InDepthNH.org reporter Chris Jensen has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Washington-based Fund for Investigative Journalism.
Jensen, who also reports for the New York Times, moved to Bethlehem from Ohio in 2006 and covered the North Country for New Hampshire Public Radio. Last year, he joined the nonprofit New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism in its mission to enhance North Country coverage to make its website InDepthNH.org the only statewide online news outlet in New Hampshire. InDepthNH.org focuses on investigative and statehouse news.
Jensen’s freelancing for The New York Times included stories on deadly defects including GM ignition-key failures and Takata airbags.
In Ohio, he was a reporter at The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer for three decades. His reporting documented desegregation, the 1979 refugee crisis on the Thai-Cambodian border, fraudulent international charities, the 1st Gulf War and the decline of the American auto industry.
Nancy West, executive editor of InDepthNH.org, said she is thrilled that Jensen’s investigative talents have been so highly valued by the prestigious Fund for Investigative Journalism.
“I congratulate Chris on getting this well-deserved grant,” West said. “Chris delves deeply into every story that he tackles. His depth of experience shows in every word, every photo, every video, and every audio.
“I’m honored to work with Chris,” West said.
Jensen quit Ohio State University in 1968 against the best wishes of his parents and enlisted in the Army. His 15 months in Vietnam were spent shooting documentary motion picture of combat operations for the Department of Army.
Jensen is a graduate of George Washington University. Cheryl, his wife, is also a reporter. She freelances for The New York Times and Consumer Reports.
About the Fund for Investigative Journalism: The Fund for Investigative Journalism was founded in 1969 by the late Philip M. Stern, a public-spirited philanthropist who devoted his life “to balancing the scales of justice,” in the words of a friend. Stern was convinced small amounts of money invested in the work of determined journalists would yield enormous results in the fight against racism, poverty, corporate greed and governmental corruption. Stern’s theory proved true in the Fund’s first year, when a tiny grant of $250 enabled reporter Seymour Hersh to begin investigating a tip concerning a U.S. Army massacre at the Vietnamese village of My Lai. A subsequent Fund grant of $2,000 allowed Hersh to finish reporting the story.