Skip to content
  • Subscribe
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Features
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
Suburban Chicagoland

Suburban Chicagoland

Original News, Features & Opinion on Chicago, Illinois and America

  • About
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Our Writers
      • Ray Hanania
      • Bill Lipinski
      • Biography: Aaron Hanania
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Policy
    • Reach Out
  • Sections
    • Events
    • Opinion
    • News
    • Features
    • Seniors
    • Comic Strip
  • Library
    • “MIdnight Flight” Online Book
      • Midnight Flight Book Overview
      • Midnight Flight Introduction
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 1
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 2
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 3
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 4
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 5
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 6
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 7
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 8
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 9
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 10
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 11
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 12
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 13
    • Villages, Cities & Towns
    • Federal Office Holders
    • County Officials
    • Legislators
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Comment
  • Podcast
    • Ray Hanania on Politics
    • Two Guys on Politics
    • Hanania on Tiktok
  • News Wire
  • Archive 2004-2013
  • Toggle search form
  • Michael Frerichs Illinois Treasurer
    Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs Announces $50 Million Loan Program to Help Federal Workers During Shutdown Economy
  • Kat Abughazaleh 9th DIstrict Congress 2026 candidate democrat
    Federal Grand Jury in Chicago Indicts Six Individuals on Charges of Impeding Federal Agent Engaged in Immigration Enforcement Operations Civil Rights
  • 05-23-25 Jeffery M. Leving
    Little Girl Rescued from Feared Danger and Reunited with Dad News
  • Hastings insurance legislation
    Hastings announces legislation to ensure fair homeowners insurance rates for Illinois families Business
  • Mahnoor Ahmad campaign photo
    Mahnoor Ahmad runs for DuPage County Board seat Democrat
  • Sunday, October 26, the Village of Orland Park formally rededicated its Village Hall in honor of the late former Mayor Fredrick T. Owens
    Village of Orland Park Rededicates Village Hall in Honor of Late Former Mayor Fredrick T. Owens Government
  • Fire at townhome at 13900 block of Berkhansted Court in Orland Park, just before midnight on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025
    Firefighter treated for dehydration battling townhouse fire in Orland Park – no residents injured Fire
  • Firefighters with the Orland Fire Protection District who responded to a fire in an apartment at 15200 block of Al Camino Terrace on Saturday morning said the next day that they did find a kitten that needed respiratory aid that they saved.
    FIRE UPDATE: Fire District releases photos of kitten saved from Orland Park apartment fire Saturday Features
  • two-story apartment building on the 15200 block of El Camino Terrace in Orland Park
    Orland Park apartment fire Saturday morning, no injuries Fire
  • Illinois Senator Michael Hastings addressing the Orland Township Democratic Organization Wednesday Oct. 12, 2022
    Hastings calls for bipartisan action to protect Illinois families from SNAP benefit shutdown Baby Boomers
  • Illinios Industrial Energy Consumers, information ad
    Get information on the Illinois Energy Omnibus Bill in Springfield Business
  • State Senator Mike Porfirio secured over $20 million to support infrastructure improvements and construction in the 11th Senate District.
    Senator Porfirio applauds more than $20 million in infrastructure repairs coming to the 11th District News
  • Dad and daughter reunited Lebving Law firm photo
    Little Girl Recovered and Reunited with Dad After Long Separation Dads' Rights
  • 11-03-25 OFPD Coffee living alone
    Orland Fire hosts meeting on helping Seniors who live alone Nov. 5 Baby Boomers
  • State Senator Michael Hastings introduces law to revive long dormant and degraded Tinley Park Mental Health Center into a Sports Park for the community. Photo courtesy of the State Senate President Don Harmon
    Hastings secures $250,000 grant for Easterseals Academy’s Tinley Park campus Health
Guest author Drew Johnson is an investigative reporter, national columnist and former opinion page editor who serves as a senior scholar at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.

Pulitzer committee shows bias in ProPublica activist award

Posted on July 25, 2017November 29, 2019 By Ray Hanania No Comments on Pulitzer committee shows bias in ProPublica activist award
SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  

Pulitzer committee shows bias in ProPublica activist Award

ProPublica is an activist website that asserts to be a journalism site. Not everyone agrees. The site is a mouthpiece for political activism disguised as journalism. Here is a perspective by guest writer Drew Johnson

Credibility of Pulitzer Prize Takes a Hit by Rewarding ProPublica’s Liberal Bias

By Drew Johnson

After busting the New York Police Department for abusing a decades-old eviction law, nonprofit news organization ProPublica received a public service Pulitzer Prize. A powerful story of journalism in pursuit of justice, right?

