Caley Fox Shannon

Caley Fox Shannon is a reporter on NPR's investigations team in Washington, D.C. As Roy W. Howard Fellow, Shannon's work at NPR is supported by the Scripps Howard Foundation and the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland College Park.

As a 2023-2024 fellow at the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, Shannon was part of a reporting team that analyzed a decade of congressional travel disclosures to expose how lobbyists exploit legal loopholes to privately fund travel for House staffers. Shannon used lobbying disclosures, tax filings and campaign finance data to establish that the Congressional Institute, the top sponsor of trips, is backed by a board of lobbyists and private-sector members from major industries seeking to influence policy. The investigation into this common yet barely-legal practice in Washington was published by POLITICO and won a 2024 award from Investigative Reporters & Editors.

Shannon's audio reporting on divisions within the Fairfax County School Board after October 7, 2023, earned recognition from the Broadcast Education Association Awards, reflecting her commitment to producing multimedia stories that amplify under-represented voices. She co-executive produced the standalone podcast, Vinyl Revival, a narrative deep dive into the renaissance of Zamrock, Zambia's lost psychedelic genre, which was recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists' 2024 Mark of Excellence awards.

Shannon made a pivot into journalism following five years working as a documentary film producer. She began her film career at Breakwater Studios in Los Angeles, learning the art of storytelling from two-time Oscar-winning director Ben Proudfoot. She has produced short documentaries that earned an Academy Award nomination and an Emmy, as well as premiering on The New York Times Op Docs, at Sundance Film Festival and SXSW. Her first feature-length documentary premiered in 2024.

A native of Chicagoland, Shannon has a bachelor's degree in French from Carleton College and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland College Park.