Local Journalism Initiative
PARTNER INVESTIGATIONS
After George Floyd
The killing of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis sparked a nationwide reckoning on racism in America — and renewed calls for change. FRONTLINE partners with award-winning Star Tribune reporters as they cover the aftermath of Floyd’s death, Chauvin’s trial and the impact on both the city’s police and communities of color.
COVID-19 in America
The latest from our local journalism partners on how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting communities across the U.S.
Dairyland in Distress
For years, Loyal, a city in the heart of Wisconsin's dairy country, has been struggling with an ailing farm economy. Then COVID-19 hit the state. A collaboration between Milwaukee PBS and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Fractured
The mental health care system in North Carolina has been failing for years. Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than those who get caught up in the criminal justice system, out of sight, therefore out of mind for the general public and policymakers. But their plight — and the brokenness of the mental health system…
Groundwater War
New Mexico PBS' investigation into PFAS contamination at military installations in the state and its impact on groundwater.
Poisoned
Hundreds of workers at a Tampa lead smelter have been exposed to dangerous levels of the neurotoxin. The Tampa Bay Times investigates the profound consequences. Part 1: The Factory | Part 2: The Failings | Part 3: The Fallout This investigation, carried out with support from FRONTLINE's Local Journalism Initiative, won a George Polk Award, a Pulitzer Prize…
Rural Health Care: The Other Texas Drought
Rural communities in the Texas Panhandle have struggled to keep up in the fight against the coronavirus. The Texas Newsroom examines the shortage of health care resources people living in those communities face.
Sugar Land
In 2018, a few months into building a new school in Sugar Land, Texas, construction crews uncovered 95 unmarked graves — evidence of a particularly dark period in our country’s history. The Texas Newsroom explores who these 95 people were and what happened to them in the podcast “Sugar Land.”
The Disconnect
In February 2021, days-long blackouts in Texas left millions shivering in the dark. Hundreds died. How has the Texas grid changed since then? And how has it changed how people think? KUT/KUTX Studios and The Texas Newsroom explore those questions in season two of “The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout.”
Uncovered
A first-of-its-kind effort to expose questionable government conduct and corruption throughout South Carolina. The Post and Courier has teamed with 17 community newspapers in this effort, which aims to strengthen accountability of taxpayer dollars and democracy in the Palmetto State.
Underage and Unprotected
A two-year investigation by The Public’s Radio reveals how some migrant teens end up working in risky jobs at seafood processing plants in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Underage and Unprotected examines the role of staffing agencies, which many teens said hired them and sent them to jobs at processors. The series also exposes weaknesses in the…
When Police Shoot
Police across Utah shot at 30 people two years ago. And then in 2020, the state tied that record. With no government entity collecting such data, The Salt Lake Tribune will expand its own data gathering on police shootings.
Youth Suicide in Colorado
Colorado has one of the country’s highest suicide rates, a crisis only deepened by the pandemic. Rocky Mountain PBS examines a statewide prevention effort and finds stories of healing and hope.
Our Partners
Latest Reporting from Our Partners
POISONED: Part 1: The Factory
Hundreds of workers at a Tampa lead smelter have been exposed to dangerous levels of the neurotoxin. The consequences have been profound.
Tampa Bay Times
March 24, 2021
Not an Either/Or: Minnesota Police Officer and Dad Find Common Ground on Race and Policing
The fault line that cracked open last summer between Jai Hanson and his father, retired Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Sam Hanson, is not a unique story in this divisive era.
Star Tribune
March 20, 2021
Chauvin Trial Brings a Challenge: How to Choose an Impartial Jury
The trial is set to start, but ruling on 3rd-degree murder charge brings uncertainty.
Star Tribune
March 7, 2021
After a Bruising, Exhausting Pandemic Year, a Shard of Hope for Some in Tampa Bay
March 1 marked a year since Florida confirmed its first case of COVID-19. Tampa Bay Times spent the day with a grieving mother, a tired teacher, an optimistic outfitter, a frustrated florist and a woman still struggling to recover.
Tampa Bay Times
March 5, 2021
The Tension Between Border Town Police and Navajos is Real. And These People are Trying to Change That.
Research traces the conflict between Navajo Nation members and border town police back to the 1840s, when white settlers began occupying areas of Navajo land. These outcroppings became the border towns of today.
The Salt Lake Tribune
March 1, 2021
A Desert Shootout Spills Into Utah, Leaving One Man Dead and a Sergeant Facing Charges
A Colorado sheriff’s sergeant chased a car into Navajo Nation land in Utah and killed a man. Feds in Utah said the fatal shots were justified, but Colorado state prosecutors are now pressing charges tied to the shootout.
The Salt Lake Tribune
March 1, 2021
As Texas Struggles to Get COVID Vaccines, Rural Communities Are Hit Especially Hard
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, rural communities in the Texas Panhandle have struggled to keep up in the fight against the coronavirus. Early on they faced limited testing supplies and personal protective equipment. Now they can’t seem to get vaccines into arms fast enough.
The Texas Newsroom
January 29, 2021
'It's a Very Tough Job': In Rural Wisconsin, a Struggle to Save Family Farms and a Way of Life
Spend a few hours listening to people who live in Clark County, Wisconsin, and you hear a lot about what’s ailing small farms. But you also hear about the community ties and independence that keep them in farming.
Milwaukee PBS
January 25, 2021
New Generation of Wisconsin Dairy Farmers Look for a Future That Keeps Them on the Land, Following Their Passion
The collapse of small dairy farms has been changing the landscape of Wisconsin — literally and figuratively — for years. Thousands of family farms are weighing their future, questioning whether they should keep going when the next round of hard times, which never seems far away, could force them out of business.
Milwaukee PBS
January 21, 2021
America's Dairyland: The Next Generation
Meet some of Wisconsin's next-generation dairy farmers.
Milwaukee PBS
January 21, 2021
Utah Attorney General’s Office ‘Surprised’ Police Shot at So Many People in 2020
The Salt Lake Tribune and FRONTLINE collaborate to investigate police shootings after Utah fails to collect data.
The Salt Lake Tribune
January 10, 2021
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.