Not so fast.

ProPublica professes to offer a new reporting model, one un-swayed by the demands of readers and advertisers. It circulates stories for free, partnering with mainstream media outlets. Its website purports to deliver news “in an entirely non-partisan and non-ideological manner, adhering to the strictest standards of journalistic impartiality. We won’t lobby. We won’t ally with politicians or advocacy groups.”

Nonsense. ProPublica’s journalistic model is dependent on millions of dollars in annual support from its stable of left-leaning donors. Catering to these donors’ political sensibilities is an existential necessity for ProPublica.

Would the Pulitzer committee consider a prize for a “news” organization bankrolled by the conservative Koch brothers? Of course not. By recognizing ProPublica, the committee rewards the left side of the political spectrum.

Guest author Drew Johnson is an investigative reporter, national columnist and former opinion page editor who serves as a senior scholar at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
Guest author Drew Johnson is an investigative reporter, national columnist and former opinion page editor who serves as a senior scholar at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.

ProPublica’s main backers are billionaires Herbert and Marion Sandler. The couple has pledged $10 million a year to the organization. Such a big-ticket annual contribution fits right in with the Sandlers’ extensive support for Democratic candidates, left-wing advocacy campaigns, and PACs such as Moveon.org, which raises money for progressive office-seekers.

The Sandlers are in good company on ProPublica’s list of top left-liberal donors. The Open Society Foundation, concocted by liberal investor George Soros, is known for promoting exclusively progressive causes. Other donors include Atlantic Philanthropies, which gifted Obamacare proponents the largest advocacy grant in history, and JEHT Foundation, which shut down abruptly after authorities exposed funder Bernard Madoff as a swindler running a Ponzi scheme.

For all the hard-hitting investigations ProPublica reporters do, none of them has looked into the questionable financial history of Herbert and Marion Sandler. The couple made their fortune through Golden West Financial, the first bank to offer adjustable rate mortgages. The limited-time “teaser” rates these mortgages offered lured people into buying homes they couldn’t afford.

Wachovia, which bought Golden West Financial, underwent investigations for fraud several years later – but not before the Sandlers pocketed $2.4 billion for the acquisition.

ProPublica says it “shines a light on exploitation of the weak by the strong,” but apparently not the people lured in at Golden West Financial. Better to stick with investigations of fracking, Republican politicians, and other popular liberal targets than to ruffle the feathers of its powerful funders.

The self-proclaimed “independent newsroom” professes to restore investigative reporting to its stature as the highest type of journalism.”

But as Harry Browne of the Dublin Institute of Technology points out, non-profit publications are driving out the very forces in traditional journalism that deliver hard-hitting and accurate news. Non-profits are edging out traditional news outlets – operating with the advantage of donor subsidies.

Enabling ProPublica – let alone rewarding them with a Pulitzer – gives them credibility they haven’t earned. Consider the students and teachers at Sunshine High School, a charter school in Orlando, Florida.

A ProPublica reporter interviewed some of the students for a story on charter schools, a perennial annoyance of progressives. Unsurprisingly, the ProPublica report was scathing. Administrators called out the reporter for missing the school’s mission, as well as including quotes from minors without parental consent.

It’s a sad day when left-wing advocacy bankrolled by liberal billionaires passes for disinterested journalism. Shame on the Pulitzer committee for rewarding ProPublica’s bias.

(Guest author Drew Johnson is an investigative reporter, national columnist and former opinion page editor who serves as a senior scholar at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. Follow him on Twitter at Drews_Views

newswire info
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.  

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at [email protected].

