About Us

Who We Are:

The Appeal is a nonprofit news organization that envisions a world in which systems of support and care, not punishment, create public safety.

The Appeal’s journalism exposes the harms of a criminal legal system entrenched in centuries of systemic racism. We equip people with the information necessary to make change, and we elevate solutions that emerge from the communities most affected by policing, jails, and prisons in the U.S.

In a precarious moment for criminal justice reform, this work is crucial. We produce fact-based reporting and analysis that centers the voices of the people directly impacted by the issues we cover and educates the public on how the criminal legal system works. We correct common misconceptions and counter tough-on-crime narratives to assert that a world without mass incarceration and criminalization is possible and necessary.

We have a special focus on communities and policy debates often ignored by traditional national media, or increasingly lost in the consolidation and closure of local news outlets. In this dire media landscape, our model as a worker-led nonprofit newsroom offers a new, sustainable path for the future of journalism.

Our stories have sparked protests and grassroots activism, inspired legislation that reduces policing and incarceration, and shaped the national narrative about justice and punishment. We push the debate beyond incremental reforms that do little to address systemic problems, and we explore ideas that stand for truly transformative change.