Doris Burke
I cover corporate wrongdoing.
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What I Cover
I’m currently interested in billionaires and how corporations work.
My Background
I joined ProPublica in 2019 and have reported on Microsoft’s security flaws, a rifle manufacturer, Jeffrey Yass of Susquehanna International, generational wealth, a private equity owned hospital system, President Donald Trump’s accountants and Amazon’s delivery network.
My research has contributed to dozens of other stories.
I was previously a researcher at The New York Times, where I collaborated on stories about Facebook algorithms, sexual harassment at Google and Uber founder Travis Kalanick.
My tenure at Fortune Magazine was spent investigating the largest companies in the U.S.: IBM, Pfizer, Cargill and Enron.
I’ve received multiple awards for my research and reporting, including the Selden Ring Award, Barlett & Steele Award for Investigative Journalism, IRE Award and Gerald Loeb Awards.
How the FCC Shields Cellphone Companies From Safety Concerns
The wireless industry is rolling out thousands of new transmitters amid a growing body of research that calls cellphone safety into question. Federal regulators say there’s nothing to worry about — even as they rely on standards established in 1996.
That Cardboard Box in Your Home Is Fueling Election Denial
A previously unreported boom in profits for the shipping supply giant Uline has provided the funds for a deeply conservative Midwestern family to bankroll anti-democracy causes around the country.
Rent Going Up? One Company’s Algorithm Could Be Why.
Texas-based RealPage’s YieldStar software helps landlords set prices for apartments across the U.S. With rents soaring, critics are concerned that the company’s proprietary algorithm is hurting competition.
Barbados Resists Climate Colonialism in an Effort to Survive the Costs of Global Warming
Across the Caribbean, soaring national debt is a hidden but decisive aspect of the climate crisis, hobbling countries’ ability to protect themselves from disaster. One island’s leader is fighting to find a way out.
Meet the Billionaire and Rising GOP Mega-Donor Who’s Gaming the Tax System
Susquehanna founder and TikTok investor Jeff Yass has avoided $1 billion in taxes while largely escaping public scrutiny. He’s now pouring his money into campaigns to cut taxes and support election deniers.
The Tax Scam That Won’t Die
The IRS, the Justice Department and Congressional Republicans and Democrats are all trying to put an end to syndicated conservation easements. But with lobbyists like Henry Waxman helping lead the resistance, the efforts have had little effect.
How the U.S. Has Struggled to Stop the Growth of a Shadowy Russian Private Army
Vladimir Putin has increasingly relied on the Wagner Group, a private and unaccountable army with a history of human rights violations, to pursue Russia’s foreign policy objectives across the globe.
Inside the Government Fiasco That Nearly Closed the U.S. Air System
The upgrade to 5G was supposed to bring a paradise of speedy wireless. But a chaotic process under the Trump administration, allowed to fester by the Biden administration, turned it into an epic disaster.
America’s Highest Earners and Their Taxes Revealed
Secret IRS files reveal the top US income earners and how their tax rates vary more than their incomes. Tech titans, hedge fund managers and heirs dominate the list, while the likes of Taylor Swift and LeBron James didn’t even make the top 400.
How Three Families Shielded Their Fortunes From Taxes for Generations
In the early 1900s some of the wealthiest Americans claimed their fortunes would never last through the generations. A century of tax avoidance later, the dynasties are going strong.