Lee Enterprises bolsters commitment to in-depth, investigative reporting with national Public Service Journalism team

DAVENPORT, Iowa, Sept. 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NASDAQ: LEE), a leading provider of high-quality, trusted local news and information, a major platform for advertising in 77 markets and the fastest-growing digital subscription platform in local media, has added a 12-member team of experienced, veteran investigative and data-focused reporters to provide the industry’s most impactful local journalism.

The commitment to local investigative reporting is critical to Lee’s Three-Pillar Growth Strategy and demonstrates the company’s dedication to supporting the type of journalism that emphasizes accountability and changes lives.

“The creation of our Public Service Journalism team strengthens our company’s commitment to investigative and data journalism, because it’s the work that can truly make a difference in the communities we serve,” said Jason Adrians, Lee Enterprises’ Vice President – Local News. “At Lee Enterprises, we’re investing in local news talent and tools, premium reporting and storytelling, and the development of young journalists.”

The Public Service Journalism team is comprised of 12 experienced reporters – four each in Lee’s West, Midwest and East regions – who will collaborate with staff members in Lee’s newsrooms across the country to augment the work of local reporting networks. This new reporting team brings expertise in various topical backgrounds, ranging from public safety to public health, from state government to the environment.

The Public Service Journalism team will assist with access to public records, track taxpayer money and government spending, examine data related to health, crime and safety issues and serve as watchdogs for communities across the county. In their previous reporting roles both inside Lee newsrooms and in other markets, these team members’ work has helped free the innocent, put the guilty behind bars and change laws.

The team includes a Pulitzer Prize finalist; three members of the nationally renowned ProPublica Local Reporting Network; a grant recipient from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting; a regional Edward R. Murrow Regional Award winner; top national award recipients from Investigative Reporters and Editors and the national Society of Professional Journalists; and an investigative reporter and researcher for the Pulitzer Prize-winning Better Government Association in Chicago.

In addition to Lee’s investment in this uniquely talented Public Service Journalism team, the company has prioritized the future of local journalism by expanding its internship program. Lee newsrooms added more than 60 summer interns in 2022 as part of a program that provided real-world training in digital-first journalism for undergraduate and graduate student journalists in dozens of newsrooms.

“Our expanded internship program demonstrates how important we view our company’s role in the development of the next generation of journalists, as well as how crucial it is that we continue to partner with college and high school journalism programs throughout the nation,” Adrians said.

ABOUT LEE

Lee Enterprises is a major subscription and advertising platform and a leading provider of local news and information, with daily newspapers, rapidly growing digital products and over 350 weekly and specialty publications serving 77 markets in 26 states. Year to date, Lee's newspapers have average daily circulation of 1.0 million, and our legacy websites, including acquisitions, reach more than 47 million digital unique visitors. Lee's markets include St. Louis, MO; Buffalo, NY; Omaha, NE; Richmond, VA; Lincoln, NE; Madison, WI; Davenport, IA; and Tucson, AZ. Lee Common Stock is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol LEE. For more information about Lee, please visit www.lee.net.

Contact:
IR@lee.net
(563) 383-2100