Jonah Newman, an award-winning editor and reporter, has joined The Marshall Project as senior editor for local investigations and engagement.
Newman brings deep expertise in investigative, data and engagement journalism as TMP continues the evolution of its local investigative initiatives in Cleveland, St. Louis and Jackson, Miss.
“Jonah arrives at an important moment for TMP. His experience will help us bring impactful investigations, deep community engagement and innovative storytelling to the local communities we cover,” said Jennifer Peter, The Marshall Project’s editor-in-chief.
“Working at TMP has long been a dream of mine and I couldn't be more thrilled for this opportunity,” Newman said. “Local investigative journalism is so important, especially about the criminal justice system, where so many of the levers of power and potential change exist on the local level. The TMP local investigations teams have done outstanding and impactful work, and I’m excited to continue to build on their success.”
Newman comes to TMP from Injustice Watch in Chicago, where he served as managing editor for the nonprofit newsroom, focused on covering the court system. He also oversaw the organization’s community engagement efforts, including their popular judicial election guides, resource guides and events.
As an editor at Injustice Watch, Newman led stories on judicial misconduct, wrongful convictions, juvenile detention, immigration, prisons, and policing. The projects were recognized by Investigative Reporters and Editors, Online Journalism Awards and the Nonprofit News Awards.
As a data reporter at The Chicago Reporter, Newman was a two-time Livingston finalist for local reporting — one on Chicago police not doing enough to control costs of lawsuit settlements and the other on a private security company harassing residents of a public housing complex. He also created a first-of-its-kind database on police misconduct lawsuit settlements, which was cited by the U.S. Department of Justice in its civil rights investigation into the Chicago Police Department.
And his reporting on juvenile detention sparked efforts to increase transparency into the judicial branch, which in Illinois is not subject to public records laws.
In addition to Injustice Watch and the Chicago Reporter, Newman has worked at Invisible Institute, Pacific Standard, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Newman is based in Chicago. He began his work at TMP on Oct. 5.