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An accountability reporter based in Richmond, Va.

Ben Paviour

An accountability reporter based in Richmond, Va.

I'm a Richmond-based reporter specializing in quick-turn enterprise and investigative journalism. I'm focused on exposing abuses of power in government and the criminal justice system.

I'm a recent local investigations fellow at The New York Times, where I trained with Pulitzer Prize-winning editors and investigated coal barons' controversial attempts to remake the economy of Appalachian Virginia.

My reporting led state officials to reinstate over 3,400 voters who'd been mistakenly removed from voter rolls. I've exposed payments from Dominion Energy to a prominent newspaper columnist who'd defended the company in editorials. And I've helped report on a podcast that exposed a cover-up in the state crime lab.

You can reach me at bpaviour14 at gmail dot com

Highlights

From Gambling to Garbage, Coal Country Mines for the Next Big Thing

From Gambling to Garbage, Coal Country Mines for the Next Big Thing

The New York Times

As President Trump pledges to revive “beautiful” coal, Virginia’s coal counties have largely moved on to new ventures. But who stands to benefit?

Virginia’s ‘nice’ negotiator: Terry Kilgore leads GOP in Trump’s shadow

Virginia’s ‘nice’ negotiator: Terry Kilgore leads GOP in Trump’s shadow

Virginia Mercury

Virginia's top Republican lawmaker is known as a dealmaker willing to buck his own party — and sometimes blur ethical lines.

Virginia reinstates nearly 3,400 voters after accidental purge

Virginia reinstates nearly 3,400 voters after accidental purge

VPM News

My reporting led state officials to reinstate 3,400 people who'd be mistakenly purged from voter rolls, just weeks before crucial legislative elections. The incident sparked a state inspector general investigation.

Work Experience

Freelance Reporter

Virginia Mercury, Nieman Lab, and more

June 2025 - Present

Local Investigations Fellow

The New York Times

Feb 2024 - May 2025

State Politics/Courts Reporter

VPM News + NPR

June 2018 - Feb 2024

Senior Politics Reporter

The Cambodia Daily

Aug 2015 - Sept 2017

Reporting featured on:

Clips

Admissible: Shreds of Evidence

Story Mechanics/VPM/iHeartRadio

A 12-part podcast focused on a forensic scientist gone rogue in Virginia's crime lab. I reported and narrated episode 11 and parts of 12.

Virginia's first Black woman lieutenant governor says we need to move on from slavery

NPR

Born in Jamaica and raised in the U.S., Winsome Earle-Sears is casting herself as the Republican face of a backlash to 2020's racial justice protests.

Dominion Energy Paid Newspaper Columnist Over $260k

VPM News

Dominion Energy paid Hampton Roads newspaper columnist Gordon Morse over $60,000 per year as he wrote unsigned editorials praising the utility, according to new paperwork filed by Dominion.

VCU President's Pro-Coliseum Op-Ed Ghostwritten By Developer

VPM News

The Richmond Times-Dispatch published two columns endorsing a controversial downtown redevelopment project that was signed by local university presidents but written by the developer, Navy Hill District Corporation.

A historically Black town stood in the way of a pipeline – so developers claimed it was mostly white

Floodlight/The Guardian/VPM

When residents in Union Hill, Virginia, decried the pipeline as a form of environmental racism, the energy company insisted it wasn’t.

Japanese Musician Makes Inroads Into Old Time Appalachia

VPM News

A Japanese scholar moves to the back woods of Appalachia to live out his dream of becoming an old time musician

Descendants Of People Enslaved By Virginia's Governors Are Reframing History

NPR

Descendants of the enslaved are now leading an effort to complete the history of the mansion, which is the oldest continuously occupied governor's residence in the United States.

For Virginia homebuyers, rent-to-own homes often too good to be true

NPR + VPM

If you’ve got bad credit, rent-to-own homes can seem like a good way to get your own place. But some housing experts say they come with lots of risks.

For Virginia Republicans, Running Their Own Election Hasn't Gone Smoothly

NPR

For months, some Republicans have cast doubt on the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. The upcoming vote in Virginia presented the state party with the opportunity to run an election of its own.

It hasn't gone smoothly.

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