Affirming that “investigative journalism is at risk,” ProPublica began publishing a year ago. A nonprofit newsroom in Manhattan led by Paul Steiger (former managing editor of the Wall Street Journal) and Stephen Engelberg (former managing editor of Portland’s Oregonian and once an investigative reporter at the New York Times), ProPublica is bankrolled by the Sandler Foundation to the tune of $10 million a year and employs 32 journalists. Stories are offered to traditional news organizations, free of charge, and then appear on the ProPublica website after a period of exclusivity.
Our work focuses exclusively on truly important stories, stories with
“moral force.” We do this by producing journalism that shines a light
on exploitation of the weak by the strong and on the failures of those
with power to vindicate the trust placed in them.
So says the web page. Now comes the ProPublica Reporting Network, led by Amanda Michel, newly hired after serving as editor of the Huffington Post‘s OffTheBus.
The first assignment for members will be to “Adopt a Stimulus Project,”
where people will dedicate themselves to following a local road or
bridge reconstruction project funded by the stimulus and to monitor it
through its completion. These reporters will be looking to see what is
getting repaired, how highly trafficked the road or bridge is, whether
companies that receive funds are following environmental and labor
laws, how many people are employed by the project, and so on.“This is precisely the kind of nitty-gritty investigative work that
will reveal some surprising facts, but takes time and patience to do
well,” said Michel. “In the process of working with our network
members, we’ll take investigative journalism into a new collaborative
sphere and help the American people determine where the stimulus
program is succeeding and where it’s falling short.”
I signed up and went to the Colorado page, where I found a project in Delta County — widening Highway 92 between Austin and Hotchkiss, using $11,706,700 in stimulus funds. I was already familiar with the project, which has been slowing traffic for weeks. While before I was grateful that the two-lane road is finally being improved — and simultaneously annoyed that it was holding me up — I’ll be monitoring its progress now in a more journalistic way. As a volunteer.
The New York Times reports that of the $787 billion stimulus package, only 6 percent of the funds have been paid out.
To sign up for the network, send an e-mail to Amanda@ProPublica.org or visit http://www.propublica.org/special/reportingnetwork-signup to register.
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