Danielle Dawson

She has spent the last three years covering her hometown of San Diego, California, focusing on housing and homelessness, local politics and major breaking news events — from natural disasters to deadly plane crashes.

What I Cover:
In my role as a collaborative investigative reporter, I cover central and eastern Oregon, keeping an eye on issues facing the region's rural and underserved areas. I take on stories that shed light on how individuals and communities have been impacted by decisions made by those in power. I also team up with other newsrooms in the state to tackle high-impact projects.

My Background:
I started my journalism career in my hometown of San Diego, California, covering COVID-19, housing and homelessness through an accountability lens for the award-winning investigative nonprofit newsroom, inewsource. There, I sought to take on projects that highlighted the experiences of those who have fallen through the cracks of social safety nets, writing about renters facing evictions when COVID-era assistance programs came to an end and how police were unevenly enforcing local laws to target people living in homeless encampments.

Before joining InvestigateWest by way of Report for America, I worked as a digital reporter for the San Diego-area TV stations, FOX 5 and KUSI, where I wrote stories on topics ranging from City Hall and elections to business and sports.

I hold a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and bachelor’s degrees in literary journalism and dance from University of California, Irvine. When I’m not out burning shoe leather or burying myself in data and documents, you could probably find me at a concert or with my nose in a fantasy book the size of a brick.

Ethics and Approach:
I strive to be fair and accurate, in line with the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics. I exercise great care to verify that facts are correct before a story is published, but if I get something wrong, I make sure to address it promptly and transparently.

Being empathetic and a compassionate listener are also core pillars of my journalistic approach. I aim to ensure everyone I encounter in my role as a reporter — whether it is someone entrusting me with sharing stories of a difficult time in their life or an individual to which hard questions need to be asked — is treated with respect.

My goal is to build trust with people and communities to do the kind of journalism that can give voice to their experiences in hopes of driving honest conversation and meaningful change.

Contact Me
Email: danielle@investigatewest.org
X: @dawsondaniellee
Signal: daniellee.28