an online-only format. Over the years leading up to this decision, the paper imposed multiple rounds of job cuts and its offerings thinned, even as the staffers who remained continued to produce vital journalism. The company’s leaders say they will reinvest funds from ending the print publication into the core newsroom.

I hope so. Because with each passing year, the reminders of the local news industry’s decline become more pronounced. Layoffs. Newspapers closing. Fewer investigative stories.

That’s why I’m so proud to share how ProPublica is stepping in to help fill this void through a number of new initiatives that we’ve launched and will continue to roll out in the new year.

In early 2024, we announced our 50 State Initiative, through which we pledged to tell accountability stories with partners in all 50 states over the next five years. We’re currently working with our first 10 local newsrooms, including a project in North Dakota (the first time we’re collaborating with an outlet in the state), and we will be selecting another 10 in 2025.

As part of this effort, we pay for a reporter’s salary and benefits for one year so they can dive deep into a project that matters for their communities or regions. We also pair those reporters with editors here and members of ProPublica’s data, research, crowdsourcing and news applications teams so they apply new and innovative techniques to their reporting. One of the consequences of newsroom layoffs has been drastic reductions or the elimination of research and data teams. Giving partners access to those resources greatly expands a story’s possibilities.

The 50 State Initiative is an outgrowth of our Local Reporting Network, which began in 2018 and has generated about 100 projects to date. Those stories have changed laws and changed lives. They’ve led to a national emergency being declared in Alaska, debt being forgiven in Memphis, Tennessee, and vast sums of money being allocated to fix long-standing problems in Idaho and Hawaii. Almost weekly, we see the impact of journalism from reporters in the network. We have seen changes in both blue and red states; so many issues transcend partisanship. People want to fix problems where they live when they become aware of them.

Reporter Jennifer Smith Richards looks through archived newspapers at the Mount Vernon Public Library in Ohio.

(Sarahbeth Maney/ProPublica)

This success is possible because we work with a huge range of publications: legacy newspapers, radio and TV stations, and a new cadre of nonprofit newsrooms that have sprung up seeking to increase the sources of news to local residents. We’ve learned over and over again that people in different communities get their news in different ways, but the appetite for fact-based reporting transcends location.

Next year, we will build on this track record of success. In January, we will launch what we are calling our Sustainability Desk, which will work with previous partners to produce stories even after a reporter’s one-year fellowship has ended. We are hiring an editor and several other members of our staff to keep these relationships going and to identify opportunities to match the local knowledge of our partners with ProPublica’s investigative expertise. Be on the lookout for stories from these partnerships early in the year.

We are also launching a new initiative with our partners at The Texas Tribune. In addition to continuing the work of our shared investigative unit, we will be identifying major issues facing the state and collaborating with five local newsrooms each year to cover one of those issues from different perspectives.

Texas is helping to set the national dialogue on issues from education to health care to immigration. Gov. Greg Abbott focused the national spotlight on the border by busing more than 100,000 newly arriving immigrants to New York, Chicago and other big cities. The state is poised to adopt private school vouchers in its upcoming legislative session. And it also has the highest share of residents without health insurance in the nation. We will provide financial, editorial and audience support to five newsrooms around the state, and we are hoping that our investment in journalism meets the moment. As Texas lawmakers consolidate power in Austin — and newsrooms pare back their presence in the capital — this new approach will help to ensure newsrooms from El Paso to Tyler, Lubbock to Laredo, can learn about how people in various parts of the state are dealing with similar issues.

Reporter Mark Olalde uses a hand-held gas monitor to test for explosive methane and toxic hydrogen sulfide as part of his writing on oil well cleanup in New Mexico.

(Nick Bowlin/Capital & Main)

Lastly, we will be hiring a reporter based in Florida. This will be our first dedicated reporting effort in the state, although we have done memorable work there, including Local Reporting Network partnerships with The Palm Beach Post on the harm caused by sugar cane burning and with the Miami Herald about a Florida program that was doing a poor job taking care of children born with brain damage.

The changes promised by Donald Trump as he prepares for his second administration are sure to create effects that will be felt locally. We are prepared to document the consequences for communities in an unprecedented way. When Trump took the oath of office for the first time, we had no regional offices and we hadn’t yet started our Local Reporting Network.

Now we have ProPublica journalists on the ground 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 make 18.

And we have 21 active Local Reporting Network partnerships across the country. All told, ProPublica has nearly 50 reporters in different communities covering local news through an investigative lens.

We may never fully replace the hyperlocal coverage of high school sports, the police blotter and the town council. But we do believe that every American should have the benefits of accountability journalism, regardless of where they live. 

