Lee Enterprises bolsters commitment to in-depth, investigative reporting with national Public Service Journalism team
The commitment to local investigative reporting is critical to Lee’s Three-Pillar Growth Strategy and demonstrates the company’s dedication to supporting the type of journalism that emphasizes accountability and changes lives.
“The creation of our Public Service Journalism team strengthens our company’s commitment to investigative and data journalism, because it’s the work that can truly make a difference in the communities we serve,” said Jason Adrians, Lee Enterprises’ Vice President – Local News. “At Lee Enterprises, we’re investing in local news talent and tools, premium reporting and storytelling, and the development of young journalists.”
The Public Service Journalism team is comprised of 12 experienced reporters – four each in Lee’s West, Midwest and East regions – who will collaborate with staff members in Lee’s newsrooms across the country to augment the work of local reporting networks. This new reporting team brings expertise in various topical backgrounds, ranging from public safety to public health, from state government to the environment.
The Public Service Journalism team will assist with access to public records, track taxpayer money and government spending, examine data related to health, crime and safety issues and serve as watchdogs for communities across the county. In their previous reporting roles both inside Lee newsrooms and in other markets, these team members’ work has helped free the innocent, put the guilty behind bars and change laws.
The team includes a Pulitzer Prize finalist; three members of the nationally renowned ProPublica Local Reporting Network; a grant recipient from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting; a regional
In addition to Lee’s investment in this uniquely talented Public Service Journalism team, the company has prioritized the future of local journalism by expanding its internship program. Lee newsrooms added more than 60 summer interns in 2022 as part of a program that provided real-world training in digital-first journalism for undergraduate and graduate student journalists in dozens of newsrooms.
“Our expanded internship program demonstrates how important we view our company’s role in the development of the next generation of journalists, as well as how crucial it is that we continue to partner with college and high school journalism programs throughout the nation,” Adrians said.
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Source: Lee Enterprises Inc.