Marty Schladen

Marty Schladen

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Marty Schladen is a senior reporter at the Ohio Capital Journal. He has been a reporter for decades, working in Indiana, Texas and other places before returning to his native Ohio to work at The Columbus Dispatch in 2017. He's won state and national journalism awards for investigations into utility regulation, public corruption, the environment, prescription drug spending and other matters.

Ohio lost jobs in May, and had 58,000 fewer in the workforce than last year
Ohio

Ohio lost jobs in May, and had 58,000 fewer in the workforce than last year

Jun 25, 2026
Marty Schladen
Ohio saw a small loss of jobs in May, but more significant are the large numbers of Ohioans leaving the state’s workforce. The United States added 172,000 jobs in May , more than doubling economists’ expectations. But Ohio saw a...
The loss of local news isn’t just making voters less informed, it makes taxpayers poorer, study says
Ohio

The loss of local news isn’t just making voters less informed, it makes taxpayers poorer, study says

Jun 24, 2026
Marty Schladen
When local newspapers shut their doors and no reporters are there to watch school boards, city councils, and county commissioners, taxes go up, according to a new study. The increase is $12 million a year in Ohio and $1.1 billion...
Ohio voter rights group denies any wrongdoing while FBI stays silent on ‘swarms’ across state
Ohio

Ohio voter rights group denies any wrongdoing while FBI stays silent on ‘swarms’ across state

Jun 23, 2026
Marty Schladen
An Ohio voting-rights group is insisting it did nothing to justify the “swarms” of FBI agents who fanned out across the state on June 12, searching offices and visiting the homes of employees and volunteers with the Ohio Organizing Collaborative...
Ohio will lose 51,000 jobs, $5.3 billion due to Trump cuts by 2029, new analysis finds
Ohio

Ohio will lose 51,000 jobs, $5.3 billion due to Trump cuts by 2029, new analysis finds

Jun 22, 2026
Marty Schladen
Ohio will lose 51,000 jobs and $5.3 billion from the state economy in 2029, according to a new analysis. That’s the effect that cuts to Medicaid and food assistance under a massive 2025 spending law will have when they’re fully...
A week after the FBI searched an Ohio voting-rights group, questions remain
Ohio

A week after the FBI searched an Ohio voting-rights group, questions remain

Jun 18, 2026
Marty Schladen
FBI agents last week conducted a statewide sweep targeting the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a group that promotes voting rights — particularly those of historically disenfranchised groups. Condemnations by other rights groups of the searches and seizures continue to flood in...
Republicans, Democrats and independents agree: Corruption is a huge problem
Ohio

Republicans, Democrats and independents agree: Corruption is a huge problem

Jun 17, 2026
Marty Schladen
Issues such as inflation and affordability have been dominating the 2026 midterm election, but public corruption is joining them: The consensus is bipartisan and overwhelming, according to a poll released earlier this month by the Brennan Center for Justice. Republicans...
If Social Security isn’t fixed, average Ohioan will lose $487 a month, report estimates
Ohio

If Social Security isn’t fixed, average Ohioan will lose $487 a month, report estimates

Jun 16, 2026
Marty Schladen
Huge numbers of Ohio seniors will likely be driven into poverty if Congress doesn’t do something to fix Social Security and Medicare, advocates say. The Social Security and Medicare Board of Trustees last Tuesday issued a report saying that both...
FBI searches offices of Ohio voting-rights group
Ohio

FBI searches offices of Ohio voting-rights group

Jun 12, 2026
Marty Schladen
Two Ohio congresswomen are slamming the FBI over reports that agents on Thursday searched the Cleveland offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, an organization that advocates for voting and labor rights and against outsized corporate power. Agents also reportedly fanned...
Spending among Ohio consumers slows as gas threatens to go even higher
Ohio

Spending among Ohio consumers slows as gas threatens to go even higher

Jun 11, 2026
Marty Schladen
Two sets of data released this month indicate that the high cost of gas is taking a bite out of consumers — and things are likely to get worse. The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland on June 3 published one...
Utility executives reindicted on state bribery charges
Ohio

Utility executives reindicted on state bribery charges

Jun 05, 2026
Marty Schladen
Former top executives with a utility involved in one the biggest corruption scandals in Ohio history have been reindicted on state charges, prosecutors announced on Thursday. Former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and Vice President Michael Dowling were indicted by a...
Economists say a gas tax suspension wouldn’t give Ohioans meaningful relief
Ohio

Economists say a gas tax suspension wouldn’t give Ohioans meaningful relief

Jun 05, 2026
Marty Schladen
As gas prices spike, some Ohio lawmakers are floating the idea of suspending the state’s 38.5-cent-a-gallon tax. But while Ohioans share in the nation’s affordability crises, most economists in a recent survey think a suspension wouldn’t provide meaningful relief. An...
The affordability crisis is getting worse in Ohio and the U.S., but it’s not new
Ohio

The affordability crisis is getting worse in Ohio and the U.S., but it’s not new

Jun 03, 2026
Marty Schladen
With prices for gas, utilities, and groceries going up, financial stress is one of the most pressing issues in this year’s midterms. More than 40% of Ohio households are not able to make ends meet, a new analysis shows, including...