Follow RayHanania at Twitter
Ray Hanania
Latest posts by Ray Hanania (see all)
  • Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs Announces $50 Million Loan Program to Help Federal Workers During Shutdown - October 30, 2025
  • Federal Grand Jury in Chicago Indicts Six Individuals on Charges of Impeding Federal Agent Engaged in Immigration Enforcement Operations - October 30, 2025
  • Little Girl Rescued from Feared Danger and Reunited with Dad - October 30, 2025
NPV: 53
  • Tweet

SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  
 
 
 
           
Editors Pick, Opinion, rayhanania Tags:activism not journalism, biased news media, Biased Reporting, liberal bias, ProPublica, Pulitzer Committee

Post navigation

Previous Post: US Mint to participate in Numismatic fair in Denver Aug 1 – 5
Next Post: Video: Kennedy takes gun violence personally

Related Posts

  • Make your own coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic face mask.
    Make your own Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic face mask Blogger
  • credit cards money dollars cash plastic
    Laws needed to regulate credit card interest rates Baby Boomers
  • Orland Fire Protection District swears in Trustees Editors Pick
  • Police Squad Car, courtesy of Wikipedia
    How criminals become heroes in today’s screwed-up world Blogger
  • Plastic bottles in the back of a pickup truck, ready for recycling (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Oftentimes instead of being recycled, they end up in our environment, including in the ocean where they collect and form huge masses of pollutants
    Taking a stand against pollution Baby Boomers
  • Emanuel "Chris" Welch, the State Represenative of the 7th House District, was the keynote speaker at the Town of CIcero annual Commemoration for the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Photo courtesy of the Town of Cicero
    Rep. Welch delivers keynote speech at Cicero MLK commemoration Editors Pick

More Related Articles

Illinois Rep Rashid among those threatened by armed American Israeli settlers during pogrom in Turmosaya, Palestine Blogger
Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman Liz Gorman brings sanity and services back to Cook County Board Blogger
Judge Anna Demacopoulos Four Cook County Judges you should watch out for Blogger
Chicago is not Broke, book cover. By Tom Tresser Book: “Chicago is not Broke” offers good insights Editors Pick
Barack Obama signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at the White House (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Media plays fast and loose with healthcare facts Editors Pick
AARP promo photo on seniors retiring. Courtesy of the AARP Seniors need to be treated better Books & Films

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Login with your Social ID
  • OPINION
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    Your Mortgage Company May Pay Your Taxes — But You Still Need to Watch
    October 17, 2025
  • Mohammed Faheem The Lightning Strike Radio Show small
    The Politicization of the Nobel Peace Prize — and Trump’s Fury Over Losing Again
    October 11, 2025
  • 06-04-25 Two Guys on Politics Background Zoom LOGO with images
    Video Podcast: Trump Kimmel Kirk Great American Divide Illegal Aliens polling and Illegal Aliens and ICE
    September 20, 2025
  • Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch speaking at a West Side affordable housing dedication
    Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, one of the best candidates to become Illinois Governor
    September 7, 2025
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    What You’re Missing on Your Property Tax Bill
    September 5, 2025
Subscribe to Ray Hanania's column graphic

Enter Your Email to Subscribe to Ray Hanania’s Columns

  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png

Mohammed Faheem The Lightning Strike Radio

  • NEWS
  • Michael Frerichs Illinois Treasurer
    Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs Announces $50 Million Loan Program to Help Federal Workers During Shutdown
    October 30, 2025
  • Kat Abughazaleh 9th DIstrict Congress 2026 candidate democrat
    Federal Grand Jury in Chicago Indicts Six Individuals on Charges of Impeding Federal Agent Engaged in Immigration Enforcement Operations
    October 30, 2025
  • 05-23-25 Jeffery M. Leving
    Little Girl Rescued from Feared Danger and Reunited with Dad
    October 30, 2025
  • Hastings insurance legislation
    Hastings announces legislation to ensure fair homeowners insurance rates for Illinois families
    October 29, 2025
  • Mahnoor Ahmad campaign photo
    Mahnoor Ahmad runs for DuPage County Board seat
    October 29, 2025
John Kass Columns

Order the book PoweR PR; Ethnic Activists Guide to Strategic Communications

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE TO RAY HANANIA'S YOUTUBE VIDEOS


Click here to view the video on YouTube or use the widget below.

Follow Ray Hanania at
Twitter
Facebook
TitkTok
BlueSky
RayHanania Columns

Creative Commons License
All works on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

Categories

Copyright © 2022 Suburban Chicagoland & Urban Strategies Group

Powered by PressBook Premium theme