Jacob Steimer reports on poverty, power and public policy for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, a nonprofit digital newsroom in Memphis, Tennessee. Before this, Steimer reported for the Memphis Business Journal for more than four years, regularly scooping the competition. He says that his best stories included an investigation into a low income housing program and an in-depth look at why so few Memphis commercial real estate agents are Black, why that matters and how it could change. While studying journalism and economics at the University of Missouri, he was a reporter and editor for the Columbia Missourian, the school’s community paper, and earned awards from the Missouri Press Association. Steimer has interned at The Charlotte Observer and WVLT-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. An avid sports fan and a history enthusiast, he grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Beat: Poverty, power and public policy in Memphis and Shelby County
This reporter focuses on the intersection of poverty, power and public policy in Memphis and Shelby County. In practical terms, that includes writing stories on the pandemic and its impact on disenfranchised residents and “essential” workers, and monitoring elected bodies on measures that affect low-wage residents. This reporter also does enterprise reporting on the plight of the working poor; covers live events (protests, demonstrations, press conferences) as assigned, and works on longer-term profiles and issue stories.