Brandon Burley
As seen in:
AZCentral | The Arizona Republic,
South Florida Sun Sentinel,
Knoxville News Sentinel,
Chattanooga Times Free Press,
EIN News,
Las Vegas Sun,
GOVERNING,
The Daily Memphian,
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel,
Police1
and
Covers:
Public Policy, Criminal Justice, Reentry, Social Policy, Government, Public Administration, Education, Justice Reform, Courts, Corrections, Prisons, Rehabilitation
Doesn't Cover:
I do not cover lifestyle, entertainment, fashion, travel, food, product reviews, consumer tech, cryptocurrency, marketing/PR, influencer content, or promotional brand stories.
Columnist | Author | Public Policy | Veteran | (Ret.) Detective
Get in touch with Brandon
Contact Brandon, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
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Brandon Burley’s Biography
Read Full Bio →Brandon Burley, MPA, is a Tennessee-based explanatory journalist and retired detective who writes about public safety systems, reentry policy, behavioral health and justice, and how government decisions translate into real-world outcomes.
His work has appeared in Governing, Arizona Capitol Times, South Florida Sun Sentinel, Tennessee Lookout, The Daily Memphian, Knoxville News Sentinel, Police1, and other regional outlets. He focuses on clarifying how institutions function, where coordination b…
Brandon Burley’s Journalist Portfolio
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Tennessee can use its new congressional map. That does not mean the case is over. | The Redemptio...
DOJ sought more than reporters' testimony. It sought family phone records. | The Redemption Proje...
Tennessee legalizes deer baiting with new license expected to raise millions for wildlife agency ...
Tennessee's AI council is no longer just studying the future. It is helping build it. | The Redem...
How to read attacks, scandals and campaign noise in the Tennessee governor's race | The Redemptio...
Interview
See all 10 answers →Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes, I have. It makes you slow down and think before you commit words to the page.
How is social media changing news?
Social media has changed not just how news is distributed, but how it is interpreted. It rewards speed, emotional resonance, and certainty—often at the expense of context, nuance, and verification. That pressure reshapes newsroom incentives and can flatten complex issues into narratives that travel well rather than ones that are accurate.
At the same time, social platforms have lowered barriers for independent journalists and marginalized voices to publish and be heard. Important stories now surface outside traditional institutions, sometimes long before formal coverage catches up. The challenge is that discovery and distortion now happen simultaneously.
The task for journalists is to use social media as a reporting and listening tool, not a substitute for journalism itself. The value of the work still rests on sourcing, verification, and judgment—skills that matter more, not less, in a media environment where information moves faster than understanding.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
I don’t really have one. Most fictional portrayals either romanticize journalism or turn it into a personality rather than a practice. The work I’m interested in is quieter—listening, verifying, contextualizing, and getting it right over time—so I tend to draw more from real reporting than fictional characters.