Who founded ProPublica and when was it launched?
Herbert and Marion Sandler committed $10 million per year to launch ProPublica in 2008. Paul Steiger accepted a salary of $570,000 that same year to run the organization as editor in chief.
Questions about ProPublica
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What Pulitzer Prizes has ProPublica won since its inception?
ProPublica became the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize in 2010 for Investigative Reporting on Hurricane Katrina's impact on Memorial Hospital doctors. The organization also won the 2016 Explanatory Reporting award, the 2017 Public Service prize, the 2019 Feature Writing award, and multiple Public Service prizes in May 2020 and May 2024.
How does ProPublica investigate algorithmic bias in criminal justice systems?
Julia Angwin led an investigation into the COMPAS algorithm used by U.S. courts that found black defendants were almost twice as likely as whites to be labeled higher risk without re-offending. The study revealed only 20 percent of people predicted to commit violent crimes actually did so.
Which organizations partner with ProPublica to distribute stories locally?
ProPublica has partnered with more than 90 different news organizations to distribute its stories for publication or broadcast. The Local Reporting Network launched in 2018 consists of partnerships with over 70 local news organizations including The Current in Georgia and Idaho Statesman.
What controversies have affected ProPublica reporting on Gina Haspel and industrial pollution?
In 2018, ProPublica retracted part of its 2017 report regarding Gina Haspel's involvement in enhanced interrogation techniques at a black site in Thailand. The organization also faced criticism when it published data on industrial pollution that contradicted claims by Texas Eastman Chemical Plant which said its own tests revealed no areas of concern.