ProPublica facts for kids
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| Founded | 2007 |
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| Type | 501(c)(3) |
| Focus | Investigative journalism |
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Area served
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United States |
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Key people
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Employees
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> 100 |
ProPublica is a non-profit news organization based in New York City. It focuses on investigative journalism, which is like being a news detective. Their reporters dig deep into important topics to uncover facts and share them with the public.
ProPublica's team of reporters writes stories that are then shared with other news partners, like newspapers and TV stations. Sometimes, reporters from ProPublica and a partner news group work together on a story. They have worked with over 90 news organizations and have won many awards, including several Pulitzer Prizes.
In 2010, ProPublica made history by becoming the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize. The winning story was about the difficult choices doctors had to make in a hospital during Hurricane Katrina.
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History of ProPublica
ProPublica was started in 2007 by Herbert and Marion Sandler. They wanted to create a newsroom that could spend time on long, detailed investigations. They hired Paul Steiger, who used to be a top editor at The Wall Street Journal, to lead the new organization.
Some people wondered if the founders' personal views would affect the news stories. Steiger explained that ProPublica would be independent and report on issues from a neutral point of view. He said the organization was set up so that the board of directors would not know what the reporters were investigating ahead of time. This helps make sure the journalism is fair and not biased.
ProPublica started with a team of 28 reporters and editors. Many of them were already famous journalists who had won Pulitzer Prizes. The organization shares its articles for free under a Creative Commons license, which means others can share their work.
How ProPublica is Funded
Because ProPublica is a non-profit, it doesn't sell news or advertisements to make money. Instead, it is funded by donations. The Sandler Foundation gave a lot of money to get it started.
ProPublica also gets money from other large organizations, called foundations, that support important work. Some of these include the Knight Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Ford Foundation.
To get the best journalists, ProPublica pays them well. The goal is to attract talented reporters who can do high-quality investigative work. In 2010, eight employees earned more than $160,000.
Award-Winning Journalism
ProPublica is famous for its high-quality reporting and has won many major awards.
- 2010: ProPublica won its first Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. The story was about a hospital in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
- 2011: The organization won a second Pulitzer, this time for National Reporting. The stories were about Wall Street and the financial world. It was the first time a Pulitzer was given for a series of stories that were only published online.
- 2016: ProPublica won for Explanatory Reporting. The story, created with The Marshall Project, looked at how police departments handle serious crime reports.
- 2017: It won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service with the New York Daily News. They reported on how the New York City Police Department used eviction rules.
- 2019: Reporter Hannah Dreier won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing for a series about immigrants on Long Island.
- 2020: ProPublica won two Pulitzers. One was for Public Service for reporting on safety problems in Alaska. The other was for National Reporting for stories about accidents involving U.S. Navy ships.
- 2024: The organization won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service again. This time, it was for stories about gifts and travel given to Supreme Court justices.
Important Investigations
ProPublica has worked on many projects that have had a big impact. Here are a few examples.
Uncovering Unfairness in Technology
In 2016, ProPublica investigated a computer program called COMPAS. This software was used in courts to guess if a person accused of a crime might commit another one.
The investigation found that the program was not always fair. It was more likely to incorrectly label Black people as high-risk than white people. This report started a big conversation about whether it's fair to use computer programs to make important decisions about people's lives.
Checking Up on Healthcare Companies
ProPublica looked into a company called Psychiatric Solutions. This company bought hospitals that were not doing well and then cut costs, sometimes by reducing staff. The investigation, done with the Los Angeles Times, reported on problems at the company's hospitals.
Another project was the "Surgeon Scorecard," launched in 2015. It's an online tool that shows the complication rates for doctors who perform common surgeries. This helps patients find information about surgeons and hospitals so they can make better choices about their healthcare.
Tracking Hate and Bias
In 2017, ProPublica started a project called "Documenting Hate." Its goal is to create a national database of hate crimes and bias incidents by collecting stories from victims and witnesses. Newsrooms can use this data to report on what is happening in their own communities. For example, a newspaper in Minneapolis used the data to write about hate crimes in Minnesota.
Investigating the Justice System for Kids
An investigation by ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio was published in October 2021. It looked at the juvenile court in Rutherford County, Tennessee. The report found that the county was sending children to jail at a much higher rate than the rest of the state.
The story, "Black Children Were Jailed for a Crime That Doesn’t Exist," showed that some children were charged under laws that weren't real. This reporting led to more attention on the justice system for young people.
A Map of Air Pollution
In 2021, ProPublica created a map of the United States that shows cancer risks from industrial air pollution. They studied data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to find over 1,000 "hotspots" with higher risks.
The map helps people see the possible risk of breathing the air where they live. For example, the map showed that a town in Missouri had a very high industrial cancer risk. After the report, the EPA agreed to put air monitors in the town to track pollution.
Protecting Native American Heritage
In 2023, ProPublica started "The Repatriation Project." This investigation looks at why many museums and universities have been slow to return Native American remains and sacred objects to their tribes. A 1990 law called NAGPRA requires them to do so.
The series showed that many institutions were not following the law. This reporting helped push for more action to return these important items to their rightful communities.
See also
In Spanish: ProPublica para niños
