Dylan Smith
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Dylan Smith’s Biography
Read Full Bio →Dylan Smith is the Editor and Publisher of TucsonSentinel.com, a nonprofit local independent online news organization.
Prior to founding the Sentinel, he was the Online Editor for the Tucson Citizen, until the newspaper was shut down.
He also serves as the founding Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Local Independent Online News Publishers (LION Publishers), organizing a group of publishers of nearly 200 ocal news websites across the country. He is a member of Investigative Reporters and…
Dylan Smith’s Journalist Portfolio
Awards
Sledgehammer
2017 - Investigative Journalism
The Arizona Press Club's Sledgehammer Awards are a tribute to journalists who relentlessly seek the truth, smashing through obstacles thrown their way. Smith let the sunshine into a number of dark corners of local and national news in 2017. He was the only journalist in the nation to report a hidden provision in a bill that would have exempted the Border Patrol from Freedom of Information laws. Because of his reporting and commentary, that provision was quickly removed, keeping Congress from allowing the Border Patrol to operate in the dark. In other reporting, Smith broke the news that political committees were not filing mandatory disclosures of hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations and expenses leading up to the Tucson city election — and the city was letting them get away with it. Because of his reporting, updated filings prior to the election showed the campaign donors behind efforts to change Tucson's City Charter — and one of those initiatives was soundly defeated by the voters. Smith also shed light on a personnel complaint against U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva that led to a staffer getting fired and then getting a $48,000 payout; and an apparent open-meeting law violation by the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board that led to the immediate withdrawal of a superintendent candidate the night before her contract was set to be approved.
Arizona Community Journalist of the Year - first runner-up
2017 - Journalism
TucsonSentinel.com Editor and Publisher Dylan Smith was named first runner-up for the Arizona Press Club's Community Journalist of the Year. "Smith's 2017 reporting was dogged, thorough and had a consistent investigative edge," wrote judges Jennifer Napier-Pearce, editor of the Salt Lake Tribune; Daniel Simmons-Ritchie, investigative reporter with PennLive and the Patriot-News; and Sheila McCann, managing editor of the Salt Lake Tribune. "From his coverage of a bill provision that would have excluded Customs and Border Protection from FOIA to failures by advocacy groups to properly disclose campaign spending, Smith served up important watchdog journalism to readers. Impressive work," the judges said.