In my early years living in New Jersey, I keenly remember The Star-Ledger in Newark reporting on how hundreds of police officers and firefighters got anabolic steroids, human growth hormone and other forms of testosterone at taxpayer expense for medically unnecessary reasons. It was a tour de force of local journalism; something that deepened my understanding of the state where I lived.

Sadly, this kind of journalism has been harder to find as the papers that cover Jersey have struggled financially. Because the state is sandwiched between two big TV media markets — New York City and Philly — the issues facing our towns and cities get far less attention.

Indeed, in February, The Star Ledger is ceasing its print publication entirely and moving to an online-only format. Over the years leading up to this decision, the paper imposed multiple rounds of job cuts and its offerings thinned, even as the staffers who remained continued to produce vital journalism. The company’s leaders say they will reinvest funds from ending the print publication into the core newsroom.

I hope so. Because with each passing year, the reminders of the local news industry’s decline become more pronounced. Layoffs. Newspapers closing. Fewer investigative stories.

That’s why I’m so proud to share how ProPublica is stepping in to help fill this void through a number of new initiatives that we’ve launched and will continue to roll out in the new year.

In early 2024, we announced our 50 State Initiative, through which we pledged to tell accountability stories with partners in all 50 states over the next five years. We’re currently working with our first 10 local newsrooms, including a project in North Dakota (the first time we’re collaborating with an outlet in the state), and we will be selecting another 10 in 2025.

As part of this effort, we pay for a reporter’s salary and benefits for one year so they can dive deep into a project that matters for their communities or regions. We also pair those reporters with editors here and members of ProPublica’s data, research, crowdsourcing and news applications teams so they apply new and innovative techniques to their reporting. One of the consequences of newsroom layoffs has been drastic reductions or the elimination of research and data teams. Giving partners access to those resources greatly expands a story’s possibilities.

The 50 State Initiative is an outgrowth of our Local Reporting Network, which began in 2018 and has generated about 100 projects to date. Those stories have changed laws and changed lives. They’ve led to a national emergency being declared in Alaska, debt being forgiven in Memphis, Tennessee, and vast sums of money being allocated to fix long-standing problems in Idaho and Hawaii. Almost weekly, we see the impact of journalism from reporters in the network. We have seen changes in both blue and red states; so many issues transcend partisanship. People want to fix problems where they live when they become aware of them.

This success is possible because we work with a huge range of publications: legacy newspapers, radio and TV stations, and a new cadre of nonprofit newsrooms that have sprung up seeking to increase the sources of news to local residents. We’ve learned over and over again that people in different communities get their news in different ways, but the appetite for fact-based reporting transcends location.

Good journalism makes a difference:

Next year, we will build on this track record of success. In January, we will launch what we are calling our Sustainability Desk, which will work with previous partners to produce stories even after a reporter’s one-year fellowship has ended. We are hiring an editor and several other members of our staff to keep these relationships going and to identify opportunities to match the local knowledge of our partners with ProPublica’s investigative expertise. Be on the lookout for stories from these partnerships early in the year.

We are also launching a new initiative with our partners at The Texas Tribune. In addition to continuing the work of our shared investigative unit, we will be identifying major issues facing the state and collaborating with five local newsrooms each year to cover one of those issues from different perspectives.

Texas is helping to set the national dialogue on issues from education to health care to immigration. Gov. Greg Abbott focused the national spotlight on the border by busing more than 100,000 newly arriving immigrants to New York, Chicago and other big cities. The state is poised to adopt private school vouchers in its upcoming legislative session. And it also has the highest share of residents without health insurance in the nation. We will provide financial, editorial and audience support to five newsrooms around the state, and we are hoping that our investment in journalism meets the moment. As Texas lawmakers consolidate power in Austin — and newsrooms pare back their presence in the capital — this new approach will help to ensure newsrooms from El Paso to Tyler, Lubbock to Laredo, can learn about how people in various parts of the state are dealing with similar issues.

Lastly, we will be hiring a reporter based in Florida. This will be our first dedicated reporting effort in the state, although we have done memorable work there, including Local Reporting Network partnerships with The Palm Beach Post on the harm caused by sugar cane burning and with the Miami Herald about a Florida program that was doing a poor job taking care of children born with brain damage.

The changes promised by Donald Trump as he prepares for his second administration are sure to create effects that will be felt locally. We are prepared to document the consequences for communities in an unprecedented way. When Trump took the oath of office for the first time, we had no regional offices and we hadn’t yet started our Local Reporting Network.

Now we have ProPublica journalists on the ground 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 make 18.

And we have 21 active Local Reporting Network partnerships across the country. All told, ProPublica has nearly 50 reporters in different communities covering local news through an investigative lens.

We may never fully replace the hyperlocal coverage of high school sports, the police blotter and the town council. But we do believe that every American should have the benefits of accountability journalism, regardless of where they live.

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