One of the most important roles of local journalism is holding public officials accountable. But as local newsrooms continue to dwindle in size, the time-intensive investigations that usually lead to accountability and reforms are often sacrificed in favor of the breaking news stories that drive clicks and likes.

At the Long Beach Post, we’ve made the commitment to invest in newsroom staff and resources that help us continue investigative journalism projects. Our ongoing series investigating the management of the city’s most famous asset, the Queen Mary, is the latest example of that commitment.

Since 2018, we’ve been closely following the dealings and latest developments surrounding the ocean liner, but now we’ve made the decision to dedicate people and resources full time to investigating the Queen Mary, including:

  • Pulling a journalist out of the daily news cycle to focus solely on reporting on the Queen Mary
  • Hiring a part-time investigative reporter to provide research and support
  • Hiring a special projects editor to oversee the series

This investigative effort and investment will come at a significant ongoing cost in the months ahead, but already the effort has resulted in sweeping reports like this one.

We aren’t done yet and we need your support to continue.

With the help of the Local Media Foundation once again, we have launched the Long Beach Post Investigative Reporting Local News Fund. It’s a way to make a tax-deductible contribution to our journalism, to support the largest team of journalists in our city, to support a newsroom that has never had a paywall and never charged for access to our reporting.

Money raised from this investigative fund will support the dedicated reporting, technical support and community engagement efforts for this series and be used specifically for this project.

We believe everyone should have access to information about our community, regardless of their ability to pay – and now you can support that mission too with your tax-deductible contribution to our newsroom.

Thank you for your enduring support.

Long Beach Post team