Investigative Reporting at Spotlight PA

Ed Mahon reports on addiction treatment, the opioid epidemic, social service programs, and other public health issues in Pennsylvania. His investigations examine what happens when government agencies and policies fail the people they’re supposed to help.
Before joining Spotlight PA, Mahon worked in newsrooms across Pennsylvania — in the Philadelphia suburbs, State College, York, and Harrisburg. His reporting has spurred policy changes, created new legal precedent in favor of transparency, prompted academic research in peer-reviewed journals, and earned statewide and national recognition. In 2025, Mahon received the Neil and Susan Sheehan Award for Investigative Journalism from the National Press Club Journalism Institute. He is a former president of the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents’ Association.
Spotlight PA represents an experiment in finding a new economic model for journalism after the traditional newspaper business model has weakened. Instead of relying primarily on subscriptions and advertising, it treats investigative reporting as a public service supported by the community.

Cases could reshape the way Pa. treats users who are accused of supplying drugs in fatal overdoses:
https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/09/pennsylvania-supreme-court-drug-delivery-death-charges-justice-system/