| Type | 501(c)(3) |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Manhattan |
| Staff | Herbert Sandler, Chairman Paul Steiger, Editor-in-Chief Stephen Engelberg, Managing Editor Richard Tofel, General Manager, Dafna Linzer, Senior Reporter |
| Area served | United States |
| Focus | Investigative Journalism |
| Method | Sandler Family Supporting Foundation |
| Employees | <50 |
| Motto | Journalism in the public interest |
| Website | ProPublica.org |
ProPublica is a non-profit corporation based in Manhattan, New York. It describes itself as an independent non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.[1] ProPublica's investigations are conducted by its staff of full-time investigative reporters and the resulting stories are given away to news 'partners' for publication or broadcast. In some cases, reporters from both ProPublica and the news partners work together on a story. Recent news partners have included 60 Minutes, CNN, USA Today, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Albany Times Union, the Newark Star-Ledger, the New York Sun, Huffington Post, Politico, Salon.com, Slate, MSN Money, MSNBC.com, Reader's Digest, Business Week, and Newsweek.com among others.
Contents |
History
ProPublica is the brainchild of Herbert and Marion Sandler, the former chief executives of the Golden West Financial Corporation, who have committed $10 million a year to the project.[2] The Sandlers hired Paul Steiger, former managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, to create and run the organization.
ProPublica had an initial news staff of 28 reporters and editors, including Pulitzer Prize winners, Charles Ornstein, Tracy Weber, Jeff Gerth, and Marcus Stern. Steiger claimed that he received as many as 850 applications upon ProPublica's start. The organization also appointed a 12-member journalism advisory board consisting of professional journalists.
The newsgroup shares its work under the Creative Commons no-derivative, non-commercial license. In 2009, the Associated Press announced a program to distribute ProPublica's work to its collective.
Concerns about bias
Because ProPublica received the vast majority of its initial funding through the Sandlers – known for donating heavily to left-wing advocacy groups – there were concerns that the organization would not maintain an independent and non-partisan editorial stance toward the subjects it investigates.[3] In addition, Slate senior writer Jack Shafer noted that Herb Sandler has given "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to Democratic party candidates over the years, as well as millions to left-leaning or progressive political advocacy organizations such as MoveOn and ACORN.[4] The Sandler Family Supporting Foundation has also made grants to Oceana, Rocky Mountain Institute, Environmental Defense and the Tides Foundation.[5]
ProPublica's editor-in-chief, Paul Steiger, responded to such concerns on The Newshour with Jim Lehrer:
- "Coming into this, when I talked to Herb and Marion Sandler, one of my concerns was precisely this question of independence and nonpartisanship... My history has been doing 'down the middle' reporting. And so when I talked to Herb and Marion I said 'are you comfortable with that?' They said 'absolutely'. I said 'well suppose we did an expose of some of the left leaning organizations that you have supported or that are friendly to what you've supported in the past'. They said 'no problem'. And when we set up our organizational structure, the board of directors, on which I sit and which Herb is the chairman, does not know in advance what we're going to report on."[6]
Dave Kopel, a policy analyst for the libertarian Cato Institute and columnist for the Rocky Mountain News, criticized a ProPublica report on hydraulic fracturing as a "one-sided series of facts arrayed to support a point of view". He argued that a common theme in ProPublica's work is that the government needs overreaching regulatory powers. ProPublica later responded to his article.[7]
Board members
- Herbert Sandler
- Paul Steiger
- Henry Louis Gates Jr.
- Alberto Ibarguen
- Rebecca Rimel
Investigations
- Lost in Translation: Alhurra—America’s Troubled Effort to Win Middle East Hearts and Minds by Dafna Linzer with reporting by Robert Lewis of ProPublica. Partnered with 60 Minutes (video).
- New York’s Gas Rush Poses Environmental Threat by Abrahm Lustgarten with reporting by Jonathan Sidhu and Allison Battey of ProPublica. Partnered with WNYC (transcript | audio) and Albany Times-Union.
- Fractured Relations — New York City Sees Drilling as Threat to Its Water Supply by Abrahm Lustgarten with WNYC, Albany Times-Union, and New York Sun.
- In the Eye of the Storm by Sheri Fink with Salon.com.
- U.S. Targets Overseas Bribery; KBR Exec's Plea Widens Probe by T. Christian Miller with reporting by Marlena Telvick, Oriana Zill de Granados, Lowell Bergman, and Jake Bernstein. Partnered with MSN Money and Frontline.
- Acting Tough: When Cameras Leave, OSHA Penalties Wither by Robert Lewis with Salon.com.
- Palin Administration Oversaw $26 million ROAD to 'Nowhere' by Paul Kiel with research by Lisa Schwartz. Partnered with Newsweek.
- Palin Defended 'Bridge to Nowhere' to 'Spinmeisters' by Marcus Stern with reporting by Paul Kiel and Lisa Schwartz. Partnered with Politico.
- Anatomy of a Bank Failure by Jake Bernstein with MSN Money.
- Criminal Past Is No Bar to Nursing in California by Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber with Los Angeles Times
- California Takes Steps to Probe Nurses' Criminal Backgrounds by Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber with Los Angeles Times
- Why CDC Responded with 'Lack of Urgency' to Formaldehyde Warnings by Joaquin Sapien with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Government Study on Children Living in Katrina Trailers Muddled By Delays, Confusion by Joaquin Sapien with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- GOP offers scant proof of voter fraud by Chisun Lee with reporting by Kristin Jones. Partnered with Politico.
- As Rape Victims Wait, Money for DNA Testing Goes Unused by Ben Protess with Joel Rubin of the Los Angeles Times
- Goldman Sachs urged bets against California bonds it helped sell by Sharona Coutts with Marc Lifsher and Michael A. Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times.
- Crimes by Air Marshals Raise Questions About Hiring by Michael Grabell with Jamie Wilson. Published in USA Today.
References
- ^ "About Us". http://www.propublica.org/about. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
- ^ Pérez-Peña, Richard (2007-10-15). "Group Plans to Provide Investigative Journalism". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/15/business/media/15publica.html. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
- ^ "Mr. Sandler's Media"
- ^ "Investigating Herb and Marion Sandler"
- ^ "Sandler Family Supporting Foundation". Activistcash.com. Center for Consumer Freedom. http://www.activistcash.com/foundation.cfm/did/1622. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
- ^ "Financing Independent Journalism"
- ^ Kopel, Dave (2008-12-27). "Opinion pays its own way". Rocky Mountain News. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/dec/27/kopel-opinion-pays-its-own-way/.
External links
- ProPublica official site
- What Do Herbert and Marion Sandler Want? - Slate article
- Going Online With Watchdog Journalism - article by Paul Steiger
- CJR: Outside Agitators - Columbia Journalism Review article
- ProPublica A Boost To Watchdogs - Albany Times Union editorial
- Audio interview with Richard Tofel, Managing Director, ProPublica 2009 - Podcast
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
