When someone in a position of power moves to punish or shut out independent reporting, it's often viewed as another media story — an argument between politicians and journalists, happening somewhere else, about something that doesn’t matter in our community.
But an attempt to control what gets reported is an attempt to control what you know.
And what you know is how you make decisions: how you vote, whether you believe your water is safe, whether the people spending your tax dollars are spending them well, whether the nursing home you're about to move your mother into has a good safety record.
Control of information is control of your reality.
That is why Spotlight PA's independent, unbiased reporting is so important, and why I'm asking for your help with it today as part of our Fall Member Drive at spotlightpa.org/donate. A generous donor will double the first 500 gifts we receive in support of this vital work.
Here is what that money does: Our reporters spend months digging into stories that otherwise wouldn’t get told. They take more time, more talent, and more resources, like our continuing investigation into the state’s failures to protect older adults from abuse and neglect.
That two-year investigation exists because we could employ a talented investigative journalist and keep them on the story. That persistence matters in a world where those in power assume a story will come and go, and everyone will move on in a few days. We keep digging.
When no one is watching, the government — intended to answer to the people — slips into secrecy. Even well-meaning public officials, without independent questioning or accountability, become less transparent and less responsive to the public, research shows.
Maybe it’s a Right-to-Know request answered months later with the relevant pages blacked out, a board moving into executive session for a conversation the law says must be public, or a contract awarded to one local business over another without a fair and open process.
Spotlight PA was built to disrupt this corrosive trend. We are a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom covering state government and urgent statewide issues. We publish everything without a paywall, and we give our reporting to any newsroom in Pennsylvania that wants it — including the one you're reading right now — because quality information can’t be reserved only for those who can pay for it.
To preserve our independence, our model depends on reader support — by spreading our financial well-being across 11,000+ individuals throughout Pennsylvania, we ensure no single person or group holds too much sway. That protects you and the information you need.
Our Fall Member Drive is one of the most important of the year to keep this work going. Protect and defend free and fearless reporting in Pennsylvania by making a gift now at spotlightpa.org/donate while our match is available. Remember: The first 500 gifts will be doubled by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, every gift is tax-deductible, and any amount counts. To give by check, send it to: Spotlight PA, PO Box 11728, Harrisburg, PA 17108.
Thousands of your friends and neighbors are already a part of the Spotlight PA family, using their investment in independent investigative reporting to drive real change for the better. When many other avenues for change feel broken, your support of this work gets results.
Christopher Baxter is CEO & President of Spotlight PA, a nonpartisan, nonprofit newsroom covering the Pennsylvania state government and urgent statewide issues.