Beacon of Investigative Reporting: An Insight into the ProPublica Website

Having spent five consecutive days skimming at ProPublica stories, it can be concluded that the site gives the reader a rutted experience. Within the five days, it is valid to ascertain that the site had some trends while developing new stories in the form of news which attracts the reader’s attention. For instance, the site used attractive headlines like “The Cost of the Office? Trump’s Billion-Dollar Loss — “Trump, Inc.” Podcast Extra,” published on October 5 at 2.13 p.m. EDT to gain the reader’s attention. Such headlines vehemently attract readers giving the reader an apprehension to read more about President Trump's billion dollar loss.

Although most of the ProPublica stories were thought-provoking, however, some of them were broken. A case in point is a story like “You Don’t Earn Much and You’re Being Audited by the IRS. Now what?” which was published on October 4 at 5 a.m. EDT, portrays evil as evil and good as good. Similarly, the news published on the same date, "Another Court Ruling against a West Virginia Pipeline, Then another Effort to Change the Rules” gives another instance of broken stories. As seen from ProPublica stories, broken stories suggest that something is not right and should be fixed. Such stories have the potential to prompt the readers to rebuild something broken in their real world.

Notably, most of the ProPublica stories were written by journalists. Most of the stories were accurate and factual. A relevant instance is a story published by Rahima Nasa on October 2 at 7.30 p.m. EDT. In the story, Rahima, a journalist, presents facts on the four men who were arrested over unrest during the 2017’s “Unite the Right” rally. On the contrary, some stories were published by citizens. As an illustration, a story published on October 1 at 11 a.m. was not written by a journalist although it was accurate and factual. Most of the stories were truthful, independent, impartial and accurate which is a sure sign of professional and responsible journalism.

Most of the features in the ProPublica site were news. This essay found no instance of news and entertainment mixture. Although the news was not 100%, however, a section of the stories was neither News nor entertainment. A publication like “Ignoring Innocence” and “Walking while in Black” forms a relevant case illustration. Seemingly, the main mission of the ProPublica site is to publish news stories and not entertainment. For this reason, the main goal is likely to gain greater insights into the digital preferences of the audience as well as grow a stream of revenue through publishing news stories. ProPublica shares their content pretty freely with the aim of bringing new readers to their wall, and are likely to pay for the digital content.

 In conclusion, the five days experience in ProPublica content is an indication that most news companies now realize that the actual value of the online news is sharing and engagement. It is through such action that their stories meet the social network. Connecting with the community is so critical to ProPublica’s future success. Engagement has fuel ProPublica’s publishing strategies while presenting their news content. Through the digital platform, the institution is giving the readers a lot more of what they need and any time they need it. The site has ensured that most of the stories are published by journalists for accountability and accuracy.

Table of Information

Day

Activities

One (October 1, 2018)

-Read a publication on Data Institute     Class of 2018

-Read “Cancer Center’s Board Chairman Faults Top Doctor, Saying He “Crossed Lines”

Two (October 2, 2018)

Skimmed through new publications on ProPublica

-Read the news on criminal case involving Texas surgeon.

-Read the story by Rahima about the

Four Men Arrested Over Unrest During 2017 “Unite the Right” Rally

Three (October 3, 2018)

Skimmed through “The Business of Silence — “Trump, Inc.” Podcast”, and “Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Chief Executive Resigns From Merck’s Board of Directors” stories

Four (October 4, 2018)

-Came across “You Don’t Earn Much and You’re Being Audited by the IRS. Now What?” story published by Paul Kiel at 5am.

-Read “Another Court Ruling Against a West Virginia Pipeline, Then Another Effort to Change the Rules” news.

-Also skimmed through “How Much Money Is Being Spent in the Illinois Governor’s Race?” story

Five (October 5, 2018)

-Skimmed through ProPublica stories and came across “The Cost of the Office? Trump’s Billion-Dollar Loss — “Trump, Inc.” Podcast Extra,” and “Illinoisans on Illinois: Tips and Tales From Around the State” stories.

Works Cited

Craft, Stephanie, and Charles N. Davis. Principles of American journalism: An introduction. Routledge, 2016.

 Propublica." ProPublica. N. p., 2018. Web. 8 Oct. 2018.