At Spotlight PA, we seek to positively impact the future of Pennsylvania through unfettered public access to nonpartisan investigative and public-service journalism that informs, equips, and empowers people in all parts of the state to individually and collectively drive change.
In short, we measure our success by the results we’re getting for you.
If you live in Pennsylvania, you gotta have Spotlight PA.
– John C., Spotlight PA member
We look at impact across a broad spectrum of indicators to assess how our journalism is affecting and benefitting Pennsylvania. Our work often prompts significant change, such as policy changes or new legislation, but its importance extends much further. Whether it’s sparking further discussion, garnering additional media coverage, spurring action by advocacy groups, prompting individual readers to get involved, and more, we track and record all of it.
National Awards
For an investigation in collaboration with the Centre Daily Times into Penn State University’s misconduct reporting systems.
Five entries from PA Local: Touching grass with Pa.'s renaissance woodsman; Century-old fire crew's first all-female attack line; 'Trans Heaven' on the Delaware River; This ain't Texas: Meet PA's Black country artists; Cats, cannons collide at feline-themed war museum
State College regional bureau
For Spotlight PA’s redistricting coverage.
For “A Hidden Error,” an investigation that compelled the Department of Labor and Industry to admit it overcharged thousands of people millions of dollars in unemployment interest payments.
For “Rich School, Poor Students,” Spotlight PA’s investigation with the Inquirer and ProPublica on oversight and operations at the Milton Hershey School.
For “Fundamental Flaws,” an investigation into Pennsylvania’s flawed oversight of addiction treatment facilities produced in partnership with Kaiser Health News.
National Finalists
For Spotlight PA’s coverage of Penn State University.
For “Richest Little City,” an investigation into how the manager of a small Pennsylvania city landed at the center of one of the most sweeping political corruption cases in the state in recent years.
"Your Next AG” tool
For a year-long investigation into Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program.
For a Spotlight PA and WESA collaboration to track the state’s spending of opioid settlement money.
Sarah Rafacz, State College Editor
“Broken Borough,” a story about the controversy generated when the town of Tioga hired the police officer that killed Tamir Rice
For “One Vote, Two Pennsylvanias,” Spotlight PA’s 2022 gubernatorial race coverage
For “One Vote, Two Pennsylvanias,” Spotlight PA’s unique, voter-first reporting on the 2022 gubernatorial election.
For “A Criminal Solution,” a series with The Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism about how Pennsylvania jails trap those suffering with mental illness.
For Spotlight PA’s coverage of Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana industry.
For Spotlight PA’s coverage of money and influence in Pennsylvania.
For “Cannabis Card Game,” a Spotlight PA investigation into Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program.
For “Unimpaired, Unemployed,” a Spotlight PA investigation into how workers with valid medical marijuana cards have faced backlash at work.
Christopher Baxter, Executive Director, Spotlight PA
For “Privileged Information,” an investigative series with The Caucus on the legislature's spending of taxpayer dollars.
For “Turned Away,” an investigative series on the intersection of medical marijuana policy and drug addiction treatment.
For “Turned Away,” an investigative series on the intersection of medical marijuana policy and drug addiction treatment.
For "Locked Out" (stories published in 2020), our coverage of evictions during the pandemic.
For overall excellence in online journalism at Spotlight PA.
For “Big Spending, Little Accountability,” a collaborative investigation with The Caucus into how Pennsylvania lawmakers obscured millions in campaign spending.
State Awards
“Several Pa. Pension Systems Kept Working With Financial Adviser After SEC Settlement,” Ed Mahon, Spotlight PA
For “Why Judges Matter,” encompassing dozens of stories, including candidate guides, explainers of how the courts and judges work, virtual events, extensive Spanish translations, and an interactive online tool showing how court decisions shape important policy matters from abortion to gun rights.
For “Richest Little City,” an investigation into how the manager of a small Pennsylvania city landed at the center of one of the most sweeping political corruption cases in the state in recent years.
For “Richest Little City,” an investigation into how the manager of a small Pennsylvania city landed at the center of one of the most sweeping political corruption cases in the state in recent years.
For "Richest Little City" The inside story of how one man remade a small Pa. city while allegedly ripping off his neighbors
Richest Little City
Missed Conduct
“Why State College’s Anti-gambling Movement Failed to Stop the Nittany Mall Casino,” Lilly Riddle, News Lab at Penn State in partnership with Spotlight PA
For “Broken 'compassionate release' rules strand Pa.'s sickest prisoners as costs to taxpayers soar,” a story about aging prisoners in Pa. and how few successfully petition for release.
For “Draft bills and late‐night emails reveal cozy ties between Pa. state lawmaker, casino lobbyists,” about the drama surrounding unregulated “skill games” that generate millions in untaxed revenue.
For “Unimpaired, Unemployed,” an investigation into the vague legal safeguards for medical marijuana users in Pennsylvania, which create confusion and force workers to choose between their job and a doctor-approved drug.
