Sunlight Research Desk

Start Small. Build Trust. Make News. Building a Small Newsroom People Trust | Sunlight Research This session explores what it takes to start and grow a small newsroom that authentically serves its community with guest speakers from Shasta Scout, The Edge, and Riverside Record.

With guest speakers from @shastascout.bsky.social, The Edge, and @riversiderecord.bsky.social, join us as we explore what it takes to start and grow a small newsroom that authentically serves its community. www.sunlightresearch.net/event-detail...

Celebrate Sunshine Week 2026 with MuckRock! MuckRock is hosting events for Sunshine Week, shining a light on the importance of public records and open government.

MuckRock will be continuing our Sunshine Week celebrations throughout the month of March, highlighting the best in transparency and open government. Join us in the fight for government transparency! www.muckrock.com/news/archive...

Investigating with Sunlight: Reading the Record Court records are one of the most powerful and underused tools in investigative reporting. In this workshop, MuckRock's Elizabeth Clemons and Kelly Kauffman will walk journalists through how civil…

Court records are one of the most powerful and underused tools in investigative reporting. In this latest workshop, we walk through how civil litigation and criminal cases can reveal conflicts, behavior and decision-making that shape a subject’s public and private life.

Detecting and Investigating Healthcare Fraud: A Real-World Case Study with Walter Smith Randolph | Sunlight Research In this training session, Walter Smith Randolph will walk attendees through a real Medicare fraud investigation that exposed a multimillion-dollar scheme involving fraudulent billing for medical…

Go behind the scenes of a real Medicare fraud investigation that exposed a multimillion-dollar scheme involving fraudulent billing for medical supplies that patients never ordered or received.

Meet the #NICAR26 Fellows!

Bella Davis is an Indigenous affairs reporter at New Mexico In Depth and a proud Yurok tribal member based in Albuquerque. Her reporting focuses on critical issues affecting Native communities across New Mexico.

Reading the Record: Civil Litigation and Criminal Cases | Sunlight Research In this workshop, MuckRock's Elizabeth Clemons and Kelly Kauffman will walk journalists through how civil litigation and criminal cases can reveal conflicts, behavior and decision-making that shape a…

Court records are one of the most powerful and underused tools in investigative reporting. A new workshop from MuckRock will walk journalists through how civil litigation and criminal cases can reveal conflicts, behavior and more.

Register: www.sunlightresearch.net/event-detail...

Former Google CEO's links to secretive company seeking explosive testing near Burning Man - The Nevada Independent Further research into BRDR LLC indicate ties to billionaire Eric Schmidt, who served as Google’s CEO from 2001 to 2011 and as the company’s executive chairman until 2017.

A new collaboration from The Nevada Independent (@thenvindy.com) and Sunlight Research Desk (@sunlightresearch.bsky.social) reveals how a secretive LLC with ties to Google’s former CEO pursued special use permits for explosive testing near Burning Man.

NEW: A collaboration from The Nevada Independent (@thenvindy.com) and Sunlight Research Desk has unveiled ties between a secretive LLC, a former Google CEO and explosive testing near Burning Man.

Former Google CEO's links to secretive company seeking explosive testing near Burning Man - The Nevada Independent Late last year, BRDR Properties LLC made waves in the small rural town of Gerlach, the gateway community to the Black Rock Desert and Burning Man, while seeking special use permits to perform explosiv...

@muckrock.com's sunlight desk provided background research for this report with the Nevada Independent! thenevadaindependent.com/article/form...

Want to chat about public records, investigative research and more? MuckRock's Michael Morisy and Brandi Swicegood are at the @knightfoundation.org's Knight Media Forum 2026 in Miami!

Membership | Sunlight Research The Sunlight Research Desk and MuckRock provide powerful investigative tools and support that help local and independent newsrooms produce more high-impact journalism.

Whether you’re backgrounding a source, tracking campaign money, or connecting the dots in public records, we’re the support system behind the byline.

Our experts help newsrooms dig deeper to produce stories with impact. Learn more about our membership options. www.sunlightresearch.net/membership

Membership | Sunlight Research The Sunlight Research Desk and MuckRock provide powerful investigative tools and support that help local and independent newsrooms produce more high-impact journalism.

From tracking down essential documents to analyzing complex data sets, Sunlight Research Desk’s new membership options that can improve your newsroom’s investigative capabilities.

Learn more: [https://www.sunlightresearch.net/membership](www.sunlightresearch.net/membership)

Inside America’s carpet capital: an empire and its toxic legacy The Georgia carpet industry’s long use of PFAS, known as forever chemicals, polluted drinking water and the environment across swaths of the South.

The carpet industry’s long use of “forever chemicals” has polluted drinking water and the environment across swaths of the South for decades.

MuckRock’s @sunlightresearch.bsky.social provided research on this new investigation.

Membership | Sunlight Research The Sunlight Research Desk and MuckRock provide powerful investigative tools and support that help local and independent newsrooms produce more high-impact journalism.

ICYMI: @sunlightresearch.bsky.social launched new membership options that can help your newsroom track down essential documents, analyze complex data sets, and prepare detailed timelines to help your newsroom build the foundation for investigations.

Learn more:

Membership | Sunlight Research The Sunlight Research Desk and MuckRock provide powerful investigative tools and support that help local and independent newsrooms produce more high-impact journalism.

Sunlight Research Desk helps newsrooms report stories that make a difference in their communities. www.sunlightresearch.net/membership

Membership | Sunlight Research The Sunlight Research Desk and MuckRock provide powerful investigative tools and support that help local and independent newsrooms produce more high-impact journalism.

From uncovering the federal probation status of a congressional candidate in Arizona to an in-depth examination of why Elon Musk’s Boring Co. has been snatching up real estate along the Las Vegas Loop, Sunlight Research Desk has been invaluable for local newsrooms across the country.

