• by Sara Guaglione , March 25, 2020

Type Investigations, the investigative reporting division of Type Media Center, has tapped Mark J. Rochester as editor-in-chief. 

Effective March 30, Rochester will be the first African American top editor at Type Investigations, formerly known as The Investigative Fund, which incubates investigative reporting on underreported stories from diverse and independent journalists.

Rochester was formerly senior news director for investigations at The Detroit Free Press.

“During this turbulent time when journalism is experiencing an unprecedented shift in focus and awareness of changing reporting structures, Rochester brings experienced leadership, having spearheaded high-impact reporting in newsrooms from New York to California," according to a release from Type Investigations.

Rochester's work has led to "federal and state legislation, Congressional hearings, regulatory reviews, criminal prosecutions and the exposure of corporate misconduct."

Rochester succeeds Esther Kaplan, who held the role for nine years. She now serves as executive editor at Reveal, the Center for Investigative Reporting's newsroom.

Type Investigations, a nonprofit media organization, works in partnership with print, broadcast and digital media outlets, including Politico, Vice, The Huffington Post, The Nation, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, ABC News and NPR, among others.

Rochester and his staff will work with partners to develop stories that spotlight health, immigration issues, labor rights, environmental degradation, corporate misconduct, government malfeasance and civil and human rights.

In a statement, Rochester emphasized his lifelong determination to bring greater racial, ethnic and gender diversity to investigative reporting, an objective he shares with Type Media Center (formerly The Nation Institute).

Previously, he held leadership posts at the Associated Press, Newsday, The Herald, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Indianapolis Star and The Denver Post.

“There’s no shortage of journalists of color who want to practice the craft, they just need opportunity,” Rochester stated.

In 2019, Type Investigations made a number of new hires, including Taylor Eldridge as data editor, Maha Ahmed as Chief of Research, Richard Salame as assistant editor and Cassi Feldman as managing editor. 

Sarah Blustain has been promoted from deputy editor to executive editor.