ProPublica facts for kids
 |
|
| Founded | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(3) |
| Focus | Investigative journalism |
| Location |
|
|
Area served
|
United States |
|
Key people
|
|
|
Employees
|
> 100 |
ProPublica is a special kind of news organization. It is a non-profit group based in New York City. Their main job is to do "investigative journalism." This means they dig deep into important stories to find out the truth.
ProPublica has a team of full-time reporters who work on these investigations. They then share their stories with other news groups. Sometimes, ProPublica reporters even work with reporters from other news companies. They have partnered with over 90 different news organizations. ProPublica has won many important awards, including several Pulitzer Prizes.
In 2010, ProPublica made history. It became the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize. This award was for a story about doctors making tough choices during Hurricane Katrina. The story was published in The New York Times Magazine and on ProPublica's own website.
Contents
How ProPublica Started
ProPublica was the idea of Herbert and Marion Sandler. They used to lead a big financial company. The Sandlers promised to give $10 million each year to help ProPublica.
They hired Paul Steiger to start and run the organization. Steiger used to be a top editor at The Wall Street Journal. When ProPublica began, some people wondered if the Sandlers' political views would affect the news stories.
Paul Steiger explained that the Sandlers wanted fair and unbiased reporting. He said they agreed that ProPublica should report "down the middle." This means they would report facts without taking sides. The board of directors, which includes Herbert Sandler, does not know what stories ProPublica will report on in advance. This helps keep their journalism independent.
ProPublica started with 28 reporters and editors. Many of them were already famous journalists. Paul Steiger received many applications from people who wanted to work there. The organization also created an advisory board of experienced journalists.
ProPublica shares its work so other news groups can use it. They use a special license that allows others to share their stories. In 2015, Yelp even partnered with ProPublica. They wanted to use ProPublica's healthcare data to improve Yelp's information on doctors and hospitals.
How ProPublica Gets Money
The Sandler Foundation gives a lot of money to ProPublica. But ProPublica also gets support from other big foundations. These include the Knight Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and Ford Foundation.
Some people who work at ProPublica also have connections to these foundations. For example, Paul Steiger is a trustee of the Knight Foundation. Also, the president of the Knight Foundation is on ProPublica's board.
ProPublica is known for paying its employees well. In 2008, Paul Steiger earned $570,000. He wanted to pay good salaries to attract the best journalists. This way, ProPublica could get very talented reporters. In 2010, many ProPublica employees earned over $160,000. This helped them hire top journalists from other major newspapers.
Awards and Achievements
ProPublica has won many important awards for its investigative work.
Pulitzer Prizes
- 2010: ProPublica won its first Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. This was for a story called "The Deadly Choices at Memorial." It was about doctors making difficult decisions during Hurricane Katrina. This was the first time an online news source won a Pulitzer.
- 2011: ProPublica won its second Pulitzer Prize. Reporters Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. Their series was about problems in the financial world.
- 2016: ProPublica won its third Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting. They worked with The Marshall Project on this story.
- 2017: ProPublica and the New York Daily News won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. This was for reports on how eviction rules were used by the New York City Police Department.
- 2019: Reporter Hannah Dreier won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. Her stories were about immigrants whose lives were affected by a crackdown on MS-13.
- 2020: ProPublica won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service again. This time, it was for showing public safety problems in Alaska.
- 2020: ProPublica also won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. This was for their coverage of the United States Navy ship collisions.
- 2024: ProPublica won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. This award was for their reporting on gifts given to US Supreme Court justices.
Other Awards
- 2010: The "Deadly Choices at Memorial" story also won a National Magazine Award for Reporting.
- 2019: The Peabody Awards gave ProPublica the first-ever Peabody Catalyst Award. This was for releasing audio that led to changes in a government practice of separating families at the border.
- 2021 and 2022: ProPublica journalists Lisa Song and Mark Olalde won SEAL Awards. These were for their excellent environmental reporting.
- 2022: The "Black Children Were Jailed for a Crime That Doesn’t Exist" article was a finalist for the National Magazine Awards.
Important Investigations and Projects
ProPublica works on many different kinds of important stories.
Looking at COMPAS Software
In 2016, ProPublica investigated a computer program called COMPAS. Courts in the U.S. use this software to guess if a person might commit another crime. ProPublica found that the software had some unfair results. It was more likely to label Black people as high-risk, even if they did not re-offend. It also made the opposite mistake for white people, labeling them low-risk when they later committed crimes.
Investigating Psychiatric Solutions
ProPublica also looked into a company called Psychiatric Solutions. This company bought hospitals that were not doing well. ProPublica's report found problems at many of these hospitals. It covered patient deaths and poor conditions. Their report helped lead to the closure of some facilities.
Documenting Hate Project
In 2017, ProPublica started the Documenting Hate project. This project helps track hate crimes and incidents where people are treated unfairly. Victims or witnesses can share their stories. Other journalists can also partner with ProPublica to write stories using this information.
Surgeon Scorecard Tool
In 2015, ProPublica launched Surgeon Scorecard. This is an online tool where people can look up surgeons and hospitals. It shows how often patients have problems after common surgeries. This tool helps people make informed choices about their medical care.
Tracking Evictions in New York City
ProPublica created an interactive map for New York City. This map lets people search addresses to see information about eviction cases. It helps show how evictions affect people in the city.
Taxes of Wealthy Americans
In 2021, ProPublica published a report about how very rich Americans pay taxes. They showed that the tax rates for the wealthiest people were much lower than for average people. This was when they looked at how much their wealth grew, not just their regular income.
Unfair Jailing of Children
ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio investigated how children were treated in juvenile court in Rutherford County, Tennessee. They found that many more children were being jailed there than in other places. The investigation showed that some children were charged under laws that did not even exist. This was happening under the direction of a judge.
Mapping Air Pollution Risks
In 2021, ProPublica created a map showing industrial air pollution. They looked at a lot of data to find places with high cancer risks from pollution. They found over 1,000 "toxic hotspots" across the country. They estimated that many people living near these areas might be exposed to unsafe levels of pollution. This map helps people understand the air quality where they live. For example, the town of Verona, Missouri was found to have a very high industrial cancer risk.
See also
In Spanish: ProPublica para niños
