About
I am a data and investigative journalist at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where I have covered a range of issues from “dark money” in politics to mine safety and the government’s failure to protect workers from toxic dust.
Before joining the Post-Gazette, I covered campaign finance and lobbying for OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks the influence of money in U.S. politics.
I studied English literature at Virginia Commonwealth University and earned a master’s in investigative journalism from the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University. Along the way, I taught high school and spent two years in Armenia with the U.S. Peace Corps, teaching English as a foreign language.
I was born in Québec, Canada, but I grew up a thousand miles south in the suburbs outside of Richmond, Va.
Contact
Have a tip for a story? My reporting focuses on holding governments and corporations accountable — and that work depends on people with inside knowledge who are willing to speak up.
If you have information about wrongdoing, waste, or decisions made behind closed doors that affect the public, I want to hear from you. The best tips come from people with direct knowledge of what they’re describing, along with data, documents and/or firsthand accounts that corroborate what they’re seeing.
You can reach me by email or send a direct message securely through Signal.
Email: jcloutier@post-gazette.com
Signal: jrcloutier.92
Honors
| 2026 | ||
| National Headliner Awards | Investigative Reporting | 1st place |
| Association of Health Care Journalists | Investigative Reporting | 1st place |
| Pittsburgh Black Media Federation | Robert L. Vann, Daily Enterprise/Investigative | 1st place |
| Robert L. Vann, Daily Enterprise/Investigative | 2nd place | |
| Robert L. Vann, Daily Enterprise/Investigative | 3rd place | |
| SABEW | Best in Business, Government | Hon. Mention |
| Goldsmith Prize | Investigative Reporting | Semifinalist |
| 2025 | ||
| Pittsburgh Black Media Federation | Robert L. Vann, Daily Enterprise/Investigative | 1st place |
| Society of Professional Journalists, Keystone | Spotlight Award | 2nd place |
| Press Club of Western Pennsylvania | Excellence in Written Journalism, Business | Finalist |
| 2022 | ||
| SABEW | Best in Business, Projects and Collaborations | 1st place |
| EPPY | Best Collegiate Investigation | 1st place |
| Society of Environmental Journalists | Outstanding Student Reporting | 1st place |
| Nina Mason Pulliam Environmental Reporting | Hon. Mention |