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Chris Osher, The Denver Gazette picked for national investigative reporting partnership

By June 26, 2025 | updated 3 months ago

ProPublica, the national nonprofit created to turbocharge investigative reporting around the country, has selected The Denver Gazette and reporter Chris Osher as a partner for its Local Reporting Network.

The Denver Gazette newsroom is one of five chosen as part of the ProPublica’s 50 State Initiative, a commitment to publishing accountability journalism in every state over the next five years.

Osher is a senior investigative reporter and editor for Colorado Watch, the investigative team that serves both The Gazette of Colorado Springs and The Denver Gazette. His work has garnered numerous state, regional and national awards, including a 2024 George Polk award in state reporting for articles on Colorado’s dysfunctional family court system and problems in the court-appointed parental evaluation industry.

Chris Osher and Julia Cardi accept George Polk Award

Chris Osher, right, and Julia Cardi, left, accepting the George Polk Award for state reporting for their articles on Colorado’s dysfunctional family court system.



Courtesy photo, The George Polk Awards


He also was a leading contributor to work that was a 2012 finalist for an Investigative Reporters and Editors Freedom of Information Award for “Failed to Death,” a series exposing the deaths of Colorado children under the watch of the state’s child protective system.

The program will enable Osher to spend a year working in-depth on a project of vital importance to Colorado. Additionally, ProPublica provides editing support, along with data, research, visual storytelling, graphics, design, audience and engagement expertise.

ProPublica was founded in 2007 by former Wall Street Journal editor Paul Steiger and launched the Local Reporting Network at the beginning of 2018 to boost investigative journalism in local newsrooms.

The organization now has a team of more than 150 journalists who focus on stories with real-world, measurable impact that local media outlets might not have the resources to pursue otherwise. As a nonprofit, ProPublica’s work is powered primarily through donations.

Over the past six years, the network has worked with more than 90 news organizations to co-produce and publish investigations in more than 30 states. These stories, which may otherwise have gone untold, have led to local and statewide impact and have been recognized nationally with prestigious journalism awards.

In Memphis, Tenn., working with MLK50, an investigation led to the largest hospital system suspending lawsuits against thousands for unpaid medical debts. In Rhode Island, working with The Public’s Radio, an investigation prompted the state legislature to add money to train 911 call takers after the deaths of people when those call takers failed to provide proper guidance.

An examination of sexual violence in Alaska with the Anchorage Daily News won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for public service. Two other projects have been Pulitzer finalists: work on the illegal jailing of kids in Rutherford County, with WPLN Nashville Public Radio, and an innovative series on the harms of sugar cane burning with The Palm Beach Post.

“Our work with partners has changed laws and changed lives. We’ve worked with newsrooms from Alaska to Maine, Hawaii to Florida, to pursue projects they knew had to be told,” said Charles Ornstein, ProPublica’s managing editor for local coverage. “But there’s so much more to be done. As local news organizations continue to do their best in these challenging times, we’re so excited to be able to partner with one in every state in the next few years.”

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