The Reporters Inc

08/18/2026

48-year-old Mike Johnson died in 2010 after battling AIDS for nearly 20 years. The Milton, Wisconsin native contracted the virus through heteros*xual, unprotected s*x in the early ’90s. He then spent more than a decade traveling the country, educating thousands of high school and college students about the risks and dangers of HIV transmission. His friend Jerry Huffman shares just how much Mike meant to him in this Reporters Inc. Original.
https://thereporters.org/one-last-round/

08/13/2026

Writer Kim Whiting recounts the story of her friend, Tay Ramey. Once a gifted child, Tay was shaped by abuse, community violence, and a sense that he did not belong in the wider world. Tay was serving a life sentence for murder in California before his death in 2020. His story illustrates, Whiting says, how traumatic experiences and low self-worth can lead people toward violence. It also shows, she argues, that the alternative--being seen and loved--can foster healing. It's a Reporters Inc. Original. https://thereporters.org/the-making-of-a-shooter/

08/08/2026

As voters go to cast their ballots across the nation in the 2026 primaries, members of the progressive group Indivisible are mobilizing. Motivated by concerns over immigration, reproductive rights, and the future of democracy, activists are pushing for stronger, progressive Democratic leadership while finding support, purpose and community. It’s a Reporters Inc. Original.

Democratic voters grapple with concerns and fears as the 2026 midterms approach As voters go to cast their ballots across the nation in the 2026 primaries, members of the progressive group Indivisible are mobilizing. Motivated by concerns over immigration, reproductive rights, and the future of demo...

07/22/2026

G. Marshall Brooks felt lost when her beloved father died; her mother’s physical and mental health then began to decline, essentially forcing 15-year-old G. to take on the overwhelming role of parenting a parent. Marshall Brooks continues chronicling her fascinating life with this next entry from “Life in the Key of G.” While struggling with her own grief, G. was sent to Wyoming to stay with "Brother Number Three" -- who she barely knew. “On the outside, it seemed that I just rolled with the punches," Marshall Brooks writes. "But inside I was just a kid, trying to do what my Daddy told me to do when faced with a challenge." It's a Reporters Inc. Original.

G. Marshall Brooks felt lost when her beloved father died; her mother’s physical and mental health then began to decline, essentially forcing 15-year-old G. to take on the overwhelming role of parenting a parent Marshall Brooks continues chronicling her fascinating life with this next entry from ....

07/21/2026

The chaos of homelessness often makes clear thinking impossible for homeless families -- but a new book by author/activist Diane Nilan shows us how to truly care for those who need structure, calm, and hope. Living out of their cars or in "no-tell" motels, homeless families are often the most difficult to categorize, define or even locate -- but easy to help if you know what to do. The Reporters Inc. speaks with Diane and has exclusive excerpts:

The chaos of homelessness often makes clear thinking impossible for homeless families; a new book shows us how to truly care for those who need structure, calm, and hope Diane Nilan has dedicated forty years documenting the reality of family homelessness in America. She’s and traveled more than 50...

07/14/2026

From The Reporters Inc.’s Archives: In 2023, reporter Kim Whiting explained how a wage increase for personal care assistants (PCAs) in Minnesota could help address the state’s shortage, and get people who rely on them the help they desperately need. The increase (to $20 an hour by 2025) helped stabilize the workforce but today there are still nearly 8,000 unfilled PCA positions in Minnesota, and the state predicts it will ultimately need an additional 68,000 home care workers in the coming years to keep pace with demographic demands. It’s a dire situation playing out throughout the U.S.:

Will pay raises be enough to avert a health crisis? As of 2022, there were more than 7,800 unfilled personal care assistant positions in Minnesota. PCA staffing agencies are struggling due to the shortage of people willing to work in those positions at the current pay rates. A recent wage increase f...

07/13/2026

From The Reporters Inc.’s Archives: As more states legalize recreational ma*****na, concerns about "stoned driving” continue to mount. In 2016, government studies estimated that nearly 2.5 million people in the U.S. were regular ma*****na users. That statistic has risen to roughly 64 million as of 2024. Writer Mari Gringaliunas investigated the concerns and consequences involving driving while high -- issues that persist today. https://thereporters.org/driving-while-high/

07/13/2026

A conversation about race in America, past and present— it's a discussion that somehow always stays the same. G. Marshall-Brooks shares a complex discussion with one of her friends about "Being Black in America." She believes Civil Rights laws changed the meaning of freedom for everyone in this country, including White people. "I’m definitely not giving a free pass to anyone, whether they were or are actively involved in the oppression of any people or group, or have just stood by and watched. But I am positing the thought that bigotry and hatred have all people and groups in America restricted and restrained." It's a Reporters Inc. Original:

07/09/2026

From The Reporters Inc.’s Archives: Matthew A. Cherry retired from the NFL in 2007 to pursue a career in entertainment. Thirteen years later, he found himself at the Academy Awards accepting an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. He used his win to help promote the CROWN Act, which aims to ban discrimination in schools and workplaces for people who wear natural hairstyles like locs and braids. The publicity helped the growing momentum for a nationwide adoption of the act. Writer Rashanah Baldwin interviews Cherry about his film, Hair Love.

Filmmaker reflects on success of his Oscar-winning animated short Matthew A. Cherry retired from the NFL in 2007 to pursue a career in entertainment. Thirteen years later, he found himself at the Academy Awards accepting an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. The Reporters Inc.'s Rashanah Baldwin in...

06/10/2026

From The Reporters Inc.’s Archives: After reporter Stacia Kalinoski lost her job as a TV news anchor in Michigan and underwent brain surgery, she turned the painful story of her epileptic seizures into a powerful documentary, "Brainstorm." That was nearly a decade ago. Since then, Kalinoski has continued her work as an epilepsy awareness advocate and a motivational speaker. In this first-person account she wrote for The Reporters Inc., she says, "I’m telling my story loudly in order to clear up misconceptions and educate America. It needs to be shared.”

Former journalist shares how her epilepsy diagnosis turned her world upside-down "Making a documentary about my experiences with epileptic seizures seemed like a natural segue--a bridge--to link my TV reporting career and health issues," Stacia Kalinoski says. After losing her job and undergoing bra...