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
Minnesota Poll: Most Minneapolis Voters Want Reform, Not Fewer Cops
A clear majority of Minneapolis voters oppose reducing the size of the city’s police force — a feeling that’s especially strong among Black voters, according to a new poll. At the same time, voters are showing support for replacing the police department with a new agency, our Local Journalism Initiative partner the Star Tribune finds.
Star Tribune
September 18, 2021
Minneapolis’ bloody summer puts city on pace for most violent year in a generation
A surge in gunshots in some areas have put the city on pace for its most violent year in a generation.
Star Tribune
September 11, 2021
Groups Arise, Spurred by Minneapolis Gun Violence, to Enact Early Interventions
Timing is everything when it comes to traumatic events, advocates say.
Star Tribune
September 2, 2021
Between defund and defend, L.A. tries new tactics, bigger budget for cops
More than a year after George Floyd’s killing, Los Angeles’ commitment to police reform is being tested, our Local Journalism Initiative partner the StarTribune found.
August 28, 2021
In Atlanta, city wrestles with call to transform policing
In Atlanta, the rare American city with a majority Black police department, crime is the top issue in November’s mayoral election, and the city’s political discussion remains charged, our Local Journalism Initiative partner the StarTribune found.
August 28, 2021
Why Utah Police Can Be Forced to Explain a Shooting and How Those Interviews Can Become Public
Police chiefs can force officers to talk after a police shooting, and those interviews — while they can’t be used in criminal proceedings against officers — may become public.
The Salt Lake Tribune
August 6, 2021
Utah Couple Say Internal Police Interview Contradicts Cottonwood Heights on Shooting Death of Son
The new revelations are part of the family’s civil suit. But prosecutors can’t use the information in a criminal investigation.
The Salt Lake Tribune
August 5, 2021
A Utah Prosecutor Says New Self-Defense Law Makes It Harder to Charge Problematic Police Officers
Reacting to calls for police reform, some states have made it easier for prosecutors to criminally charge officers accused of using deadly force when they shouldn’t have. Utah, on the other hand, made it harder.
The Salt Lake Tribune
August 2, 2021
‘A disturbing shooting’: Salt Lake County district attorney says officer was justified in killing handcuffed man
An exasperated district attorney tried to get two points across at a Thursday news conference. The first is that as the law is currently written, Longman’s shooting was justified. The second is that Gill thinks the law should be changed.
The Salt Lake Tribune
July 22, 2021
Ralls Residents Face Uncertainty as the Rural Community's EMS is in Jeopardy
The residents of Ralls, TX are facing uncertainty as they are at risk of losing their Emergency Medical Service station.
The Texas Newsroom
July 20, 2021
Most Never Shoot at Someone, but These 38 Utah Officers Have Pulled the Trigger Multiple Times
The Salt Lake Tribune and FRONTLINE reporters relied on police records and news reports to document each time a Utah officer fired his or her weapon from 2004 to 2020, tracking 318 shootings.
The Salt Lake Tribune
July 13, 2021
VIDEO: A Utah Police Officer Killed a Man Inside the Police Department. It Was His Third Shooting.
A West Valley City police sergeant killed Michael Chad Breinholt nearly two years ago, but the district attorney still hasn’t said whether the shooting was justified.
The Salt Lake Tribune
July 12, 2021
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.