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 here, and meet our 2022 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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Listen to the Top 5 'FRONTLINE Dispatch' Podcast Episodes of 2022
Catch the 5 most-downloaded new episodes from ‘The FRONTLINE Dispatch’ podcast in 2022.
December 22, 2022
Charleston, South Carolina’s Tourism Machine: Lack of scrutiny and accountability keeps public in dark about millions of taxpayer dollars spent every year
Lack of scrutiny and accountability has kept the public in the dark about millions of taxpayer dollars spent every year.
The Post and Courier
September 23, 2022
Explore Charleston CEO Says No Ill-intent With Cayman Bank Account
Charleston’s state-funded tourism marketing group stowed nearly $2 million in public money in an offshore account. The chief executive said she could understand that this might provoke some suspicion, but the account was used strictly for business and the public’s good.
The Post and Courier
September 23, 2022
Investigating the Texas Blackout
FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative partner, the Texas Newsroom, and Austin public radio station KUT examine the aftermath of the Texas blackout of February 2021.
September 8, 2022
Uncovered (past coverage)
An ongoing effort to expose questionable government conduct and corruption throughout South Carolina.
The Post and Courier
August 24, 2022
The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout
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?
August 4, 2022
Police on Trial
FRONTLINE and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters from our local journalism partner Star Tribune examine one of the most pivotal events in the history of race and policing in America.
June 22, 2022
Covering Minneapolis in the Wake of George Floyd
New in The FRONTLINE Dispatch podcast: Star Tribune Editor Suki Dardarian joins us from Minneapolis to discuss the newsroom’s Pulitzer-winning reporting and “Police on Trial,” our new documentary with the Star Tribune.
June 3, 2022
Exclusive: A Former MPD Lieutenant Reported Another Cop. He Says He Paid a Price.
When Rich Jackson saw the footage — featured in the new documentary "Police on Trial" — that ultimately helped set in motion his exit from the Minneapolis Police Department, the then-lieutenant had a three-word reaction: “What the hell?”
June 2, 2022
‘An Unfiltered View’: Producers of ‘Police on Trial’ on What the Documentary Reveals 2 Years After the Murder of George Floyd
"That's the value of time — to not just watch and see this chronology unfold, but to really push through the surface-level narratives," said Mike Shum, director of "Police on Trial," about the new documentary from FRONTLINE and Star Tribune.
May 31, 2022
Two Years in the Making, 'Police on Trial' Premieres Tonight
Reported with the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, the documentary is "an important new chapter" in FRONTLINE's Local Journalism Initiative, writes executive producer Raney Aronson-Rath.
May 31, 2022
Chauvin, MPD Named in 2 Federal Excessive Force Lawsuits Dating to 2017, Involving Teenager, Woman
A teenager who was pinned under Derek Chauvin’s knee three years before George Floyd’s murder filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Tuesday, saying in an interview that the Minneapolis Police Department should have fired or disciplined the ex-officer for the earlier incident.
Star Tribune
May 31, 2022
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.