Behind the Reporting: ProPublica's "Zero Tolerance"

Shorenstein Center Media and Politics Podcast

ProPublica obtained and published a secret recording from inside a border patrol detention center that captured the sounds of children, recently separated from their families at the Mexican border, sobbing and begging for their parents. The audio clip was played on the floors of Congress, sparking widespread condemnation and having an almost immediate impact, with President Trump signing an executive order to end the family separation policy within 48 hours of its publication. ProPublica reporters then dug deeper into conditions at the detention centers, detailing abuse and assaults on immigrant children, directly countering the administration’s claims that the shelters were safe havens.

Read, and listen, to their reporting here: https://www.propublica.org/series/zero-tolerance

In this episode, Heidi Legg talks with reporters Ginger Thompson and Mike Grabell about getting the audio recording, and how their reporting unfolded and uncovered more and more layers from there.

This episode is part of the Shorenstein Center's special series of interviews with the finalists for the 2019 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Journalism. The Goldsmith Prize winner will be announced at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government on March 12, 2019.

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