Pulitzers shine spotlight on missing Black women, Peloton eyed by PE

Pulitzers shine spotlight on Chicago’s missing person crisis

What you probably already know: A small news organization out of Chicago received two Pulitzer Prizes for its coverage of missing person cases involving Black women and girls, and for a look into a 1997 hate crime in Chicago’s South Side.

Why? It’s remarkable that the 13-person Invisible Institute has racked up such prestigious honors. But what is particularly remarkable is the reporting itself. Black women and girls make up 30% of missing person cases in Chicago, while making up only 2% of the city’s population. Reporters found many cases where police were dismissive or declined to investigate cases.

What it means: The reporters analyzed data and found issues with the police department’s record-keeping, which is still done using paper reports. Some cases were marked as “non-criminal” despite having ended in homicide, or marked closed when the missing person was never found.

What happens now? This honor will increase attention on the story and likely add pressure that could result in what sounds like much-needed reforms. In the meantime, I highly suggest checking out the story. It’s a great example of why local journalism matters.

News at a glance

PE firms eye Peloton

Several private equity firms are reportedly circling Peloton for an acquisition after the company has continued to struggle post-pandemic, CNBC reported Tuesday. The fitness company is in the midst of a restructure after the CEO announced his departure, job cuts and continued store closures last week.

TikTok sues over U.S. ban

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, TikTok has argued that the First Amendment protects it against a new law that would ban the app if its Chinese owner doesn’t sell it within 270 days. TikTok says that’s too fast and that it will have to shut down the app instead. Many expect this case will end up in the Supreme Court.

Rosé sales slump

Rosé all day no more. Sales of the pink wine have dropped this year as retailers sit on last year’s unsold bottles. There has been somewhat of a frenzy over pink wines in recent years, though Wine Spectator is convinced the recent slowdown is the cultural reset we need. This all comes after global consumption of white and rosé wines surpassed reds last year.

Nordstrom endows Washington coach position

The University of Washington now has its first-ever endowed head coaching position. The Nordstrom family will fund the men’s rowing head coach position as a way to honor Blake Nordstrom, who died in 2018 at the age of 58. Blake was a rower while at UW and was a member of the Washington Rowing Stewards alumni group. UW Rowing was featured in the recent film “Boys in the Boat.”