Paul Steiger gave an insight into the first two years of ProPublica at a talk in Toronto on Monday.

The CEO of the investigative journalism non-profit said they were “a year ahead” of where they had expected to be.

The initial challenges were brand recognition, getting partners and concerns about bias due to its left-leaning funders.

Steiger admitted that the timing of ProPublica’s launch in 2008 had helped in setting up collaborations with high-profile newspapers such as The New York Times and news shows like 60 Minutes.

“Had we tried it five or 10 years earlier, it would have been almost impossible,” he said.

But the convulsions in the world of journalism meant “still proud publications are much poorer” and investigative reporting was being starved of resources.

As a result, mainstream media was far more open to collaborating with ProPublica as it offers its content for free.

What it has also found is that its mix of old and younger journalists has helped its newsroom.Originally Steiger thought the more experienced, old hand would teach the younger reporters.

Instead, he admitted, “the kids have come in with almost inate understanding about online media and social media, and have taught older staff.”

One way this has influenced ProPublica’s strategy is social media. Last year it hired OffTheBus Director Amanda Michel, who has put together a network of 3,000 volunteers.

Steiger said this was a sign of how ProPublica was investing in social media and what he called “distributed reporting.”

While it is still figuring out how to use this network, he said it had potential for mass reporting. For example, ProPublica is using its network of volunteers to monitor 500 projects funded by US government stimulus money.

Looking to the future, Steiger highlighted three areas:

1. Keep improving the journalism and tapping into the potential of digital media as an investigative tool.
2. Improving the organisation’s website, as this will become more important as a publishing platform for investigations.
3. Diversify funding beyond the Bay Area billionaires Herbert and Marion Sandler, who make up the bulk of the funding by providing $10m a year.

Steiger said ProPublica’s investigative reporting was “not a panacea for the challenges afflicting this kind of journalism.” But, he added, “we’re making a difference.”

The talk was part of a series of journalism seminars organised by the Samara charitable organisation and the Massey College Canadian Journalism Fellowships, at the University of Toronto.