For “Why these Pa. teams got left out of the minor league baseball union,” an examination of unionization in the minor leagues in Pennsylvania.
For “One Vote, Two Pennsylvanias,” Spotlight PA’s 2022 gubernatorial race coverage.
For Spotlight PA’s coverage of Penn State University.
For "The Disconnect", our series on rural broadband and a Pa. law that makes it harder for local governments to build their own networks
For collaborative investigative reporting with The Philadelphia Inquirer on the troubles facing the Public School Employees’ Retirement System.
For Spotlight PA’s redistricting coverage.
Kate Huangpu, redistricting reporter, Spotlight PA
For Spotlight PA’s interactive map comparison tool, which allowed readers to search their address to see how their political districts would change under the newly drawn maps.
For "The Ad Block," our coverage of Pennsylvania's medical marijuana industry
For “At Risk, In the Dark,” an investigation into how secrecy and a patchwork of emergency plans around the Mariner East pipelines have left many communities in the dark about what to do in case of an accident
For “Decided in Secret,” an accountability series examining the state's granting of coronavirus business waivers — allowing some to reopen, and forcing others to remain closed — in total secrecy.
For “Condemn, Discuss, Repeat,” an investigation into how Pennsylvania’s higher education system fails students of color.
For Spotlight PA’s Diverse Source Database, a publicly accessible database of Pennsylvania-based experts of color, which aims to ensure that Pennsylvania’s local and statewide news coverage is more equitable and better reflects the communities we serve
For Spotlight PA’s COVID email alerts, which provided Pennsylvanians with essential, county-by-county data during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
For an interactive map produced as part of “At Risk, In the Dark,” an investigation into emergency preparedness along the Mariner East pipelines.
For “Big Spending, Little Accountability,” a Spotlight PA collaborative investigation with The Caucus into how Pennsylvania lawmakers obscured millions in campaign spending.
State Finalists
Waiting Game
“A Criminal Solution”; Brittany Hailer, Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism; Danielle Ohl, Sarah Hutchins and Matt Dempsey, Spotlight PA; Spotlight PA and Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism
Broken Code, with Votebeat
“The PA Women Who Broke Hockey’s Glass Ceiling,” Tanisha Thomas, Spotlight PA
“Shapiro Secrecy”; Angela Couloumbis, Stephen Caruso, Katie Meyer and Kate Huangpu; Spotlight PA
“Pennsylvania's Opioid Settlement Money”; Kate Giammarise and Sarah Boden, WESA; Ed Mahon, Spotlight PA
“Opioid Settlement Money”; Ed Mahon, Spotlight PA; Kate Giammarise and Sarah Boden, WESA
For "Opioid settlement cash a boon to Pa. prosecutors but public defenders are being turned away"
For "Pennsylvania's Opioid Settlement Money series" in collaboration with WESA
For "the Waiting Game," our series on PA homeowners difficulties accessing mortgage relief funds
For "Tracking the Opioid Settlement"
For "High Anxiety," investigating how anxiety disorder became a common diagnosis for medical cannabis
For "Pennsylvania's Opioid Settlement Money series" in collaboration with WESA
For “A Criminal Solution,” an investigation into how Pennsylvania laws designed to help people with mental illnesses often end up trapping them in jail.
For Spotlight PA’s criminal justice reporting.
For “Rare disciplinary case against Pa. doctor offers glimpse into the big business of medical marijuana cards,” an examination of the state’s medical marijuana program and the lack of oversight and enforcement.
For Spotlight PA’s coverage of redistricting in Pennsylvania following the 2020 census.
For “A Criminal Solution,” a series with The Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism about how Pennsylvania jails trap those suffering with mental illness.
For “Fundamental Flaws,” a collaborative investigation with Kaiser Health News into Pennsylvania’s poor oversight of addiction treatment facilities.
For “Locked Out,” ongoing eviction coverage stemming from the pandemic
For “The Final Moments,” a collaborative investigation with NBC News revealing the final seconds before Christian Hall was shot and killed by State Police.
For “Crisis of Care,” a collaborative analysis with PublicSource of Pennsylvania’s poor preparation for a coming swell in demand for dementia care.
For “The Hidden Tab,” a collaborative, year-long investigation with The Caucus into how lawmakers spend millions of tax dollars on themselves.
For a collection of illustrations by Spotlight PA freelancer Leise Hook.
Decided in Secret
A changing story by police on a rural Pa. shooting helped fuel white vigilantes and misinformation
For “At Risk, In the Dark,” an investigation into how secrecy and a patchwork of emergency plans around the Mariner East pipelines have left many communities in the dark about what to do in case of an accident
For “Cut, Now Crucial,” about contact tracing in Pennsylvania.
For a collaboration with PennLive, “Short Days, Big Benefits,” about magisterial judges