Local and Community Investigative Journalism

Juvenile Injustice, Tennessee

New Documents Prove Tennessee County Disproportionately Jails Black Children

Newly obtained reports show that Black children in Rutherford County are locked up more than twice as often as population size would suggest. And as the rest of the country has made progress on racial disparities, the county has gotten far worse.

by Meribah Knight, Nashville Public Radio, and Ken Armstrong and Hannah Fresques, ProPublica

Dec. 30, 2021, 6 a.m. EST

About the Local Reporting Network

ProPublica is supporting local and regional newsrooms as they work on important investigative projects affecting their communities. Topics include sexual violence, conflicts of interest, housing, and workplace safety. Our partner, the Anchorage Daily News, won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for our collaboration.

Black Snow

After Years of Complaints, Florida Improves Pollution Monitoring Near Burning Sugar Cane Fields

Regulators updated air-monitoring equipment following a ProPublica/Palm Beach Post investigation that found shortcomings in the way authorities police air quality during the cane burning season in Florida’s heartland.

by Bianca Fortis

Dec. 30, 2021, 5 a.m. EST

Black Snow

Burning Sugar Cane Pollutes Communities of Color in Florida. Brazil Shows There’s Another Way.

Florida’s largest sugar companies say cane burns are safe and can’t be stopped without economic harm. But Brazil has successfully transitioned away from the controversial practice, and experts there say the U.S. can follow their lead.

by Nadia Sussman

Dec. 29, 2021, 12 p.m. EST

Birth Rights

Accused of Refusing Aid to Disabled Kids, a State Agency Responded — by Hiring a PR Firm

Charging nearly $200k, the firm promised to help Florida’s NICA program “win in the court of public opinion.” But in the end, state lawmakers insisted that administrators listen to parents and make changes.

by Carol Marbin Miller and Daniel Chang, Miami Herald

Dec. 29, 2021, 6 a.m. EST

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Distinguished Fellows

These reporters are pursuing a broad range of important investigative projects in partnership with ProPublica over a three-year period.

Kyle Hopkins

Anchorage Daily News

Anchorage, Alaska
Molly Parker

The Southern Illinoisan

Carbondale, Illinois
Rob Perez

Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Honolulu, Hawaii
Jennifer Smith Richards

Chicago Tribune

Chicago, Illinois
Ken Ward Jr.

Mountain State Spotlight

West Virginia

Partner Newsrooms

These newsrooms and reporters are working with ProPublica on an accountability journalism project.

THE CITY

New York, New York

Reporter: Abigail Kramer
KPCC/LAist

Los Angeles, California

Reporter: Emily Elena Dugdale
KUCB and CoastAlaska

Unalaska, Alaska

Reporter: Zoë Sobel
Nashville Public Radio

Nashville, Tennessee

Reporter: Meribah Knight
The New Bedford Light

New Bedford, Massachusetts

Reporter: Will Sennott
Open Vallejo

Vallejo, California

Reporter: Laurence Du Sault
Oregon Public Broadcasting

Portland, Oregon

Reporter: Tony Schick
Outlier Media

Detroit, Michigan

Reporter: Sarah Alvarez
The Palm Beach Post

Palm Beach, Florida

Reporter: Lulu Ramadan
The Philadelphia Inquirer and Spotlight PA

Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Reporter: Bob Fernandez
The Press of Atlantic City

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Reporter: Alison Burdo
Rocky Mountain PBS

Denver, Colorado

Reporter: Brittany Freeman
San Francisco Public Press

San Francisco, California

Reporter: Nuala Bishari
WBEZ

Chicago, Illinois

Reporter: Shannon Heffernan
WRKF and WWNO

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and New Orleans, Louisiana

Reporter: Richard A. Webster