Covering Opioid Lawsuit Settlements in Your Community
From 2022-2040, local journalists will be tasked with covering how the opioid settlement money is spent in their communities. These dollars coming from settlements with prescription drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies. Below are the resources we’ve compiled to help you cover this complex issue in your city, county, state or tribal community.
FIRESIDE CHATS
These 30-minute conversations give behind-the-scenes looks at important reporting, resources, and expert takes on the current state of opioid settlement funds being distributed to local communities. Scroll to see the full catalog of events.
HELPFUL LINKS
We’re continually gathering links that can help you in this reporting.
Check back often for the latest.
- Opioid Settlement Tracker
- Tribal Spending Principles
- Tribal Opioid Settlement Resources
- Appalachia Opioid Remediation: Tracking opioid spending across the Appalachian region
- The Principles for the Use of Funds from the Opioid Litigation, John Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
- The National Academy for State Health Policy
- Duke University Margolis Center for Health Policy
- National Association of Counties
- Plaintiffs' Executive Committee
- Roadmap for Opioid Settlement Funds
- Call to Action on Opioid Settlement Funds
SLACK CHANNEL
To help facilitate knowledge sharing and create a community of support for working journalists, we created a private Slack channel to share resources, reporting and discuss current challenges and questions.
NEWSROOM TRAINING
News of the opioid settlement funds being distributed will impact multiple beats and many roles in the newsroom. We have training for the entire newsroom to get folks up-to-speed on how to cover addiction accurately and empathically.
EXPERT DATABASE
This database features a list of experts through experience and training who are ready to support your reporting. Search by “willing to talk about opioid settlement money” or “opioids.” Can’t find a source? Reach out in the Slack channel or contact page, and we’re happy to help.
SENSITIVITY READS
Make a request for one of our experts to review your work and provide feedback to help ensure it aligns with our standards.
NEWSLETTER SERIES
This introductory email series will bring you up-to-speed about the settlement money and how you can cover it in your city, county, state or tribal community. We’ll also use this to share new resources and story ideas.
DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES
We frequently publish ready-to-use and easy-to-implement resources that feature best practices and recommendations for your reporting, including style guides for producing ethical addiction reporting and imagery and a digital security guide for protecting yourself and sources online.
Help us continue to offer these resources for FREE.
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