Poverty, power and public policy in Memphis and Shelby County

Jacob Steimer

Jacob Steimer reports on poverty, power and public policy for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, a nonprofit digital newsroom in Memphis, Tennessee. Before this, Steimer reported for the Memphis Business Journal for more than four years, regularly scooping the competition. He says that his best stories included an investigation into a low income housing program and an in-depth look at why so few Memphis commercial real estate agents are Black, why that matters and how it could change. While studying journalism and economics at the University of Missouri, he was a reporter and editor for the Columbia Missourian, the school’s community paper, and earned awards from the Missouri Press Association. Steimer has interned at The Charlotte Observer and WVLT-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. An avid sports fan and a history enthusiast, he grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee.

MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

MLK50: Justice Through Journalism is an award-winning nonprofit digital newsroom based in Memphis and focused on the intersection of poverty, power and policy. Launched in April 2017 during the run-up to the 50th anniversary of Dr.  Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, we frame the news from the perspective of the people King would have been aligned with had he not been assassinated. Through our three-year partnership with ProPublica, MLK50’s RFA fellows will have access to ProPublica training and may have the opportunity to collaborate on stories co-published with the national investigative reporting outlet.  

MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

MLK50: Justice Through Journalism is an award-winning nonprofit digital newsroom based in Memphis and focused on the intersection of poverty, power and policy. Launched in April 2017 during the run-up to the 50th anniversary of Dr.  Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, we frame the news from the perspective of the people King would have been aligned with had he not been assassinated. Through our three-year partnership with ProPublica, MLK50’s RFA fellows will have access to ProPublica training and may have the opportunity to collaborate on stories co-published with the national investigative reporting outlet.  

Carrington Tatum

Carrington Tatum covers poverty, power and public policy in Memphis and Shelby County for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. He has interned with The Dallas Morning News to bolster coverage of the historically Black and brown and underserved southern side of Dallas. He also interned with The Texas Tribune, covering mainly homelessness and higher education. He cut his journalism teeth as a first-generation college student from Garland, Texas, at Texas State University, where he was the first Black editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The University Star.

Hannah Grabenstein

Hannah Grabenstein covers poverty, power and public policy in Memphis and Shelby County for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Previously, she covered state and local politics for the Associated Press in Little Rock, and has reported on Arkansas law enforcement, environmental issues and history. Her reporting on truancy in Arkansas schools won second place for investigative reporting at the Society of Professional Journalists Arkansas Pro Chapter Diamond Awards in 2019. She’s also been a producer for PBS Washington Week and previously was a production assistant and digital writer for PBS NewsHour. Grabenstein was editor-in-chief of The Point News, the newspaper for St. Mary’s College of Maryland, from which she graduated magna cume laude in 2012. She grew up in Columbia, Maryland, and is an avid Baltimore Orioles fan.

MLK50: Justice Through Journalism

MLK50: Justice Through Journalism is an award-winning nonprofit digital newsroom based in Memphis and focused on the intersection of poverty, power and policy. Launched in April 2017 during the run-up to the 50th anniversary of Dr.  Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, we frame the news from the perspective of the people King would have been aligned with had he not been assassinated. Through our three-year partnership with ProPublica, MLK50’s RFA fellows will have access to ProPublica training and may have the opportunity to collaborate on stories co-published with the national investigative reporting outlet.