In year of pandemic, protests and politics, Statesman brought in-depth journalism that mattered.
Along the way, the newspaper devoted resources to exclusive reporting and investigative watchdog journalism that often led to reforms or positive changes in our community.
That reporting led to the indictment of the
Here is a recap of some of those reports that made an impact in 2020.
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In February, Investigative reporter
The Statesman published its reports on Ambler’s death in June, just as the nation was protesting the death of
A grand jury in
Reporting and legal action by the Statesman in 2020 uncovered the cost of a plan by the
Retirement system officials had spent much of 2019 resisting public disclosure of any financial information regarding their lease in the downtown high-rise that’s known as
In January, however, the retirement system released partial costs of its lease, months after the Statesman first made a formal request for the lease under the Texas Public Information Act. In June, it finally released an unredacted copy, just a day after the newspaper sought a court order forcing the agency to do so.
The retirement system’s 100,000 square feet in
The price is well above the amounts paid by most state agencies to rent space in
Subsequent reporting by the Statesman’s
Mayor
In December, Plohetski reported that
Adler initially defended his travel, saying that he violated no rules or orders and that there was no recommendation against travel at the time. However, within hours of the Statesman’s report, which quickly received national attention, Adler said he regretted the travel and realized that he did not set a good example.
Dozens of state-side soldier deaths, allegations of sexual misconduct and multiple investigations into military leadership plagued
The Statesman was one of the first media outlets in the nation to report on a missing person’s case that sparked international outcry, which eventually led to the firings and suspensions of at least 14 leaders at
Reporter
Attorney General
The Statesman was the first to report in October that seven top aides were accusing
The Statesman mobilized a team of reporters — Plohetski, Sechler,
Follow-up reporting dug into Paul's bankruptcies and found that the
Police protests
Austinites joined protesters across America who took to the streets in May and June to protest the killing of
Eleven
Community bookstore finds a home
This summer, energy for the
Brooks founded the bookstore in fall 2019, selling through an online store and at pop-up events (which were curtailed by the pandemic). She dreamed of
The manager of
Pipeline drilling mishap
After a pipeline drilling mishap in
The Statesman stories, based on records obtained through public information requests, were illustrated with images by Statesman photojournalist
COVID-19 hits
As Statesman investigative reporter
Family members questioned whether nursing home staffers were doing all that they could to save the lives of their loved ones. Chang combed through 911 call logs, looking for those that reported a deceased person at nursing homes. She noticed that there was an increase this year compared with last year. Not all the data are captured in these call logs because many nursing homes will forgo calling EMS and instead call a funeral home after a resident died from COVID-19.
After the story ran, the Statesman received multiple calls from family members of residents thanking the newspaper for keeping a critical eye on nursing homes, which have become hotspots for the disease.
Sexual misconduct among
Chang analyzed hundreds of sexual misconduct cases the
After the Statesman published the report, several readers shared names of doctors accused of similar acts were let off with little more than slaps on the wrist.
This article originally appeared on
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2020 Year in Review, part four
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