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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, USA·FOUNDED 1976·motherjones.com
Mother Jones is a nonprofit American investigative news organization founded in 1976, now operated as part of the merged organization formed with the Center for Investigative Reporting.
NOTE: Mother Jones' publisher, the Foundation for National Progress, merged with the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) effective Feb. 1, 2024. Ownership and structural details below reflect the post-merger organization.
Mother Jones is a nonprofit American investigative news organization, publishing a bimonthly print magazine and daily digital journalism on politics, criminal and racial justice, climate change, food and agriculture, and other public-interest topics. Founded in 1976, it is one of the longest continuously operating investigative newsrooms in the United States.
Mother Jones grew out of a series of meetings organized in early 1974 by journalist and activist Paul Jacobs and journalist Adam Hochschild in Jacobs' living room. The magazine, published by the newly formed nonprofit Foundation for National Progress, released its first issue in February 1976; Hochschild served as its first managing editor, followed by Jeffrey Klein. The magazine is named for Mary Harris Jones, known as "Mother Jones," an Irish-American labor organizer and prominent opponent of child labor. Clara Jeffery became co-editor in 2006 and has served as editor-in-chief since; Monika Bauerlein became CEO in 2015.
In December 2023, Mother Jones (through the Foundation for National Progress) and the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR), the nonprofit behind the Reveal radio show and podcast, announced plans to merge into a single multimedia newsroom. The merger took effect February 1, 2024, combining Mother Jones' magazine, website and reporting staff with CIR's Reveal radio program, podcast and CIR Studios documentary film unit. Under the merged organization, Monika Bauerlein became CEO, Clara Jeffery leads the combined editorial operation as editor-in-chief, and former CIR CEO Robert J. Rosenthal became CEO emeritus. The combined organization, based in San Francisco with additional offices in Washington, D.C. and New York, reported at the time of the merger a combined monthly audience of roughly 10 million across digital, radio, podcast and print platforms.
2025 Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Explanatory ReportingA team including Alexia Campbell, April Simpson and Pratheek Rebala of the Center for Public Integrity, Nadia Hamdan of Reveal, and contributor Roy Hurst of Mother Jones was named a 2025 Pulitzer Prize finalist for "40 Acres and a Lie," a project that used archival research, AI-assisted analysis of millions of Freedmen's Bureau records, and personal storytelling to identify roughly 1,250 formerly enslaved Black men and women who received federal land titles after the Civil War, only to have that land unjustly revoked.
2025 Edward R. Murrow Award"40 Acres and a Lie" also won a 2025 Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Podcast and an Online Journalism Award for Excellence in Audio Digital Storytelling (Limited Series), in each case credited to the collaboration between the Center for Public Integrity, Mother Jones, Reveal and PRX.
2017Mother Jones was named Magazine of the Year by the American Society of Magazine Editors in 2017, according to the organization's own account.
Chief Executive Officer Monika Bauerlein
Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery
CEO Emeritus Robert J. Rosenthal
At the time of the 2024 merger, the combined Mother Jones/CIR organization reported reaching approximately 10 million people monthly, including 3.5 million across digital platforms, 1.8 million on radio and podcast platforms, and nearly 500,000 print or newsletter subscribers, according to the organizations' own announcement.
Headquarters San Francisco, California
Additional Offices Washington, D.C.; New York, New York
Legal Name Foundation for National Progress (d/b/a Mother Jones), merged into Center for Investigative Reporting
Tax ID 94-2282759
Website https://www.motherjones.com
Editor & Publisher. Mother Jones, The Center for Investigative Reporting announce merger — original joint press release content, merger terms, leadership structure.
MediaPost. Mother Jones And The Center For Investigative Reporting Complete Their Merger — Feb. 1, 2024 completion date.
MacArthur Foundation. The Center for Investigative Reporting — current organizational structure, combined staff size, offices.
Mother Jones (via Bluesky). Official announcement of 2025 Pulitzer Prize finalist status — "40 Acres and a Lie" recognition, in the organization's own words.
UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. 2025 Pulitzers honor Berkeley Journalism faculty, alums — independent confirmation of the Pulitzer finalist citation and project details.
Online Journalism Awards. 40 Acres and a Lie — official award entry confirming project scope and award category.
Daffy.org (nonprofit donation platform, hosting Mother Jones' own charity profile). Mother Jones Magazine (Foundation for National Progress) — mission statement, founding year, tax ID, sourced from the organization's own submitted materials.
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