On this episode Mark Simon is joined by Sarah Conway, a senior reporter at City Bureau and Trina Reynolds-Tyler, the data director for The Invisible Institute. They just won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting for their 2-year investigation, Missing in Chicago. You can find it at ChicagoMissingPersons.com.

Their 7-part investigative series revealed how Chicago police violated state law and police procedure, delaying and mishandling missing person cases. The series revealed a racial bias that disproportionately impacts Black women and girls and how poor police data is making the problem harder to solve.

The interview explores how the project began, challenges faced during the investigation, personal experiences that shaped their journalism journeys, the importance of accurate data, and the value of community involvement in journalism. The conversation also highlights the duo's personal mental health strategies while working on this emotionally taxing project.

Sarah’s Salutes: Chicago photojournalist & reporter Sebastian Hidalgo

Trina’s Salutes: Jamie Nesbitt Golden, Block Club Chicago

About City Bureau:

City Bureau is a Chicago-based nonprofit journalism lab reimagining local media: how we make it, who can make it, and how it can better reflect people’s priorities and needs. We do this by equipping people with skills and resources, engaging in critical public conversations, and producing information that directly addresses people’s needs. Our programs equip people with skills, resources, and connections, creating pathways for a more participatory democracy. Drawing from our work in Chicago, we aim to equip every community with the tools it needs to eliminate information inequity to further liberation, justice and self-determination

To learn more about City Bureau, listen to our interview with its co-founder, Bettina Chang

About Invisible Institute:

The Invisible Institute is a nonprofit journalism production company on the South Side of Chicago. We work to enhance the capacity of citizens to hold public institutions accountable. As we address the racial inequities that deform our society, we also work to alter the asymmetrical power dynamic within journalism by creating the conditions for people to drive their own narratives, putting our craft at the service of their experience. Our work is organized around a central principle: we have co-responsibility with the government for maintaining respect for human rights and, when abuses occur, for demanding redress.

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