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In my early years living in New Jersey, I keenly remember The Star-Ledger in Newark reporting on how hundreds of police officers and firefighters got anabolic steroids, human growth hormone and other forms of testosterone at taxpayer expense for medically unnecessary reasons. It was a tour de force of local journalism; something that deepened my understanding of the state where I lived.
Sadly, this kind of journalism has been harder to find as the papers that cover Jersey have struggled financially. Because the state is sandwiched between two big TV media markets — New York City and Philly — the issues facing our towns and cities get far less attention.
Indeed, in February, The Star Ledger is ceasing its print publication entirely and moving to an online-only format. Over the years leading up to this decision, the paper imposed multiple rounds of job cuts and its offerings thinned, even as the staffers who remained continued to produce vital journalism. The company’s leaders say they will reinvest funds from ending the print publication into the core newsroom.
I hope so. Because with each passing year, the reminders of the local news industry’s decline become more pronounced. Layoffs. Newspapers closing. Fewer investigative stories.
That’s why I’m so proud to share how ProPublica is stepping in to help fill this void through a number of new initiatives that we’ve launched and will continue to roll out in the new year.
In early 2024, we announced our 50 State Initiative, through which we pledged to tell accountability stories with partners in all 50 states over the next five years. We’re currently working with our first 10 local newsrooms, including a project in North Dakota (the first time we’re collaborating with an outlet in the state), and we will be selecting another 10 in 2025.
As part of this effort, we pay for a reporter’s salary and benefits for one year so they can dive deep into a project that matters for their communities or regions. We also pair those reporters with editors here and members of ProPublica’s data, research, crowdsourcing and news applications teams so they apply new and innovative techniques to their reporting. One of the consequences of newsroom layoffs has been drastic reductions or the elimination of research and data teams. Giving partners access to those resources greatly expands a story’s possibilities.
The 50 State Initiative is an outgrowth of our Local Reporting Network, which began in 2018 and has generated about 100 projects to date. Those stories have changed laws and changed lives. They’ve led to a national emergency being declared in Alaska, debt being forgiven in Memphis, Tennessee, and vast sums of money being allocated to fix long-standing problems in Idaho and Hawaii.