Lois Beckett has been a reporter for ProPublica since 2011. She covers the intersection of data, technology and politics, with a current focus on gun violence and gun policy. Her Essence Magazine story on PTSD caused by gun violence, âBlack Americaâs Invisible Crisis,â won a 2015 Deadline Award for public service and a NABJ Salute to Excellence Award in investigative journalism. Previously, she covered the ways politicians use data to target votersâlooking at online ad targeting and the data broker industry. She is a frequent guest on nationally syndicated TV and radio programs, including CNN Newsroom, NPRâs On Point, KQEDâs Forum and WAMUâs Kojo Nnamdi Show, and also speaks about her reporting at conferences, most recently at the World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg. With Olga Pierce and Jeff Larson, she won the 2011 Livingston Award for National Reporting, which honors outstanding achievement by journalists under the age of 35. She was also a finalist for a 2012 Livingston Award. Before joining ProPublica, she covered innovation in the news industry for the SF Weekly and the Nieman Journalism Lab.
Lois Beckett
How Much Could Obama’s Gun Moves Affect Gun Violence? Nobody Knows.
Will simply explaining current law more clearly help save lives?
Why Counting Mass Shootings is a Bad Way to Understand Gun Violence in America
It glosses over the broader reality of who is most at risk of being murdered with guns.
How the Gun Control Debate Ignores Black Lives
By failing to talk about the majority of gun murder victims — black men — politicians and advocates are missing the chance to save lives.
How Much of Your Data Would You Trade for a Free Cookie?
An artist tests whether New Yorkers will give away their mother's maiden name or part of their Social Security number for a homemade cookie.
Fact-Checking Feinstein on the Assault Weapons Ban
The senator says "the evidence is clear: the ban worked." Except there's no evidence it saved lives – and the researcher behind the key statistic Feinstein cites says it's an outdated figure that was based on a false assumption.
The Best Reporting on PTSD in Children Exposed to Violence
What happens to children and teenagers exposed to violence in their own neighborhoods.
Why Do Democrats Keep Trying to Ban Guns That Look Scary, Not the Guns That Kill the Most People?
On the twentieth anniversary of the assault weapons ban, a look at why politicians and the public support a policy that showed no evidence of saving lives.
Why Gun Control Groups Have Moved Away from an Assault Weapons Ban
A decade after the ban expired, gun control groups say that focusing on other policies will save more American lives.
The Hidden Cost of Gun Violence: Meet a Mother and Her 7-Year-Old With PTSD
Thousands of Americans in high-violence neighborhoods have developed post-traumatic stress. 24-year-old Aireana and her children are among the few who've been able to get treatment.
Six Days in Ferguson: Voices from the Protests
A day-by-day chronology of what happened in Ferguson, drawn from the best reporting by journalists and witnesses on the ground.
Everything We Know About What Data Brokers Know About You
The companies that sell information about how much money you make — and whether you’re pregnant, divorced, or trying to lose weight — are facing new scrutiny.
Myth vs. Fact: Violence and Mental Health
A Q&A with an expert who studies the relationship between mental illness and violence.
The Best Reporting on Guns in America
In the wake of last week’s shooting, we’ve laid out the most revealing reporting about guns.
Democrats Push to Restart CDC Funding for Gun Violence Research
New legislation would increase CDC funding for gun violence research from zero dollars to $10 million. The NRA calls the push “unethical” and an “abuse of taxpayer funds.”
Why Don’t We Know How Many People Are Shot Each Year in America?
Has nonfatal gun violence increased or decreased over the past 10 years? No one really knows.
Meet the Doctor Who Gave $1 Million of His Own Money to Keep His Gun Research Going
Since Congress pressured the CDC to stop funding research on gun violence, Dr. Garen Wintemute has donated more than $1.1 million of his own money to keep his research going.
Republicans Say No to CDC Gun Violence Research
Giving the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention money for gun violence research is a “request to fund propaganda,” a Georgia congressman says.
Why Hospitals Are Failing Civilians Who Get PTSD
More than 20 percent of civilians with traumatic injuries may develop PTSD. Trauma surgeons explain why many hospitals aren’t doing anything about it.
Chart: Trauma Hospitals Fail to Screen for Civilian PTSD
A growing body of research shows injured civilians, particularly those injured as a result of violence, are developing PTSD at rates comparable to veterans of war. But many hospitals are doing little to address the problem. We asked 21 top-level trauma centers in cities with the nation's highest murder rates whether they screen injured patients for signs of PTSD.
The PTSD Crisis That’s Being Ignored: Americans Wounded in Their Own Neighborhoods
Americans in violent neighborhoods are developing PTSD at rates similar to combat veterans. Why aren’t hospitals screening them? It costs money.
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