The Marshall Project will launch a Cleveland news operation in 2022 to examine criminal justice

The Marshall Project, a nonprofit newsroom that focuses on criminal justice, announced Wednesday it will launch a Cleveland news operation in 2022. The initiative is funded in part by a three-year grant from the George Gund Foundation.

The Marshall Project’s news team will create investigative and data-driven stories about the Cuyahoga County criminal justice system. It aims to serve local audiences affected by the system, according to a press release, with a focus on those who are neglected or mischaracterized by other media.

“The Marshall Project has developed a real expertise in publishing journalism that has a positive impact on the criminal justice system, and we hope it will be a useful contribution to Cleveland’s media scene,” said The Marshall Project President Carroll Bogert.

The news operation will work with existing newsrooms in the area through co-publishing arrangements in an effort to improve local journalism.

“There is a profound need, locally, to deepen the public’s understanding of the criminal justice system and to hold power to account,” said Gund Foundation Program Director Marcia Egbert. “The Marshall Project has a strong track record of doing just that.”

Last week, the Cleveland Foundation announced it is funding a new nonprofit newsroom in Cleveland centered on community-led issues, partnering with the American Journalism Project. AJP also provided a grant to The Marshall Project to strategize local news coverage, the press release said.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to work collaboratively with the people of Cleveland to expand accountability reporting on criminal justice,” said Susan Chira, editor-in-chief of The Marshall Project. “We will look to the Cleveland community, including incarcerated people and their families, as partners in sourcing and identifying urgent stories that need to be told.”