Our mission is to inform citizens, safeguard democracy, and give communities a voice.

The Oregon Journalism Project is a new, nonprofit investigative journalism newsroom for the state of Oregon. While our organization is new, our model is not. We’ve been inspired by the success of similar ventures across the country. In Washington, The Seattle Times has civically funded Journalism Labs. In New Mexico, civic leaders started a statewide newsroom called Searchlight New Mexico. In Pennsylvania, civic leaders and philanthropists have launched Spotlight PA — a newsroom of watchdog journalists.

As a nonprofit, OJP has complete editorial independence. The project will produce regular stories on matters of real interest to Oregonians, while shining a light on those institutions whose proper functioning is central to our quality of life. State and local government — along with the federal government’s impact on Oregon — will be our main beat.

Our stories will be published both online and in print. We’ll collaborate with independent newspapers and publishers across the state, and are building a growing roster of partner publications that will feature our deeply reported watchdog journalism for free. We’ll also print our work in Willamette Week, from which our back-office services are provided via a service agreement.

We’ll place particular emphasis on reaching, and speaking to, Oregonians who live far away from the metropolis of Portland.