Covering Opioid Lawsuit Settlements in Your Community

Over the next 18 years, local journalists will be tasked with covering how the opioid litigation money will be spent. These dollars are coming into our communities from settlements with prescription drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies. Below are the resources we’ve compiled to help you cover this complex issue in your city, county, or state.

Slack Channel

To help facilitate knowledge sharing and create a community of support for working journalists, we created a private Slack channel to share resources, your work and get questions answered.

Newsroom Training

Opioid settlement money won’t be covered by one beat or one newsroom. We have training for the full newsroom to get folks up-to-speed on how to cover addiction accurately and empathically.

Style Guides

Another Reporting on Addiction cornerstone, our Style Guides are evidence-based, 1-page resources designed to quickly get you up-to-speed on how to cover addiction and not cause further harm to a historically marginalized community. We created Language and Visual resource guides.

Fireside Chats

These conversations will give behind-the-scenes looks at important reporting, resources and expert takes on what’s going well (or what isn’t).
Watch the recording of our session on why you should cover these funds with KFF Health News’ Aneri Pattani here.

Watch the session on tracking the settlement funds in your state with Christine Minhee of OpioidSettlementTracker.com and Kate Boulton from Vital Strategies here.

Watch the session on covering tribal communities with Andrea Medley from the Center for Indigenous Health here.

Watch the session on conflicts of interest with Regina LaBelle from the O’Neill Institute at Georgetown University Law Center here.

Watch the session on how Pennsylvania reporters are working to track funds through FOIAs with Ed Mahon (Spotlight PA) and Kate Giammarise (WESA) here.

Watch the session on how you can use MuckRock to file collaborative FOIA projects to track funds with Dillon Bergin and WVU grad student Drew Solt here.

Sensitivity Reads

Make a request for one of our experts to review your work and provide feedback to help ensure it aligns with our standards.

Expert Database

One of Reporting on Addiction’s most important resources is our Expert Database. This is a searchable and vetted database of experts. Can’t find someone? Reach out in the Slack channel or contact page, and we’re happy to help.

Whistleblower Support

Both journalists and their sources need to make sure communications are secure when discussing sensitive issues. Download our guide to digital safety and security - for you and your sources.

Helpful Links:

We’re continually gathering links that can help you in this reporting. Check back often for the latest.

Resources specific to opioid settlement distributions

Federal government resources to help understand addiction