Today, cutting edge investigative journalism just got another boost.
ProPublica, an independent, non-profit newsroom that “focuses exclusively on truly important stories, with moral force,” launched today. For this innovative news organization, Apture is an amazing tool for showcasing source materials and relevant documentation that add depth to online news.
Here ProPublica uses Apture to shed new light on campaign finance reform. In an article by Paul Kiel, ProPublica reports on a loophole in the DNC finance reform plan that allows corporate lobbyists give large contributions by way of sponsoring the Democratic Convention in Denver. He creates an Apture Link to a report from the Campaign Finance Institute, in which readers can view, down to the line item, how lobbyists contributed to both Democratic and Republican campaigns, and how those lobbyists were compensated with special VIP treatment.
In another article here, Kiel investigates the lack of documentation or rationale for billions of dollars given to US allies from 2003 to 2006. He uses Apture to link to a document confirming a payment for $8 million to a Polish Army Commander in 2004. The article, entitled “Coalition of the Willing to Be Paid”, focuses on an audit of the US Military spending throughout the Iraq war.
More on ProPublica
Led by Editor in Chief Paul Steiger, award-winning managing editor of The Wall Street Journal from 1991-2007, ProPublica aims to be the largest and best-funded investigative journalism team in the country. At a time when budget cuts at major newspapers continue to shrink investigative journalism staffs, ProPublica provides the major print media outlets with the top-notch investigative journalism. ProPublica is a non-profit that uses philanthropic donations to fund its investigations. When Steiger was asked in a recent interview why he plans to distribute the news instead of creating a publication of his own, he cites the costs of running a daily publication as the main concern. To that end, each story they publish will be distributed in a manner designed to maximize its impact. And if its impact they need, then Apture is the tool for the job. Apture gives web publishers the ability to provide source materials and related documentation to make news stories more engaging and effective.
The Apture team would like to congratulate ProPublica on their launch and their commitment to pushing the boundaries of investigative journalism.
