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Asking the powerful tough questions is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of journalism. At the Los Angeles Times, it is a priority.
During an extraordinary year, our journalists demanded answers from elected leaders, business people and institutions. They told stories of police wrongdoing, medical neglect, racial injustices and government failures. They brought readers inside secretive and unfamiliar worlds — private immigration detention centers where crimes against detainees went unpunished; teeming markets in parts of Asia where a trade in dog meat endures; California nursing homes where thousands of elderly and sick residents are dying from COVID-19.
Investigative journalism has the power to change the world for the better, and the paper’s work inspired new laws, reversed policies, led to criminal charges and spurred numerous government inquiries. Here are just a few of the investigative stories we published in 2020. Please support our work by subscribing today.
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The response to COVID-19
Inmates who made masks and furniture for as little as 35 cents an hour say they felt pressure to stay on the job, even as the coronavirus spread through the prison factories.
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Times survey finds profound disparities in distance learning between children attending schools in high-poverty areas and those in more affluent ones.
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Toxic fumes on airplanes
A Times investigation found that vapors from heated jet engine oil seep into planes with alarming frequency across all airlines, sickening passengers and crew.
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Investigating law enforcement
The Guard reconnaissance aircraft flew over peaceful protests in the upscale community of El Dorado Hills, the location of Maj. Gen. David S. Baldwin’s home.
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In 11 shootings, including Kizzee’s, the bicyclists — all male and Black or Latino — were killed.
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Recent protests in Los Angeles have served up a steady stream of troubling videos of police aggression and violence.
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Amid calls to defund police, the public relations machine within law enforcement is coming under scrutiny.
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L.A. Sheriff’s Department says it is looking into reports that deputies shared graphic images of the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash scene.
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Examining long wait times for care
Thousands of patients in L.A. County’s public hospital system face long, sometimes deadly waits to see specialists, a Times investigation has found. The system serves primarily the region’s poorest and most vulnerable residents.
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Inside the troubled end-of-life care industry
Nowhere has the hospice industry’s growth been more explosive, and its harmful side effects more evident, than in Los Angeles County.
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Inside the conditions at immigration facilities
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Marc Ching
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Allegations of misconduct in the entertainment world
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The Golden State Killer
Subscriber exclusive: Of the many mysteries that surround the Golden State Killer, one of the most consequential is exactly how authorities caught Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. four decades after his murders began.
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Unearthing the hidden history of DDT
Decades ago, the Los Angeles coast was a dumping ground for thousands of barrels of acid sludge laced with the toxic pesticide DDT. The ocean buried the evidence for generations. No one could see it — until now.
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The lives of the rich and powerful
The case of the death of newborn Boaz Yoder plunged detectives into the murky world of USC’s ex-medical school dean, Carmen Puliafito.
