Newspaper and broadcast news outlets nationally have reduced newsroom staffs over the last decade — including in the early months of 2023 — through layoffs, early retirements and attrition. One of the first victims is in-depth journalism — stories which often take one or more reporters “off the street” for weeks or even months. As such, non-profit journalism has become popular around the country.
Our newsroom mission is: To deliver fearless, independent, citizen-supported, nonpartisan journalism that informs Mainers about the issues impacting our state and inspires them to take action. Through investigative and in-depth stories, we engage readers to participate and connect to create a better Maine.
The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, which operates The Maine Monitor, is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Veteran journalists Naomi Schalit and John Christie founded the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting in 2009 because of their concern about the decline of, and need for, investigative reporting in Maine.
In its early days, the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting received technical assistance, inspiration and much encouragement from The New England Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University, the first non-profit, university-based investigative reporting center in the country dedicated to local and regional issues.
Today, the Center’s investigative news service, The Maine Monitor (formerly known as Pine Tree Watch), fills the gap between the diminished in-depth reporting from the existing Maine media and the need of people to be fully informed about what is happening in Maine in different walks of life: state and local government, Maine’s growing diversity, education, climate change impacts, environment, leadership accountability, and healthcare — just to name a few areas of interest.
Learn about our mission, values and strategic goals.
See the organizations we are members of, and the news outlets we share our stories with for free.
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See the impact our investigative reporting has had and the awards we’ve received.