Three times a year, ProPublica compiles a report that captures all of the impact our journalism has sparked in the world. In our latest report, ProPublica’s President Robin Sparkman and Editor-in-Chief Stephen Engelberg describe why we so closely track the ripple effects of our journalism:

We track and measure real accountability, not merely the promise of change.

There’s something especially heartening when the real-world change spurred by our local journalism efforts is replicated around the country. Our investigative unit with The Texas Tribune revealed in May that there was no evidence of child identification kits having helped identify missing children in the state. Less than a month later, Texas quietly pulled funding from the company that provided the kits. Now, a bill to fund a similarly questionable program in Pennsylvania is facing opposition.

We’re also closely monitoring the ongoing impact from our reporting on the relationship between Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito and their billionaire Republican donor friends, including the increased calls for ethics reform of the court and Thomas’ travel and real estate acknowledgments in his most recent annual disclosure form.

Since ProPublica’s founding 15 years ago, we’ve taken pride in tracking how our stories resonate with policymakers in the halls of power and people on the ground who are directly affected by our work.

Read about our impact in housing, criminal justice, education, environment and more in the ProPublica Impact Report for May–August 2023.