Print/Audio journalist

Michelle pitcher

ABOUT

Michelle Pitcher is a staff writer at the Texas Observer, covering criminal justice, housing, and education. She received her master’s in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley and was part of the team at The Marshall Project that won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting. Her reporting has been featured on NPR, FiveThirtyEight, The Dallas Morning News, and more. Michelle was born and raised in Dallas and is now based in Austin.

Featured in

AUDIO

NPR

• A Virtual Choir Provides Unity, Healing During Tough Times

• San Franciscans Use Lessons Learned From AIDS Crisis To Confront Coronavirus Pandemic

KALW

• Unraveling the Legend of Rattlesnake Dick

• Kaiser Oakland Gives Teen Patients A Prom Night To Remember

KQED

• Citizenship Ceremonies Cancelled

KALX

• BOSS gives formerly incarcerated job seekers a boost

PRINT

The Texas Observer

• A Courtroom Drama About Feeding Unhoused Houstonians

• The Trauma Waiting in the Wings

• Who Judges the Judges?

• Prison Journalist Shows why We Need a Free Press—Even Behind Bars

• Course Corrections: The Return of Prison Education

• How Peter Stout Turned Around Houston’s Crime Lab

• Life With Parole

The MARSHALL PROJECT

• Should Prisoners Get Covid-19 Vaccines Early?

• Should Prisoners Have to Pay For Medical Care During a Pandemic?

the dallas morning news

• General Motors unveils plans for $1.4B in upgrades to Arlington plant

• On-demand economy spreading beyond Uber to lawn mowing and more

• He screams for ice cream: Little boy reacting to Blue Bell recall is the saddest thing

• And more.

The AUSTIN BUSINESS JOURNAL

• Is cooperative housing a salve for spiraling housing costs? City, community organizers make the case

• Building a home? Good luck with that.

oakland north

• Campus Goodbye: California College of the Arts prepares to close its historic doors in Oakland

• A new chancellor takes the lead at the financially-troubled Peralta college district

• “Save Oakland Schools” protesters take over school board meeting

• And more.

DATA

THE MARSHALL PROJECT

• Mauled: When Police Dogs Are Weapons

• The City Where Police Unleash Dogs On Black Teens

Fivethirtyeight

• Cities Spend Millions On Police Misconduct Every Year. Here’s Why It’s So Difficult to Hold Departments Accountable.