Local Journalism Initiative
Article
ASL-Interpreted Videos for “Breakdown” Podcast Investigating Deadly Maine Shooting
American Sign Language-interpreted videos for the podcast series “Breakdown: Turning Anguish Into Action,” which examined the deadly 2023 mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, and the aftermath.
May 8, 2025
About Our Local Journalism Initiative
Since 2019, FRONTLINE has been supporting local and regional news organizations conducting investigative journalism projects in their communities. Our partners in 2022 include newsrooms in Rhode Island, Texas, North and South Carolina. We are contributing editorial, audience development and financial resources to coverage of subjects from child labor and local corruption to the treatment of mental illness in prisons.
- Read more about our Local Journalism Initiative
- Meet our 2024 partners here
- “Poisoned,” an investigation by our 2020 LJI partners at Tampa Bay Times, won a George Polk Award, a Pulitzer Prize and an NABJ Award.
Local Partner Investigations
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.
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.
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 […]
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 […]
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.”
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 […]
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.
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.”
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 […]
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.
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.
When Police Shoot
Police across Utah shot at 30 people in 2019. 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.
Related Documentaries
All Local Journalism Stories
Article
ASL-Interpreted Videos for “Breakdown” Podcast Investigating Deadly Maine Shooting
American Sign Language-interpreted videos for the podcast series “Breakdown: Turning Anguish Into Action,” which examined the deadly 2023 mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, and the aftermath.
May 8, 2025
Article
What the Lewiston Shooter’s Brain Injury Can Tell Us About Blast Exposure in the Military
Experts say the gunman’s brain tissue points to traumatic injury ‘likely’ caused by blasts in the line of duty; the Army disagrees, but is taking steps to limit exposure.
January 30, 2025
Podcast
Breakdown in Maine
Listen to the enhanced audio-only version of 'Breakdown in Maine,' from FRONTLINE, Maine Public Radio, and the Portland Press herald.
January 9, 2025
Podcast
Episode 6: ‘I Think There’s Hope’
In the aftermath of Lewiston, healing and recovery is taking many forms.
December 31, 2024
Podcast
Episode 5: ‘We’re Still Here’
Four members of Maine's deaf community died in Lewiston in October 2023 in what is believed to be the deadliest mass shooting of deaf people in the U.S.
December 27, 2024
Article
Watch 2024’s 10 Most-Streamed New FRONTLINE Documentaries
These are the 10 most-streamed new FRONTLINE documentaries of 2024 — and they're all available to watch anytime online, in the PBS App and on YouTube.
December 23, 2024
Podcast
Episode 4: ‘They Controlled It All’
Examining the history and politics of guns and hunting in Maine, the state’s unique “yellow flag” gun laws and its powerful gun lobby.
December 20, 2024
Article
As Landowners Resist, Texas’ Border Wall Is Fragmented and Built in Remote Areas
December 19, 2024
Article
There Were Warnings. Why Wasn’t the Shooter in Lewiston, Maine Stopped?
Less than four months before an Army reservist would carry out the deadliest shooting in Maine's history, he was hospitalized for psychosis and clinicians learned he had a "hit list." It was one in a series of warnings laid out…
December 10, 2024
Documentary
Breakdown in Maine
FRONTLINE, the Portland Press Herald and Maine Public investigate the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history and the missed opportunities to prevent it.
December 10, 2024
Podcast
Episode 3: ‘Dereliction of Duty’
How did leaders of the Army Reserve respond to the many, clear warning signs about the Lewiston shooter, a part-time soldier who was in a dangerous, downward spiral? And why didn’t they take further action?
November 22, 2024
Podcast
Episode 2: ‘I Believe He Is Going To Snap’
Months before the mass shooting in Lewiston that claimed 18 lives, the gunman’s family and friends were desperately trying to get him help.
November 8, 2024
Article
How Maine’s Novel ‘Yellow Flag’ Law Endured After the Lewiston Mass Shooting
Maine’s law is a compromise rooted in a tradition of gun rights that crosses the political aisle.
October 30, 2024
Podcast
Episode 1: ‘Did We Really Survive This?’
What does it mean to be a victim? Or a survivor? In a few brief moments in October 2023, 18 lives were lost in Lewiston — and Maine was changed.
October 25, 2024
Podcast
Introducing: Breakdown
Over six episodes, Breakdown explores the missed opportunities to prevent the Lewiston shootings, the role of guns and hunting in Maine’s politics, and the aftermath for shooting victims, some of whom were deaf and hard of hearing. From Maine Public…
October 25, 2024
Breakdown
On October 25, 2023, 18 people were killed in a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. It was the nation's deadliest in 2023. It may have also been the most preventable.
October 25, 2024
Article
Lewiston Counseling Center Helps Community Navigate Grief From Mass Shooting
The Maine Resiliency Center opened just 19 days after the mass shooting and has become a critical resource for more than 400 people. Some are trying to keep it open permanently.
October 24, 2024
Article
A Year After the Lewiston Mass Shooting, Six Portraits of Grief
Eighteen people were killed, 13 were shot and survived, and many others witnessed the deadliest attack in Maine’s history. A year later, a look at how some have navigated the aftermath.
October 24, 2024
Article
If It Survives in Court, Texas’ Immigration Law Could Upend Immigration Enforcement Nationwide
Texas challenged federal supremacy by creating a state crime for illegal entry into the U.S. The courts will decide whether it’s constitutional — and whether other states can follow Texas’ lead.
October 24, 2024
Article
A Maine Law Could Have Forced the Lewiston Mass Shooter Into Mental Health Treatment. Why Wasn’t It Used?
Like nearly every other state, Maine can compel those with serious mental illnesses to comply with outpatient treatment. But the law is rarely used. Some fear it threatens to return America to a dark era of institutionalization.
October 18, 2024
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Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation
Koo and Patricia Yuen
FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. Web Site Copyright ©1995-2025 WGBH Educational Foundation. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation; Park Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. Web Site Copyright ©1995-2025 WGBH Educational Foundation. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
