ProPublica, in collaboration with NPR’s Planet Money and Chicago Public Radio’s This American Life, revealed how the recession of 2008 was significantly deepened by the machinations of Merrill Lynch, Citibank and Magnetar, a little-known hedge fund. As a result, the SEC is investigating deals referenced in the series, and new rules are being implemented from the financial reform bill
ProPublica’s A.C. Thompson, in collaboration with journalists from The Nation, The New Orleans Times-Picayune and PBS’s Frontline, exposed the existence of white vigilante violence and questions about the New Orleans Police Department’s use of deadly force days after Hurricane Katrina. This series provoked an FBI investigation resulting in a federal grand jury examining police conduct. These hearings are expected to yield indictments.
Abrahm Lustgarten exposed the potential threat to drinking water supplies from the largely unregulated business of drilling for natural gas. As a result, states have ordered environmental impact studies, members of Congress want to strengthen regulation and other news outlets are reporting and editorializing on the issue.