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The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, launched in 2019, gives University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism students the opportunity to work with news organizations across the country to report stories of national or international importance to the public.
The multidisciplinary program is focused on training the next generation of reporters through hands-on investigative journalism projects. Students learn to dive deep into data, ask tough questions of those in power and tell the stories they uncover in new and compelling ways.
The center is directed by Kathy Best, whose long career in journalism includes leading The Seattle Times to two Pulitzer Prizes.
Read the impactful journalism produced at Merrill College's Howard Center for Investigative Journalism:
>> Code Red: Baltimore's Climate Divide - In collaboration with NPR, the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism and Capital News Service explored the disproportionate impact a warming climate has on residents of primarily poor, urban neighborhoods. The project won six major professional journalism awards. The Associated Press distributed the project nationwide; stories appeared on more than 700 national and regional news websites, including The Washington Post and ABC News.
>> Growing Up Behind Bars - The United States was the only country to condemn minors to life in prison with no chance for parole. In recent years, the Supreme Court has ruled this unconstitutional. Yet more than 2,000 so-called juvenile lifers remain in prison in what the court says is cruel and unusual punishment. This is the college's third partnership with PBS NewsHour.
>> Nowhere To Go - The Howard Center wanted to take a nationwide snapshot of how homeless people are being treated in America, particularly those living outside, with nowhere to go. To do that, the Howard Center created an unprecedented collaboration among seven university journalism programs spanning the country.
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