Membership | Sunlight Research The Sunlight Research Desk and MuckRock provide powerful investigative tools and support that help local and independent newsrooms produce more high-impact journalism.

In addition to hands-on research support, community workshops, real-time expert assistance and a curated collection of MuckRock tools, your newsroom also gets exclusive workshops that fit your investigative and accountability reporting needs. www.sunlightresearch.net/membership

Membership | Sunlight Research The Sunlight Research Desk and MuckRock provide powerful investigative tools and support that help local and independent newsrooms produce more high-impact journalism.

Save time and uncover critical details for impactful stories. 📰

Sunlight Research Desk is launching an updated membership program that gives your newsroom more access to support from the Sunlight Research Desk. www.sunlightresearch.net/membership

The toxic legacy of Georgia’s carpet empire The Georgia carpet industry’s long use of PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” polluted drinking water and the environment across swaths of the South.

The Georgia carpet industry’s long use of PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” has polluted drinking water and the environment across swaths of the South for decades.

Sunlight Research Desk provided research to @ajc.com on this new reporting.

Reporting the Rainbow: Covering and Serving the Queer Community Reporting the Rainbow: Covering and Serving the Queer Community In this workshop, we explore how to turn LGBTQ+ data into reporting that is accurate, thoughtful and community-informed. Building on…

Last week, Founder of the Los Angeles Center for Investigative Journalism Albert Serna Jr. joined us for our Investigating with Sunlight series to discuss how to turn LGBTQ+ data into reporting that is accurate, thoughtful and community-informed.

Watch on YouTube:

Reporting the Rainbow: Covering and Serving the Queer Community | Sunlight Research In this workshop, we will explore how to turn LGBTQ+ data into reporting that is accurate, thoughtful and community-informed. Building on December’s training about finding data on LGBTQ+ communities,…

On Friday at 1 p.m. ET learn how to turn LGBTQ+ data into reporting that is accurate, thoughtful and community-informed with Albert Serna Jr., founder of the Los Angeles Center for Investigative Journalism.

Register today:

When jail becomes the mental health treatment plan - AZ Luminaria Arizona’s competency restoration system pushes people with mental illness into jail. Stacey Brooks’ case shows the dangerous consequences.

In Arizona, Restoration to Competency program is meant to prepare people with mental illness to face trial. Instead, it exposes how Arizona jails have become the state’s default psychiatric wards — with sometimes dangerous consequences.

Reporting the Rainbow: Covering and Serving the Queer Community | Sunlight Research In this workshop, we will explore how to turn LGBTQ+ data into reporting that is accurate, thoughtful and community-informed. Building on December’s training about finding data on LGBTQ+ communities,…

Data can reveal patterns and point to emerging stories. Yet it never captures the full reality of a community. Learn how to turn LGBTQ+ data into reporting that is accurate, thoughtful and community-informed.

Join us on Jan. 23 for Reporting the Rainbow.

Workshops | Sunlight Research Center Join Sunlight Research Center for in-depth investigative reporting workshops designed to help journalists build their reporting skillsets.

Whether you’re backgrounding a source, tracking campaign money or connecting the dots in public records, Sunlight Research Desk is the support system behind the byline.

Learn more about our monthly workshops:

Sunshine Fest 2026 – March 15-17, 2026, Washington, D.C. Our right to know.

Celebrate government transparency in 2026!

Registration is now open for Sunshine Fest, where we'll celebrate freedom of information from March 15-17 in Washington, D.C. Learn more about conference and how to register: sunshineweek.org/sunshine-fest/

Reporting the Rainbow: Covering and Serving the Queer Community | Sunlight Research In this workshop, we will explore how to turn LGBTQ+ data into reporting that is accurate, thoughtful and community-informed. Building on December’s training about finding data on LGBTQ+ communities,…

Learn how to turn LGBTQ+ data into reporting that is accurate, thoughtful and community-informed. Join us on Jan. 23 for Reporting the Rainbow: Covering and Serving the Queer Community. www.sunlightresearch.net/event-detail...

Reporting the Rainbow: Covering and Serving the Queer Community | Sunlight Research In this workshop, we will explore how to turn LGBTQ+ data into reporting that is accurate, thoughtful and community-informed. Building on December’s training about finding data on LGBTQ+ communities,…

Learn how to turn LGBTQ+ data into reporting that is accurate, thoughtful and community-informed.

Join us on Jan. 23 for Reporting the Rainbow: Covering and Serving the Queer Community: www.sunlightresearch.net/event-detail...

MuckRock MuckRock is a collaborative news site that gives you the tools to hold the government accountable.

We're nearing the end of our most important fundraising season. If you believe in a more open, accountable democracy, we’re asking you to stand with us.

Support MuckRock today. www.muckrock.com/donate/

Donate to MuckRock and Sunlight Research Desk Your donation fuels vital tools such as Sunlight Research Desk, MuckRock Requests, FOIA Machine, DocumentCloud and oTranscribe that promote civic engagement.

By teaming up with MuckRock, Sunlight can offer newsrooms even deeper tools and support, including FOIA services and DocumentCloud’s analysis capabilities.

If you’ve ever tapped our research team for help, attended a workshop, make a donation to support our work today.

Reporting the Rainbow: Covering and Serving the Queer Community | Sunlight Research In this workshop, we will explore how to turn LGBTQ+ data into reporting that is accurate, thoughtful and community-informed. Building on December’s training about finding data on LGBTQ+ communities,…

Learn how to turn LGBTQ+ data into reporting that is accurate, thoughtful and community-informed.

Join us on Jan. 23 for Reporting the Rainbow: Covering and Serving the Queer Community: www.sunlightresearch.net/event-detail...