News21 archive

Carnegie-Knight News21 projects have included award-winning investigations into voting rights, post-9/11 veterans, marijuana laws and guns in America, among other topics.

The groundbreaking projects have impacted the national discourse with major media outlets publishing and citing portions of the investigations. The investigations take journalism to new levels with innovative uses of multimedia, data visualizations and more.

Explore the projects below.

2019

State of Emergency: News21 investigates disaster recovery

“State of Emergency” documents how the U.S. government responds to a growing number of natural disasters. A News21 analysis of Federal Emergency Management Agency data showed that smaller disasters accounted for more than 60 percent of all federally declared disasters between 2003 and 2018. Yet they received at least $57.3 billion less in public assistance from FEMA. Students traveled to 25 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to tell stories of communities devastated by natural disasters.

2018

Hate in America: News21 investigates how hate is changing a nation

“Hate in America” examined intolerance, racism and hate crimes across the country. The national multimedia reporting project was produced by the nation’s top journalism students and graduates. Students from 19 universities traveled to 36 states, including a 7,000-mile road trip around the country. They conducted hundreds of interviews, reviewed thousands of pages of court documents, FBI data and state and federal statutes. They also produced a documentary and a five-episode podcast following the lifecycle of hate.

2017

Troubled Water: News21 Investigates Drinking Water in America

After interviewing hundreds of individuals and collecting thousands of pages of state and federal statutes and records, News21 found as many as 63 million people – nearly a fifth of the country – were exposed to potentially unsafe water more than once during the past decade. Twenty-nine journalism students from 18 universities took part in the project, which included a 30-minute documentary and numerous long-form stories.

2016

Voting Wars: A News21 investigation of voting rights in America

In the lead up to the 2016 elections, News21 examined voting laws in all 50 states. The fellows tallied dozens of new voting laws and found that laws were nine times more likely to be passed by Republican-led legislatures than those controlled by Democrats. Thirty-one students from 18 universities traveled to 31 states for the investigation with more than 100 media properties will publish portions of the investigation.

2015

America’s Weed Rush

As the debate for the legalization of marijuana heated up, News21 fellows traveled across the country to report on the politics, regulation and science behind the nation’s marijuana movement. The 27 journalism students from 19 universities uncovered wide disparities in the enforcement of state marijuana laws, a lack of federally funded scientific marijuana research, illegal growers and sellers in nearly every state.

2014

Gun Wars: A News21 investigation of gun rights and regulations in America

In the aftermath of the Newtown school shootings, News21 released a major investigation into the polarizing issues of gun rights and regulation in America. Twenty-nine students from 16 universities produced dozens of multimedia stories, videos, databases and photo galleries examining the issue from both sides of the divide. The investigation found at least 28,000 children and teens were killed by guns over an 11-year period.

2013

Back Home: The Enduring Battles Facing Post-9/11 Veterans

As post-9/11 veterans returned home from war, News21 released an investigation into their treatment. Twenty-six students from 12 universities produced dozens of stories, videos, photos and interactives, documenting the experiences of veterans as they negotiated a federal bureaucracy ill-equipped to deal with them. The investigation found veterans were killing themselves at more than double the rate of the civilian population.

2012

Who Can Vote?

In the most exhaustive study ever of American election fraud, News21 found only 10 cases of in-person voter fraud, despite a national clamor for strict voter ID laws to prevent fraud. Twenty-four students from 11 universities examined the partisan and racially charged debate over voting rights. Launched just before the 2012 political conventions, the project included in-depth reports, interactive databases and data visualizations.

2011

How Safe is Your Food?

In an in-depth look at food safety, News21 found foodborne illness strike tens of millions of Americans each year — killing thousands — because the nation’s food safety system is dangerously fragmented, underfunded, undercut by politics and overwhelmed by a rising tide of food imports. Twenty-seven students from five universities examined food safety issues through in-depth stories, photos, video, graphics and interactive databases.

2010

Breakdown: Traveling Dangerously in America

In an examination of the unnecessary risks that face Americans on roads, trains, boats and planes, News21 uncovered federal agencies, states and transportation industries were taking longer than ever to act on recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board. The fellows found the average number of years to implement recommendations went from a historical 3.4 years to 5.4 years. The investigation included 23 news stories and dozens of accompanying photos, videos and interactive graphics.