Mother Jones Invests In D.C.-Based Investigative Team

About: While most media outlets cut jobs and close bureaus, Mother Jones reinforces its commitment to smart, fearless journalism.

For Immediate Release:
August 8, 2007
Contact:
Richard Reynolds, Mother Jones
415/321-1740
reynolds@motherjones.com

Political and investigative reporting is in a state of emergency. No U.S. media organization has opened a bureau in Washington, D.C., in years, and many have closed or greatly cut down their D.C. bureaus. Investigative units all over the country are also on the chopping block. These facts should trouble anyone who understands the importance of the press—and particularly in-depth, investigative reporting—to a healthy democracy.

Mother Jones is bucking that trend. By launching a seven-person D.C. Bureau, Mother Jones is creating a major new presence in the nation's capital dedicated to independent, investigative reporting. The move is part of the magazine's transformation from a bimonthly print publication into an integrated print-and-online news organization; the addition of the new reporters, along with the magazine's San Francisco-based West Coast reporter, Josh Harkinson, and a cast of freelancers around the nation, will bring Mother Jones' tradition of rigorously researched and fact-checked reporting to the 24/7 news cycle.

In addition to senior correspondent James Ridgeway and associate editor Daniel Schulman, Mother Jones has just hired four reporters for its Washington bureau:

• Laura Rozen
• Stephanie Mencimer
• Jonathan Stein
• Bruce Falconer

There is plenty of opinion-slinging inside the Beltway and on the Internet, but authentic, reality-based, original reporting has suffered in recent years. By devoting more, not fewer, people and resources to investigative reporting, Mother Jones seeks to help fill the void left by commercial media cutbacks and bureau closures. A vibrant democracy needs independent journalism to inform public debate and hold power accountable; in stepping up at this crucial moment, Mother Jones is building and expanding on its 31-year legacy of smart, fearless reporting.