Tracy Jan

Some happy news! After 8 years at @washingtonpost as a reporter & editor, I'm excited to join @propublica as a senior editor collaborating with local news outlets on investigative projects. Basically, my dream job. I will miss my Post peeps deeply. propublica.org/atpropublica/p…

Saluting the legendary @martyweilwapost, who walked the newsroom every day greeting everyone by name. When he remembered my name after only learning it the previous evening, I knew I’d arrived in a special newsroom. 🫶 I’ll miss your weather stories! nytimes.com/2026/02/05/bus…

There's no other reporter who better knows the intersection between the US tech world & Russian intell than Pulitzer finalist @josephmenn, & yet inexplicably he was among those laid off this week. It's been my privilege to work with him. Read his latest: washingtonpost.com/technology/202…

Much of the mourning for the late great @washingtonpost has rightly focused on how democracy dies in darkness at the national level, which is hugely important. But the evisceration of Metro coverage is every bit as devastating because there is no comparable news outlet keeping local governments and institutions honest. Eight of my 20 years at the Post were spent on Metro, which was the heart and soul of the Post under the legendary @dongrahamdc1. The undertakers now running the paper have all but wiped out the metro staff, leaving just 12 reporters, according to reports, to cover a region of 6.5 million people. We had twice that many journalists in Fairfax alone back in the day. And it mattered. Reporters are the eyes and ears of the community, keeping tabs on people in power. We were there for every supervisors meeting, every school board meeting. We pored through planning commission documents and campaign filings. When county officials wasted taxpayer money, raised taxes on overstretched homeowners, gave sweetheart zoning deals to developers who filled their election coffers, we were there. When teachers who sexually abused students were quietly transferred to other schools to do it all over again, we were there. We were there for the more uplifting stories too, the cops who broke a cold case, the educators who turned around a struggling school, the residents who rallied to help neighbors in trouble, the student athletes who won the big game, the entrepreneurs who started something new. Our friend @SariHorwitz who has won more Pulitzers than I can count, wrote so movingly online about the Post (facebook.com/share/p/1AZLTT…). To recognize how indispensable local coverage is, you need only look at her holy-shit investigations of a broken child welfare system, rampant police shootings and the corporate-fed opioid crisis, stories that opened eyes and led to change. Democracy is not just what happens at the White House and the Capitol but in our own backyards. The Post has just turned the lights down at home too.

On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, The Washington Post laid off hundreds of journalists. We are devastated and raising funds to help them. Please, please share far and wide. gofundme.com/f/standing-tog…

New year! New opportunities for local newsrooms to collaborate with @propublica! Applications are open for 15 yearlong Local Reporting Network partnerships for 2026. We will review project proposals on a ROLLING basis, with Feb 5 as the 1st deadline. job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/job…

They Were Sleeping, Driving, Walking in Memphis. Then Trump’s Police Task Force Came. Police surge established to focus on violent crimes has ensnared innocent residents going about their lives. @wendi_c_thomas @KathsBurgess for @propublica @MLK50Memphis propublica.org/article/memphi…

@npbowlin @readfrontier @propublica If you live near Oklahoma City, join @readfrontier at Anthem Brewing in OKC on Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. for a panel discussion with @npbowlin on how oil and gas extraction is contaminating Oklahoma’s groundwater. Event is free. Register here. readfrontier.org/overpressured/

.@npbowlin is investigating the impact of oil field waste in Oklahoma for @readfrontier as part of @propublica's Local Reporting Network. Are you a resident? A regulator? Do you work in oil & gas? Help us understand the full scale of the problem. propublica.org/getinvolved/ok…

Salt water laced with cancer-causing chemicals, a byproduct of oil & gas drilling, is spewing from old wells. Experts warn of a pollution crisis spreading underground & threatening Oklahoma’s drinking water. By @npbowlin for @propublica @readfrontier propublica.org/article/oklaho…

We stand by our reporting. Here is the full story that DHS is dismissing: propublica.org/article/immigr… It relies on footage that anyone can watch for themselves. We also explain exactly how we did it ⤵️

Welcome to @propublica latest Local Reporting Network partners! So excited to continue working with @RichardAWebster at @veritenewsnola and to collab with @HollyMcDede at @KQED, my hometown public radio station! propublica.org/atpropublica/p…

Thoughtful bipartisan lunch convo at @PressClubDC between @GovWesMoore & @GovCox

So incredibly proud of @RichardAWebster's important reporting for @propublica + @veritenewsnola on Lloyd Gray's case and the latest impact of Gov. Jeff Landry's criminal justice rollbacks. A hearing Tuesday in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court could decide Gray's fate.

Here’s more from @RichardAWebster for @veritenewsnola + @propublica on how Louisiana is keeping people in prison propublica.org/series/crimina…

This Louisiana prisoner — & 1,000+ others like him — remain in prison despite split jury convictions that SCOTUS has ruled unconstitutional. MUST READ @RichardAWebster’s latest in his series about Gov. Jeff Landry’s criminal justice rollbacks propublica.org/article/louisi…

No health agency has been spared. The CDC lost 15% of its staff. The NIH, 16%. The FDA, 21%. projects.propublica.org/federal-health…

In total, 20,500+ workers — 18% of the Department of Health and Human Services’ workforce — have left or been pushed out. Gone are 3,000+ scientists & public health specialists. 1,000+ regulators & inspectors keeping food & vax safe.

The Trump administration has refused to say how many workers have been lost. My @propublica colleagues did the analysis & here, in unprecedented detail, is what they found: projects.propublica.org/federal-health…

If you’re one of 1.6 million people living in public housing nationally, you have special protections meant to prevent low-income tenants from being evicted when they fall behind on rent. We created a guide to the process. propublica.org/article/maine-…

Here’s Sawyer’s series on policies contributing to Maine’s homelessness crisis. Govt programs to help renters & low-income homeowners are full of holes, exacerbating the problems they aim to fix. More to come on what to do if you get an eviction notice. propublica.org/series/locked-…

Congrats to @sawyerloftus18 at @bangordailynews on the end of his @propublica LRN year! Don’t miss his latest investigation into how public housing tenants end up with evictions on their permanent records, even if they were never actually evicted. propublica.org/article/maine-…