An Open IPO Window Will Save Investigative Journalism
6 min readJul 5, 2019
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In 2016, Mother Jones published an explosive account of what it’s like to work as a private prison guard. It was a classic piece of investigative journalism: four months of full-time under-cover work, leading to a polished, incisive piece that combined a smart 35,000 foot-view with plenty of harrowing on-the-ground detail.
It had a major impact, too: within months, the Justice Department announced that it would no longer contract with private prisons. (A move the current administration rescinded.)