Public Herald known for investigative journalism

SANDUSKY — Change the conversation. That's what Public Herald editor Josh Boaz Pribanic hopes might get accomplished from his team's series of news stories about dangerous radioactive waste being shipped to and stored at landfills in Ohio. The series published in the Register and other Ogden Newspapers in Ohio over the weekend and wrapped today. Prior reports by Public Herald helped kickoff attorney general investigations, forced Pennsylvania to mandate quarterly testing for radiation at landfills and changed the narrative on water contamination from fracking, according to Pribanic "We expect the Ohio series to accomplish (this) as well," he said. Getting adequate legislation enacted by the General Assembly is one goal among many, the Sandusky High School graduate said. The weekend series in the Register on radioactive waste in Ohio landfills is the latest effort from Public Herald, an investigative journalism nonprofit focusing on the public interest. Pribanic is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Public Herald. Public Herald's work includes award-winning documentaries such as "Invisible Hand" and "Triple Divide." "Invisible Hand," about the Rights of Nature movement, includes interviews with northern Ohio residents fighting to clean up Lake Erie. It won four best documentary awards. Actor Mark Ruffalo served as executive producer and one of the film's narrators. "Triple Divide" is a documentary about fracking that also featured Ruffalo. The organization also publishes articles such as the series currently running in the Register. And Public Herald's podcast, newsCOUP, is available from all of the usual podcasting platforms such as iTunes and Spotify and from Public Herald's website. Public Herald makes much of its journalism available free at its website, publicherald.org. A nonprofit that relies on support from the public, Public Herald allows supporters who pay as little as $1 a month to gain access to a wide variety of journalism. Visit www.patreon.com/publicherald. Here is the Public Herald team that worked on the series. Troutman, Pribanic, Conley, Labby, Wiener and Rubin Joshua Boaz Pribanic is editor-in-chief for Public Herald in Pittsburgh. Melissa Troutman began investigating shale gas extraction as a newspaper reporter in her hometown of Coudersport, Pennsylvania, before joining editor Joshua Pribanic to co-found the investigative news nonprofit Public Herald and co-direct the award-winning documentaries "Triple Divide" (2013), "Triple Divide [Redacted]" (2017), and "INVISIBLE HAND" (2020). Elijah Labby, an editorial intern, is a junior at Western Governor's University, where he studies business. He is a graduate of the National Journalism Center and has written for his former college's newspaper, The Collegian, as well as Broadband Breakfast, where he covered federal internet policy and legislation, as well as online extremism and disinformation. Jake Conley, an editorial intern, is a senior at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he majors in journalism and sociology and researches far-right extremism and radicalization. He's from Woodbridge, Virginia. Talia Wiener has worked with Public Herald since 2019, investigating fracking radioactive waste streams in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Steve Rubin is a professor of Art at Penn State University, Steven Rubin worked for more than 20 years as a freelance photojournalist and documentary photographer, traveling on assignment in Iraq, Rwanda, Kosovo, Pakistan, Thailand, Chile, Cuba, throughout Central America and across the United States.