Hi Reader,
Every community needs watchdogs who can ask tough questions and demand answers. But since 2005, more than 3,200 local newspapers across the U.S. have vanished.* The ones that remain are often underfunded and overstretched — stripped of the resources needed to pursue the kind of in-depth, time-intensive investigations that hold power to account.
But ProPublica is helping expand local news coverage, thanks to readers like you. As a nonprofit newsroom, we don’t depend on advertising or short-term investors. Our work is supported largely by donations from individuals, and over the past few years, we’ve grown significantly. For us, that growth comes with a responsibility: to help fill undeniable gaps in deep-dive journalism all over the country.
Over the past eight years, ProPublica has opened five regional reporting hubs staffed with teams of investigative reporters and editors. We’ve also created the Local Reporting Network that funds local reporters so they can pursue ambitious investigations. And we’ve committed to support at least 10 new local projects a year through the end of 2029, launching investigations in all 50 states. We can’t fill all of the gaps created by the withering media landscape, but we are making a very real difference in small towns and regions across the country.
Spurred by ProPublica reporting, we’ve seen lawmakers take action:
As a reader of ProPublica, you understand the value of journalism that has the freedom and resources to expose corruption, miscarriages of justice and other wrongdoing. There are critical stories worth telling in communities across the U.S. ProPublica can help fill the gap in local investigative reporting, catalyzing ambitious, community-driven journalism that sparks change. And we need your help, too. Help us strengthen the ability of investigative journalism to right wrongs in every corner of this country by making a donation of any amount right now.
Thanks so much,
Tova Genesen
Proud ProPublican
