ProPublica announced the hiring of Pratheek Rebala to the data team as a computational journalist. Rebala started in November 2024.
He joins us from the Center for Public Integrity, where he worked on several blockbuster projects, including “Copy, Paste, Legislate” and “40 Acres and a Lie.” Prior to that, Rebala was a data reporter at Time magazine.
“Copy, Paste, Legislate,” an investigation into copycat bills written by lobbyists and special interest groups in state legislatures across the country, received a Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting honoring Rebela’s work and that of collaborators from USA Today and The Arizona Republic.
His reporting at the Center for Public Integrity on election access and the environment has also received other honors, including awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Society of Environmental Journalists, and more.
He is based in Washington, D.C.
“Pratheek knows his way around large language models and undocumented APIs, can analyze massive datasets and pull signals from large unstructured pools of documents,” said Hannah Fresques, deputy data editor at ProPublica. “I’ve been a fan of his work and can’t wait to see the data journalism Pratheek will do here.”
“As a computational journalist, I’m excited to push the boundaries of how data and technology can uncover hidden truths and empower meaningful change,” said Rebala. “ProPublica’s work demonstrates the power of investigative journalism to challenge entrenched systems and serve the public good, and I’m honored to contribute to that legacy.”
