City council orders audit after contracting investigationState legislature cites Ledger reporting in hearingZoning official resigns following permit pipeline exposéSix regional papers syndicate procurement investigationCity council orders audit after contracting investigationState legislature cites Ledger reporting in hearingZoning official resigns following permit pipeline exposéSix regional papers syndicate procurement investigation
ON THERECORD
Investigative Journalist
Stories that hold power accountable.
By Nora Quinn — WASHINGTON, D.C.
I report on policy, corruption, and public accountability — turning public records and on-the-record sources into stories that move legislatures and courts.
Nora QuinnInvestigative JournalistPRESS ID NO. 0427
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Bylines have appeared in
The Capital LedgerBeacon Investigative ReviewCivic Watch QuarterlyThe Public RecordHarbor City TribuneThe Daily StatehouseThe Capital LedgerBeacon Investigative ReviewCivic Watch QuarterlyThe Public RecordHarbor City TribuneThe Daily Statehouse
01About
From tip to published record.
Credentials
M.A. in Journalism, Columbia University
Society of Professional Journalists, member
Accredited congressional press correspondent
NICAR-certified in data journalism
I'm an investigative journalist covering government accountability, policy, and public records — the kind of reporting that starts with a tip and ends with a paper trail. My stories have prompted internal investigations, policy reversals, and a state legislative hearing.
Good journalism is patient. It means filing the records request twice, calling the source back a third time, and reading the budget line nobody else will. I write for readers who deserve the full story, not the press-release version of it.
Washington, D.C.·Open to tips & freelance assignments
02Selected Stories
Reporting that moved the record.
The Capital Ledger2024
The Hidden Cost of City Contracts
A six-month investigation into no-bid municipal contracts revealed over $40M in undisclosed change orders.
FOIAData AnalysisPublic Records
Prompted a city council audit
Cited in a state legislature hearing
140K+ reads in the first week
Beacon Investigative Review2023
Inside the Permit Pipeline
Documents obtained through public-records requests exposed a pattern of fast-tracked permits for politically connected developers.
InvestigativeDocument AnalysisInterviews
Led to the resignation of a zoning official
Followed up by four other outlets
Finalist, state press award
Civic Watch Quarterly2023
Who Funds the Watchdogs?
A data-driven look at the funding sources behind state ethics oversight boards and the conflicts of interest they rarely disclose.
Data JournalismCampaign FinanceFOIA
Source data used in two academic studies
Referenced in statehouse floor debate
The Public Record2022
The Paper Trail They Tried to Shred
Recovered procurement records traced a contracting scheme across three county agencies.
Public RecordsField ReportingFact-Checking
Subject of a follow-up grand jury inquiry
Syndicated by six regional papers
03Experience
Twelve years on the beat.
Senior Investigative Reporter — The Capital Ledger
2021 — Present
Lead accountability reporting on municipal and state government. Manage a small team of researchers and coordinate public-records requests across multiple jurisdictions.
