When I started as director of the Michael I. Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism six years ago, we had only 12 students working in our newsroom. Today, we have 48 students with 13 more on a waiting list to join. We’re thrilled to see this continued growth as we train the next generation of investigative journalists.

Our students are contributing hard-hitting provocative news to Hoosiers and citizens across the country through our partnerships with professional media organizations such as Gray TV, the Associated Press, IndyStar, and the Indiana Capital Chronicle. We have come a long way in a short time from when I would visit classrooms and walk the halls encouraging students to take a chance on this new venture.

Our students have produced nearly 50 investigative stories working with 15 different news organizations. Students are winning awards and getting quality internships and jobs. I frequently get calls from recruiters who want to come to IU to meet and hire Arnolt Center students. We are teaching them how to analyze data, file FOIAs, develop sources, find documents, and go out into the field to conduct difficult interviews. Most importantly, we are teaching them how to think critically and act ethically. I am proud to call them investigative journalists.

As you can see, we are doing something special at the Arnolt Center and want our growth to continue. I believe strongly that investigative journalism is at the heart of an informed public and a strong democracy.

We rely on private support to work at this level. That’s why we’re excited about an opportunity to increase your donation through NewsMatch, a collaborative fundraising movement to support independent public service journalism like ours.

From now through the end of the year, NewsMatch will match your donation of up to $1,000 per individual. The stakes are high: