NPR has created a new investigative team to collaborate on reporting with member stations, the network announced Wednesday.
The Station Investigations Team is a new initiative in NPR’s Collaborative Journalism Network, which includes regional newsrooms and teams focused on specific topics. The team is funded with a $500,000 CPB grant.
“This new investigative unit is the latest way NPR is partnering with station based reporters to provide support and resources to help them report on issues that affect Americans’ lives — from the safety of the water where we live to the ability of our local health systems to respond to the pandemic,” said Tamar Charney, acting senior director of collaborative journalism, in a press release.
Any member station will be able to pitch a collaborative investigative project to NPR, spokesperson Isabel Lara told Current.
The team will be led by Cheryl Thompson, who joined NPR in 2019 after a 22-year career with the Washington Post, and will include a producer and a data editor who can advise station reporters on collecting data and filing freedom of information requests.
“This is an amazing opportunity to work with our Member stations to do those stories that hold the powerful accountable,” Thompson said in the release.