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How Does Journalism Work? Ask Us Questions. We Can Explain.

At ProPublica Illinois, we strive to be transparent about how our journalism gets done. But we can’t predict what you will find useful about it. So, tell us and we'll try to explain. Send any questions to [email protected].

18 stories published since 2018

The Books and Movies That Made Us Better Journalists

by Lakeidra Chavis,

Student Reporters Can Serve Their Communities When Administrators Aren’t in the Way

by Vignesh Ramachandran,

Why Do Journalists Describe What Story Subjects Look Like?

by Logan Jaffe and Steve Mills,

Say What? How Reporters Gather and Use Quotations

by Steve Mills,

Where Do We Find Our Story Ideas?

by Jodi S. Cohen,

Twitter Used to Feel Like a Chore. Now It’s a Powerful Friend (And Fun).

by Melissa Sanchez,

Ask ProPublica Illinois

Has the Internet Changed Fact-Checking? Well, It Depends.

by Duaa Eldeib,

How Do We Verify Anonymous Sources?

by Jason Grotto,

How to Find Out About Hot Dogs, Puppy Names and Parking Tickets

by Sandhya Kambhampati,

When Do Reporters Collaborate, and When Do They Compete?

by David Eads,

How Do We Prevent Typos and Other Errors From Appearing in Our Stories?

by Steve Mills,

Those Questions You’ve Been Asking About Journalism? We Ask Them, Too.

by Logan Jaffe,

Defining the Delicate and Often Difficult Relationship Between Reporters and Sources

by Steve Mills,

How Do You Identify Fake News?

by Vignesh Ramachandran,

How Do We Keep Bias Out of Stories?

by Jason Grotto,

When Is a Story Ready to Publish?

by Melissa Sanchez,

How Do Young Journalists Get Their Training?

by Natalie Escobar,

How Does Journalism Work? Ask Us Questions. We Can Explain.

by Logan Jaffe,

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

Photo of Sharon Lerner
Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

Photo of Andy Kroll
Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Photo of Melissa Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

Photo of Jesse Coburn
Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

If you don’t have a specific tip or story in mind, we could still use your help. Sign up to be a member of our federal worker source network to stay in touch.

Most Read

    RFK Jr. Wants to Change a Program That Stopped Vaccine Makers From Leaving the U.S. Market. They Could Flee Again.

    The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program stabilizes the nation’s childhood immunization system while paying those harmed by rare side effects. If the program topples, it could threaten access to vaccines.

    by Patricia Callahan,

    Texas Officials Say They Didn’t See the Flood Coming. Oral Histories Show Residents Have Long Warned of Risks.

    After a tragedy, records from local archives can help us understand how a community understands itself. Here’s some of what we learned following the devastating July 4 flooding in Texas.

    by Logan Jaffe,

    Unattended

    He Was Accused of Killing His Wife. Idaho’s Coroner System Let Clues Vanish After a Previous Wife’s Death.

    Clayton Strong had a history of domestic unrest in two marriages. The women’s families say a more thorough investigation of Betty Strong’s death in Idaho might have saved the life of his next wife, Shirley Weatherley, in Texas.

    by Audrey Dutton,

    Zero Trust

    A Little-Known Microsoft Program Could Expose the Defense Department to Chinese Hackers

    The Pentagon bans foreign citizens from accessing highly sensitive data, but Microsoft bypasses this by using engineers in China and elsewhere to remotely instruct American “escorts” who may lack expertise to identify malicious code.

    by Renee Dudley, with research by Doris Burke,

    The NYPD Files

    Former NYPD Commissioner Accuses Mayor Adams of Running “Criminal Enterprise” and Cites ProPublica Investigation

    A lawsuit filed by former Commissioner Thomas Donlon alleges that the NYPD’s Community Response Team was a “rogue” unit that answered “only to City Hall.” The complaint draws extensively from ProPublica’s reporting.

    by Eric Umansky,