
Amita Sharma
Investigative ReporterAs the public matters investigative reporter, Amita leads KPBS’ coverage on efforts to undermine democracy, including threats to public officials, bolstering the Big Lie, chipping away at voter’s rights, attempts to overturn election results, eroding institutions and weakening the government's capacity to do its job, as well as civic efforts to engage people with opposing views without rancor.
The goal of the position is to report on the stakes, from a San Diego County perspective, on the United States’ current political moment.
She has spent the last two years reporting on local threats to democracy, including regional extremism, the shrinking of local news coverage while the number of hyper partisan “news” websites grow, censorship at libraries and incivility at public meetings.
Her previous coverage includes: exposing abuses in local nursing homes at the height of the pandemic, including a serial rapist who had worked in several El Cajon facilities and was arrested following her reporting; unearthing a contract between the city of Chula Vista and Motorola that allowed the company to sell data collected by the Chula Vista Police Department; and reporting on discrimination and retaliation in the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office that led to court settlements and the retirement of the Public Defender.
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Democrats trust the news far more than Republicans. They find commonality, however, in financial news sources. But the most trusted news source for Americans from both parties is The Weather Channel.
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From top to bottom, from the federal government to the city of San Diego, programs that feed people, help them stay healthy, find jobs and enrich them are on the chopping block. The public is taking an unprecedented hit.
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UC San Diego researchers discovered that when people learn details about investment returns by members of Congress, their trust is reduced and so is their inclination to abide by the law.
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KPBS spoke with Corey Gustafson and Kyle Krahel-Frolander of the San Diego Republican and Democratic parties respectively to get their take on President Trump’s first four months in office.
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Two UC San Diego researchers found evidence that birth rates climbed eight years ago during Trump’s first term.
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San Diegan Allan Hoving is trying to build consensus by launching an online unity-building platform called The Big Middle.
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The legal dispute over police drone footage stems from a lawsuit filed by Arturo Castanares, publisher of La Prensa San Diego.
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KPBS Midday EditionAn investigation by CapRadio and NPR's California Newsroom has found that Gov. Newsom overstated, by an astounding 690%, the number of acres treated with fuel breaks and prescribed burns in forestry projects aimed at protecting the state’s most vulnerable communities.
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This is a breaking news blog for all of the latest updates on the conviction of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin on murder and manslaughter charges in the death of George Floyd.
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