11 Must-Follow True Crime Investigative Journalists

By: Nadia Yassin and Andrea Cipriano, MAFP

These reporters aren’t afraid to dive deep into an investigation and blow a case wide open.

Investigative reporters are known to have excellent communication and storytelling skills. Not only do they get to the bottom of every story or unsolved case they research, but they’re also relentless in giving a voice to the voiceless. These experts are known to ask difficult questions and deliver the truth.

Here’s a list of 11 must-follow investigative reporters you should keep up with. Guess what? Their Twitter handles are already linked! You’re welcome 😉.

Jessica Noll (@JNJournalist)

Jessica Noll is a 3x Emmy award-winning communications and media professional, TV personality, host, spokesperson, investigative journalist, and podcast producer from Cincinnati, Ohio. She has produced works such as Culpable, Undetermined, and Beyond Bardstown: Unsolved. Jessica is also part of the Dateline NBC’s Missing in America series team.

Brian Entin (@BrianEntin)

Brian Entin is NewsNation’s Senior National Correspondent. An Emmy award-winning journalist, Entin most recently worked as a reporter for WSVN in Miami. Recently, Brian is most known for his ethical and persistent coverage of the Idaho student quadruple homicide case and arrest of Bryan Kohberger.

Briana Collins (@BrianaFoxIL)

Briana Collins is the evening anchor for FOX Illinois. She is the host of True Crime in Color, a podcast featuring stories of victims of color in the state of Illinois. In writing about her work, Briana says, “On many of the true-crime podcasts I listen to, victims of color are not the focus. On the news, their stories don’t always get as much attention as their white counterparts. That’s why True Crime in Color is so important.”

Jordan Smith (@chronic_jordan)

Jordan Smith is a state and national award-winning investigative journalist based in Austin, Texas currently writing for The Intercept. She has covered criminal justice for more than 20 years and, during that time, has developed a reputation as a resourceful and dogged reporter with a talent for analyzing complex social and legal issues. She is regarded as one of the best investigative reporters in Texas. A longtime staff writer for the Austin Chronicle, her work has also appeared in The Nation, the Crime Report, and Salon, among other places.

Brian Dugger (@DuggerDigs)

Brian Dugger is an Emmy and Murrow Award-winning investigative journalist with experience in broadcast and print journalism. He is currently the Lead Investigator at WTOL 11 in Toledo, Ohio, where he’s investigated Nancy Eagleson‘s case. Brian’s goal is to give a voice to the voiceless.

To read Brian’s 3-part Investigative series on the unsolved murder of Nancy Eagleson, start reading Part 1 here.

Kristin Thorne (@KristinThorne)

Kristin Thorne is an investigative reporter for WABC Channel 7 Eyewitness News. She is also the Emmy-award winning host of ABC7 New York Eyewitness News true crime series “Missing” which tells the real stories of missing people around the New York City and the tri-state area. Season 2 is now streaming on Hulu!

Learn more about Missing on Hulu here.

Daniella Rivera (@DaniellaKSL)

Daniella Rivera is an Edward R. Murrow & Emmy award-winning investigative journalist from Salt Lake City, Utah. She says her passions include serving the public through seeking and reporting the truth. Daniella’s reporting in Alaska exposed a loophole in the state’s sexual assault sentencing laws, sparking changes to those laws less than a year later.

Dave Cawley (@ashergrey)

Dave Cawley is an investigative journalist, storyteller and news producer from Salt Lake City, Utah. Dave started a podcast in November of 2018 titled COLD about the disappearance of Susan Cox Powell. Now, with three seasons of the podcast under his belt, Dave is shining a light on more stories that need to be told. 

To listen to Season 1 of COLD where Dave dives deep into the case files, uncovering never-before-heard details, check out this episode list.

Maggie Freleng (@maggiefreleng)

Maggie Freleng is a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter and producer from New York City who is currently reporting on wrongful convictions, the criminal justice system, and social issues. Previously, Maggie worked on the Maura Murray case. Maggie is also an Adjunct Professor at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, while also being the host and producer of “Wrongful Conviction”, “Murder in Alliance” and “Unjust & Unsolved”.

Connie Walker (@connie_walker)

Connie Walker grew up on the Okanese First Nation, in Saskatchewan. She describes always knowing she wanted to be a journalist. Connie currently works for Gimlet Media where she launched her podcast series Stolen: The Search for Jermain. Currently, the podcast is covering one of Canada’s darkest chapters: the residential school system.  

Learn more about Jermain Charlo’s case here, and don’t forget to check out Stolen. 

Barbara MacDonald (@NewsyBarbara)

Barbara MacDonald is an investigative producer and writer at HLNTV. She’s a host and producer of Down the Hill: The Delphi Murders podcast and documentary. She is thorough in her research, clear in her writing, deep in her sourcing, and compassionate in her storytelling.

Learn more about the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German. We’re hopeful that this year justice will be served!