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"Housing Hazards" series: Student journalists take on multi-million dollar nonprofit
Cal State LA's UT Community News PROJECT
About This Project
Summary
A dozen student journalists and their professor produced a 4-part story, "Housing Hazards,” revealing unsafe, hazardous conditions and accessibility issues in 12 low-income housing buildings owned by international nonprofit AHF that donated more than $100M in campaign contributions and receives over $70 million in government funding each year. The LA Times credited the story in a similar investigation it ran five months later.
Goals & Objectives
To draw attention and help to people living in inhumane and unsafe conditions by student journalists from a similar background, who understand those issues firsthand. A broader goal is to diversify who produces news and to ensure people from a certain neighborhood can cover their own communities.
Results & Impact
There were 220K-plus views just on one post - x.com/bymorgankeith/status/1674083065197633536 - and tens of thousands of readers online. In the months after the story, residents reported notable improvements. The students have applied the data and public records skills to cover key public issues.
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