🔥Opioid Settlement Watchdog Reporting Tips & Tricks
We're checking in with Reporting on Addiction Opioid Settlement Microgrant awardees Emily Bader (The Maine Monitor - Maine) & Adam Smith-Perez (Investigative Post - Buffalo, NY) to hear about their essential opioid settlement reporting over the last year.
They have been hitting this topic from all angles, and we're excited to have them share what they learned. This 30-minute, online conversation is designed to create community among reporters covering these topics and to help journalists take on these difficult but important stories. Whether you're just getting started or deep into your opioid settlement reporting, this session will offer practical tips to report on opioid settlement spending in your community.
We hope you'll join us!
Reporting on Addiction Fireside Chat
Opioid Settlement Watchdog Reporting Tips & Tricks
Featuring Emily Bader (The Maine Monitor - Maine) & Adam Smith-Perez (Investigative Post - Buffalo, NY)
Event Info: Wednesday, Mar. 25 12 p.m. EST
Speaker Bios
Emily Bader
Emily Bader is a health care and general assignment reporter for The Maine Monitor where she covers substance use, mental health and access to care. She is particularly interested in exploring how these issues affect Mainers’ everyday lives, how communities are seeking solutions and in serving as a watchdog on decision-makers. Prior to joining The Monitor, Emily was a reporter for three years at local Maine papers. She has earned recognition from a number of state and national press associations.
Reporting on Addiction Microgrant Stories:
https://themainemonitor.org/local-governments-spent-3m-opioid-settlement-funds/; https://themainemonitor.org/local-government-opioid-settlement-2025-charts/
All of The Maine Monitor's Opioid Coverage:
https://themainemonitor.org/opioids/
Adam Smith-Perez
Adam Smith-Perez is an investigative journalist and producer based in Buffalo, NY. He is a Report for America corps member and the urban affairs reporter at Investigative Post, Buffalo’s only nonprofit watchdog newsroom.
He has reported extensively on the overdose crisis since 2023 for outlets including The Nation and VICE News, and more recently covered oversight issues surrounding opioid settlement funds at Investigative Post. In covering urban affairs in Buffalo, Adam has also reported on police misconduct, immigration enforcement, and affordable housing.
Select Investigative Post's Opioid Coverage:
https://investigativepost.org/2025/12/02/buffalos-indifferent-response-to-opioid-overdoses/
https://investigativepost.org/2026/02/17/525215/
https://investigativepost.org/2026/02/25/the-trouble-with-save-the-michaels/
This event is supported in part by a grant from the Open Society Foundation.