Watch the video or listen to the recording of the July 12, 2025 conversation with Stephen Engelberg, editor-in-chief of ProPublica and Curtis Wackerle, editor and executive director of Aspen Journalism.
PRESS RELEASE
Aspen Journalism presents “The state of independent journalism with ProPublica Editor-in-Chief Stephen Engelberg,” a free community event featuring Stephen Engelberg, Editor-in-Chief of ProPublica, in conversation with Curtis Wackerle, Editor and Executive Director of Aspen Journalism. Join the conversation on Saturday, July 12 at the Albright Pavilion at Aspen Meadows. Doors open at 4:30pm and the talk begins at 5pm with an audience Q&A and reception to follow. This event is free to the public. Space is limited and RSVP is kindly required. Please RSVP here. The event will be recorded. For questions or requests, please email info@aspenjournalism.org.
Aspen Journalism and ProPublica are both independent, nonprofit newsrooms that produce award-winning in-depth and investigative journalism, their work powered primarily through donations and provided to the larger media ecosystem in most cases for no cost. This model, first developed by ProPublica on the national level and adopted early on by Aspen Journalism on the local level, was established to ensure communities would always benefit from investigative reporting. It has been applied to newsrooms across the county.
Stephen Engelberg was the founding managing editor of ProPublica from 2008 to 2012 and became editor in chief on Jan. 1, 2013.
Reflecting on the state of independent journalism, Engelberg shares, “The changes emanating from Washington will have far-reaching effects on the lives of every American. News organizations like Aspen Journalism are going to be crucial in documenting the impact of the federal government’s new priorities, from mass deportations to sharp cuts in the support of healthcare and education. At this moment of unprecedented polarization, the journalist’s role in bringing to light the facts on which people will cast their votes is more important than ever. I look forward to discussing these issues and more with readers and supporters of Aspen Journalism.”
Stephen Engelberg has served as ProPublica’s editor in chief since 2013 and founding managing editor from 2008-2012.
Curtis Wackerle has served as Aspen Journalism’s editor and executive director, since 2021 after joining AJ as editor in 2020.
ProPublica was founded in 2007-2008 with the mission “To expose abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust by government, business, and other institutions, using the moral force of investigative journalism to spur reform through the sustained spotlighting of wrongdoing.” The news organization and its journalists have received eight Pulitzer Prizes, five Peabody Awards, eight Emmy Awards and 16 George Polk awards and now has a team of more than 150 journalists “dedicated to carrying forward the important work of exposing corruption, informing the public about complex issues, and using the power of investigative journalism to spur reform,” according to its website. In May, ProPublica won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its “Life of the Mother” series, described by judges as “urgent reporting about pregnant women who died after doctors delayed urgently needed care for fear of violating vague ‘life of the mother’ exceptions in states with strict abortion laws.” The reporting spurred lawmakers in multiple states to consider changes to their abortion bans intended to give doctors more latitude to intervene when women are facing pregnancy-related health complications.
Aspen Journalism was founded in 2011 in the wake of the Great Recession after its founder, Brent Gardner-Smith, recognized the need for a local news model not reliant on advertising revenue. While earning his master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, Gardner-Smith spent six months working for ProPublica’s communication team. Gardner-Smith’s capstone project was, essentially, to see if the ProPublica model could be applied on the local level. Fourteen years later, Aspen Journalism works with roughly a dozen staff and freelance journalists covering the Roaring Fork Valley and the surrounding interconnected region to provide the community with reporting on issues of environment, water, history, land use,public policy and more. Since 2019, the organization has been recognized with 55 state and regional awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and Colorado Press Association. Most recently, Aspen Journalism and Aspen Public Radio have partnered to expand the AJ Social Justice desk into a multi-media, bilingual reporting effort.
Curtis Wackerle is the editor and executive director of Aspen Journalism, where he first came on in 2020 as editor in chief and editor and reporter for the on the Connie Harvey Environment Desk. Since 2021 in the role of editor and executive director, he works to allocate editorial resources to questions of justice and environmental quality, with a focus on stories that are not being told elsewhere. Curtis also served as editor, managing editor, and reporter over 14 years at Aspen Daily News, where he covered Aspen’s city hall. Wackerle noted that, while Engelberg is in town, the ProPublica editor will meet with journalists from multiple local news organizations to discuss the best practices established by ProPublica for effective public-interest investigative reporting, and take questions from the peer group.
“Independent, investigative journalism has always found a way, adapting to evolving needs and changing times,” Wackerle said. “ProPublica is renowned for industry-changing ideas followed by the highest standard of execution, which Mr. Engelberg has been part of every step of the way. We are honored to bring this conversation with such an industry leader to our Roaring Fork Valley community.”
Stephen Engelberg came to ProPublica from The Oregonian in Portland, where he had been a managing editor since 2002. Before joining The Oregonian, Engelberg worked for The New York Times for 18 years, including stints in Washington, D.C., and Warsaw, Poland, as well as in New York. He was a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board from 2012 to 2021. Engelberg’s work since 1996 has focused largely on the editing of investigative projects. He started the Times’ investigative unit in 2000. Projects he supervised at the Times on Mexican corruption (published in 1997) and the rise of Al Qaeda (published beginning in January 2001) were awarded the Pulitzer Prize. During his years at The Oregonian, the paper won the Pulitzer for breaking news and was a finalist for its investigative work on methamphetamines and charities intended to help the disabled. He is the co-author of “Germs: Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War” (2001).
The state of independent journalism with ProPublica Editor-in-Chief Stephen Engelberg is Saturday, July 12 at 4:30 p.m. in the Albright Pavilion at Aspen Meadows (845 Meadows Rd, Aspen, CO 81611). This event is free to the public, but donations to Aspen Journalism are encouraged. Space is limited and guests are kinda required to RSVP or join the waitlist by July 9. RSVP in the form below. For more information please contact info@aspenjournalism.org.
JOIN THE WAITLIST: Community discussion with ProPublica Editor-in-Chief Stephen Engelberg
This event is currently at capacity. By filling out this form, you are joining the waitlist for the July 12 event with Editor-in-Chief of ProPublica Stephen Engelberg. We will email you with openings on a first-come, first-served basis. Please email info@aspenjournalism.org with questions or requests.