New investigative newsroom launches at ASU's Howard Center for Investigative Journalism
The Beam journalist-in-residence Alice Driver holds up a 3D-printed switchblade during a conversation with her editors in the new Beam newsroom. Photo courtesy of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
A new investigative newsroom focusing on accountability reporting, innovation and experimentation with AI-driven tools launches today at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication as part of the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism.
The Beam is a multimedia newsroom that produces in-depth, high-impact reporting on issues that matter to Arizona communities, while building modern tools for the public to engage directly with the decision-makers shaping their lives.
The newsroom’s first investigation examines the emergence of 3D-printed weapons in Arizona schools. Investigative reporter and Cronkite Research Assistant Professor Alice Driver found that school officials and law enforcement agencies have often been unprepared to address the safety risks posed by the hard-to-detect weapons.
The Beam grounds its work in three core principles: accountability, innovation and experimentation.
The Beam’s reporting is led by professional journalists in residence and supported by student apprentices, expanding Cronkite’s signature teaching hospital model, pairing journalism education with real-world investigative work.
“It is exciting to see The Beam launch, enabling us to strengthen our connection to people and communities and serve them in greater ways while also teaching our students,” said Battinto L. Batts Jr., dean of the Cronkite School. “I look forward to watching The Beam as it grows into our vision and beyond.”
At launch, the newsroom is focusing resources on public education, an area where Arizona consistently ranks near the bottom nationally and where sustained, independent reporting is critical. The Beam, funded by the Scripps Howard Foundation, shares its reporting at no cost. It will place a special emphasis on supporting news outlets that don’t have the resources to produce their own investigations, and is partnering with the Arizona Media Association and the Arizona Local News Foundation to distribute its reporting across a statewide network of media.
In addition to publishing investigations, The Beam builds digital tools that bring audiences closer to government decision-making. These include a first-of-its-kind school board chatbot in Arizona that will allow parents, teachers and community members to quickly understand what happened in local meetings — without attending meetings that can last hours or occur at inconvenient times.
“We’re building The Beam to push investigative journalism forward,” said Mark Greenblatt, who leads The Beam as its executive editor. “That means holding institutions accountable through deep reporting while also creating new ways for the public to access and understand the decisions affecting their communities. The combination of those two things is where we see the future of this work.”
The newsroom also publishes key reporting in Spanish through The Beam en Español, an effort to better serve Spanish-speaking communities across the state.
Later this summer, The Beam will launch a new team in Washington, D.C., that will produce high-impact work on emerging national issues including semiconductors, the expanding space industry, and other critical issues while building new tools for national audiences.
In addition to Greenblatt, The Beam's leadership team includes Lauren Mucciolo, an award-winning documentarian, and Leonard Downie Jr., the former executive editor of The Washington Post, who will serve as editor-at-large.
The Beam is funded by a grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation and reporting will be published at thebeam.org. Follow The Beam on social media on X and Instagram, and in new channels on WhatsApp, available in both English and en español.
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