The Connecticut Mirror is one of five newsrooms chosen by ProPublica for the newest cycle of its Local Reporting Network, an initiative to boost investigative journalism in local newsrooms.
This is the third time CT Mirror will participate in the Local Reporting Network. Investigative Reporter Jenna Carlesso is beginning her work with ProPublica on April 1.
“We are thrilled to be chosen again to work with the stellar team in ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network program,” said CT Mirror Executive Editor Elizabeth Hamilton. “This partnership has allowed us to tackle ambitious investigative projects, benefiting our readers and leading to changes in public policy that benefit the state as a whole.”
Carlesso joined CT Mirror in 2019. Her reporting on gaps in Connecticut’s elder care system prompted sweeping changes in nursing home and home care policy and won several awards, including ones from the National Press Foundation and Association of Health Care Journalists. She has also covered troubles in the long-term care insurance industry and the impact of cyberattacks on hospitals.
She will join reporters from Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, LAist, WPLN and WBUR in the Local Reporting Network.
“It is a privilege to be working with these fabulous reporters and their newsrooms,” said Sarah Blustain, assistant managing editor for ProPublica. “They have identified some important topics and we’re excited to begin the collaboration.”
CT Mirror’s first stint working with the Local Reporting Network was in 2019, when Reporter Jacqueline Rabe Thomas wrote an award-winning series on housing segregation in Connecticut called Separated by Design.
In 2024, Investigative Reporter Dave Altimari was chosen to participate. He and Housing & Children’s Issues Reporter Ginny Monk collaborated with ProPublica on an investigation into a Connecticut towing law that allowed tow companies to sell people’s cars. Their reporting prompted legislators to pass a law overhauling the state’s towing laws in 2025.
