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.
Breakdown: Investigating Maine's deadliest shooting
In October 2023, a local Army Reservist opened fire inside two family businesses in Lewiston, a small city north of Portland. Within minutes, 18 were killed and 13 wounded – and the largely pro-gun state was left reeling. The Portland Press Herald and Maine Public examine the failures and aftermath in collaboration with FRONTLINE, including…
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.
South Carolina’s Rural Voters
What matters most to rural voters in South Carolina this election year? The Post and Courier, in collaboration with Report for America, examines the issues that are top of mind for small town voters.
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.”
Texas Border Crackdown
Immigration is one of the country’s most divisive political issues. The Texas Tribune investigates Texas' unprecedented militarization of the 1254-mile Texas-Mexico border, separating reality from political rhetoric.
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
'A Slow Healing Process': Slammed By the Dairy Crisis, Shuttered By the Coronavirus, Small Towns Forge Ahead
The city of Loyal is in the heart of Wisconsin's dairy country. For years, it's been dealing with an ailing farm economy. Then COVID-19 hit the state.
Milwaukee PBS
June 10, 2020
WATCH: Pandemic in the Heartland
A small dairy community in the northwest part of Wisconsin recorded zero cases of COVID-19. Despite that, the virus hit the city of Loyal hard.
Milwaukee PBS
June 10, 2020
WATCH: Acequia Communities Adjust Centuries-Old Water Traditions Under COVID-19
With social distancing orders in place to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus in New Mexico, acequia communities have modified springtime traditions that have endured for centuries.
New Mexico PBS
May 29, 2020
Colorado Faces Millions More in Fines As Jail Mental Health Evaluations Stall Amid Pandemic
State of Colorado officials were optimistic they would be paying millions less in fines this year for violating the civil rights of inmates who are awaiting mental health evaluations. Then, COVID-19 changed everything.
Rocky Mountain PBS
May 29, 2020
COVID-19 Is Delaying Reforms To Colorado’s Mental Health System
An investigation by Rocky Mountain PBS found that untreated mental illness was overwhelming Colorado’s criminal justice system. While the investigation ended with promises of reform from government leaders, the COVID-19 outbreak and the associated economic fallout have led to these problems getting worse.
Rocky Mountain PBS
May 28, 2020
1.3 million local people now “food insecure," warns nonprofit Feeding Tampa Bay
Even as Florida reopens, nonprofits are warning that the number of people in need because of the coronavirus pandemic is still rising.
May 26, 2020
WATCH: COVID-19 Testing at New Mexico's TriCore Reference Labs
A look at testing for the novel coronavirus — both for those infected and for those who may have had the virus with only mild or no symptoms.
New Mexico PBS
May 22, 2020
WATCH: COVID-19 In El Paso And The U.S.-Mexico Border
Although it’s in Texas, El Paso’s proximity to New Mexico and the border with Mexico makes it an important part of the pandemic equation.
New Mexico PBS
May 22, 2020
Denver Schools Screened Fewer Students For Suicide Risk In The Time Of COVID-19
Schools in the Denver, Colorado area have been screening a lot fewer students for suicide risk with school buildings closed due to COVID-19.
May 21, 2020
Child Abuse Reports Fall in Florida, Raising Concerns about At-Risk Kids
With schools still closed because of the coronavirus, the number of abuse reports across Florida in April plummeted to about 19,000, a 40 percent drop compared with the same month last year.
Tampa Bay Times
May 21, 2020
Why More Women Than Men Contract the Coronavirus in Oklahoma
Women account for about three-fourths of all COVID-19 infections among health-care workers and in nursing homes in Oklahoma, resulting in a higher proportion of women than men overall infected across the state.
Oklahoma Watch
May 20, 2020
Will A COVID-19 Vaccine Meet Resistance in Oklahoma?
When a coronavirus vaccine becomes available in the United States, the federal government and states will face a crucial choice: Should all or most residents be required to get the vaccine?
Oklahoma Watch
May 15, 2020
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.