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 January 1, 2013. He came to ProPublica from The Oregonian in Portland, where he had been a managing editor since 2002. Before joining The Oregonian, Mr. 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 is a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board.
Mr. Engelberg’s work since 1996 has focused largely on the editing of investigative projects. He started the Times’s 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).
An Unintended Side Effect of Transparency
Some readers are using a ProPublica database to search for doctors who freely prescribe opioid painkillers, raising questions.
‘Spotlight’ Gets Investigative Journalism Right
Unlike many films about reporters, “Spotlight” accurately depicts the frustrations and joys of breaking a big story, from the drudgery of spreadsheets to the electric thrill of revelatory interviews.
The Painting That Saved My Family From the Holocaust
A frightened young woman left her apartment in Munich in November 1938 and returned with the visa that saved her family. A team of German journalists launched an improbable search to find the missing artwork and tell its story.
Our Rebuttal to RAND’s Critique of Surgeon Scorecard
The think tank claims Scorecard’s methods aren’t reliable, but its commentary is undermined by supposition, conflicts of interest and a lack of evidence.
Editor’s Note: ‘Dr. Abscess’ and Why Surgeon Scorecard Matters
Critics claim our analysis of surgical complications is flawed. We disagree. For the first time, patients can see a surgeon’s record – and use it to help make their best choice.
How Crowdsourcing Helped Bring Red Cross Problems to Light
The ability to reach a much wider universe of sources gives reporters a powerful new tool — if they know which questions to ask.
For the Next Attorney General, a Modest Suggestion: Fix Presidential Pardons
More than two years ago, a ProPublica series showed that white applicants were far more likely to receive clemency than comparable applicants who were black. Since then, the government has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a study, but the pardons system remains unchanged.
Nine Ideas to Make Tylenol and Other Acetaminophen Drugs Safer
Scientists, regulators and manufacturers have come up with numerous proposals that could reduce the toll of deaths and injuries from one of America’s most popular drugs.