Stephen Engelberg
Stephen Engelberg is ProPublica’s editor in chief and served as founding managing editor from 2008-2012.
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Stephen Engelberg was the founding managing editor of ProPublica from 2008-2012, and became editor in chief on Jan. 1, 2013. He came to ProPublica from The Oregonian in Portland, where he had been a managing editor since 2002. Before joining The Oregonian, Engelberg worked for The New York Times for 18 years, including stints in Washington, D.C., and Warsaw, Poland, as well as in New York. He was a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board from 2012 to 2021.
Engelberg’s work since 1996 has focused largely on the editing of investigative projects. He started the Times’ investigative unit in 2000. Projects he supervised at the Times on Mexican corruption (published in 1997) and the rise of Al Qaeda (published beginning in January 2001) were awarded the Pulitzer Prize. During his years at The Oregonian, the paper won the Pulitzer for breaking news and was a finalist for its investigative work on methamphetamines and charities intended to help the disabled. He is the co-author of “Germs: Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War” (2001).
Will the Jan. 6 Hearings Change Anyone’s Mind?
The 1973 Watergate hearings changed popular opinion after Richard Nixon’s landslide win. Here’s what is — and isn’t — different today.
How Reporters Reconstructed a Deadly Evacuation From Kabul
ProPublica Editor-in-Chief Stephen Engelberg on the challenges and urgency of examining the final days of the war in Afghanistan, even as new conflicts demand our attention.
Recent White House Tax Study Shows Wealthy Pay Lower Rate Than Everybody Else
When ProPublica compared the richest Americans’ wealth gains to the taxes they paid, we found a system that benefits billionaires. White House economists recently used a similar method to calculate tax rates, revealing stark inequality.
Loan Forgiveness for Disabled Borrowers Was 10 Years in the Making
At ProPublica, we measure our success by the tangible impact our stories have. Sometimes it takes more than a decade to see a flawed policy change.
Revisiting “The Year of the Spy”
In 1985, covering a remarkable case of Chinese espionage left a lasting impression on editor Stephen Engelberg. Here, he recalls the trial in light of a new investigation that has the twists and turns of a spy novel.
Why We Are Publishing the Tax Secrets of the .001%
We are disclosing the tax details of the richest Americans because we believe the public interest in an informed debate outweighs privacy considerations.
How NYPD’s Vice Unit Got Prostitution Policing All Wrong
Most sex workers are trying to feed their families and avoid homelessness. The city’s preferred solution, counseling sessions, didn’t help them. And NYPD’s “crackdown” conveniently resulted in very few white people being arrested.
Why There’s So Much Investigative Journalism About Utility Companies
Power and water touch the lives of everyone. Someone has to hold the companies that deliver them to account.
Twenty-Six Words Created the Internet. What Will It Take to Save It?
Jeff Kosseff wrote the book on Section 230, the law that gave us the internet we have today. He talks with ProPublica Editor-in-Chief Stephen Engelberg about how we got here and how we should regulate our way out.