Hi Reader,

For millions of Americans, local newsrooms are a vital resource: connecting neighbors, lifting up voices and sharing information that empowers people to make decisions important to their everyday lives. But as local papers are struggling amid a changing economy, many have been forced to downsize. Deep-dive, investigative reporting is especially at risk because it is time-consuming and expensive. As a result, communities are at risk of losing critical coverage of their local institutions, business and governments.

ProPublica’s future is bright, thanks to readers like you, and we’re working hard to help to fill these gaps in accountability journalism left open all over the country. Since 2018, we’ve partnered on 90 projects with 71 different news organizations through our Local Reporting Network, prompting extraordinary impact across the country (our partner at the Anchorage Daily News even won a Pulitzer Prize for our joint work). We also have five regional hubs, each staffed with teams of journalists digging into issues that affect readers where they live. Our Midwest newsroom just published this piece on extreme gerrymandering in Wisconsin. Our South newsroom recently published this story about barriers to gender affirming care for state employees in North Carolina. And just this week, our new Northwest newsroom co-published a story with our partner at The Seattle Times about the staggering cost to clean up one of the nation’s most contaminated waterways.

As a nonprofit newsroom, we don’t depend on advertising or short-term investors. Instead, donations from readers like you power our reporting, and over the last few years, we’ve grown bigger and have gotten stronger. As a reader of ProPublica, you know how important it is for journalists everywhere to have the freedom, resources and ability to pursue stories that shine a light on corruption, miscarriages of justice and other wrongdoing. We’re so grateful to our supporters for giving us the ability to make a difference where it’s most needed. I’m asking you to join us today with your donation of any amount and help power one of the largest teams of investigative journalists in the country.

Thanks so much,
Jill Shepherd
Proud ProPublican