Expanding Minds

Shining a Light

Over the past year we have received hundreds of messages in response to The 13th Step — the podcast from NHPR’s Document team chronicling our investigation into sexual misconduct in the addiction treatment industry. It took three grueling years of reporting and editing — and overcoming serious legal and safety challenges — to bring this story to light, but these messages from the community are evidence of the deep impact of this work. That impact can also be measured by the dozens of people who came out for live community events; by the bill proposed in direct response to the podcast by advocates who want to change a “culture of silence” in the state’s addiction treatment industry; and by the honors this work has received, including some of the most prestigious awards in journalism.

From following developments in the Jason Carroll case, the subject of Bear Brook Season 2, to continuing deep investigations of new issues, the Document team does not shy away from telling difficult stories. In June 2024, Document released The Youth Development Center. This series centers the experiences of people who lived through the child abuse scandal in the state’s juvenile justice system. The team collaborated with The Pudding, a digital publisher emphasizing data visualizations, and received support from the Data-Driven Reporting Project, to create an interactive digital companion piece which served to aid the audience in understanding the breadth of the scandal.

Digging Deep

NHPR is committed to delivering important, in-depth stories that empower citizens with facts and information. Reporter Todd Bookman explored the finances and governance of prominent NH businessman Dean Kamen’s nonprofit organization, Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute. Reporter Sarah Gibson looked at the tactics and strategies used by NH Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut. The work, which shone a new light on a powerful state official, was the result of exhaustive public records requests and dozens of interviews with people across the ideological spectrum in today’s education landscape. Both of these deep dives were reported in collaboration with APM Reports as part of the Public Media Accountability Initiative. 

The newsroom found joy in digging into local preparations for the solar eclipse in April 2024. From Something Wild to ¿Qué Hay?, NHPR’s all-in coverage connected people with stories such as the student eclipse ambassadors in Holderness and the eclipse-mobile in Concord.

Covering the NH Primary and the 2024 Election Season 

NHPR’s election coverage focuses on the topics that matter most to Granite Staters. By deploying our beat reporters on election issues, we take advantage of our journalists' expertise to provide voters the information they need as they head to the ballot box. This approach allowed us to go beyond the logistics of voting and provide issue-driven reporting, such as how young Republicans are thinking about climate change, the lack of focus on the opioid crisis on the campaign trail and the Civics 101 2024 Election Toolkit. 

How do we find out what’s on prospective voters’ minds? We go out and talk to them. “The Big Question” in January 2024 asked how people were feeling about the primary this year. At remote broadcasts of Morning Edition and All Things Considered at the Tilt n’ Diner, Hosts Rick Ganley and Julia Furukawa spoke with community members about the issues they saw as most pressing. When primary night arrived, our coverage included live appearances on NPR’s national broadcast by NHPR reporters and real-time updates on NHPR.org and popular social media platforms. Our in-studio program was simulcast via C-SPAN and WBUR in Boston. Of course, the primary wasn’t the end of the coverage. As the candidates moved on, the newsroom was already planning coverage of the 2024 general election.

Banner photo: Communities around the region came together on April 8, 2024, to watch a total solar eclipse, seen here from Coleman State Park in Stewartstown, NH. (Zoey Knox).