C.J. LeMaster
Lead investigative reporter and co-anchor in Jackson, pairing shoe-leather reporting with data journalism — work that's led to indictments, firings, and changed state law.
The work, and what it changed.
For more than a decade, C.J. LeMaster has been a fixture in central Mississippi living rooms — co-anchoring WLBT News at 5 alongside Maggie Wade and, since 2016, leading the station's investigative unit, 3 On Your Side Investigates.
His reporting has a track record of consequences. He exposed a pattern of secrecy behind the Jackson Police Department's crime statistics, uncovered a statewide prison extortion scheme, and revealed the misspending of Hinds County election grant money that ended in three convictions and the removal of an election commissioner. A year-long look at side jobs held by a Richland mayor and a Pearl police chief forced both men from office and triggered a state audit, while his investigation into Jackson's water crisis — built on internal emails — led the city to fire a whistleblower and reassign its public works director.
That work is grounded in the public record. With deep command of the Mississippi Public Records Act and Ethics Commission precedent, C.J. presses relentlessly for the documents officials try to withhold — a fight that produced the largest judgment in state history against the City of Jackson for denying records to WLBT. His team has filed four public-records complaints against state and local agencies in eight years and won three.
He pairs that shoe-leather reporting with data journalism, building his own scrapers, pipelines, and interactive tools to surface stories spreadsheets alone would never reveal. A Booneville native, C.J. got his start at Northeast Mississippi Community College, earned a broadcast journalism degree from Mississippi State, and spent nearly a decade at WTVA/WLOV in Tupelo before arriving in Jackson in 2013. He is a member of Investigative Reporters & Editors.
The stories, on the record.
A growing archive of published reporting. Filter by beat or search the headlines — each story links to the full report and broadcast clip on WLBT.
Tools that turn records into reporting.
When the documents come as raw data, I build the machinery to read them — scrapers, pipelines, and interactive tools that have powered investigations and put public information back in public hands.
The scrapers, dashboards, and maps that power these investigations are being prepared for publication here.
Have a story we should tell?
If you've seen something that doesn't add up — in a public office, a courtroom, an agency, a company — I want to hear about it. Documents, records, and firsthand accounts all help.
Thank you — your tip is in. If you left a way to reach you, I'll follow up only if I need more. Every message is read.