The decisions shaping your life aren't hidden.
They're made in plain sight.

We investigate the systems behind the stories.

Most stories begin long before they become headlines.

A city council casts a vote.

A championship is won.

A business transforms an industry.

A new policy is announced.

By the time most people notice those moments, the decisions that shaped them have already been made.

The conversations have happened.

The relationships have been built.

The money has been allocated.

The risks have been taken.

The real story has already unfolded.

That's where In Plain Sight begins.

Looking Beyond the Headline

In Plain Sight is an independent journalism publication exploring the people, systems, and decisions that quietly shape our communities, industries, and institutions.

We believe understanding what happened is only the beginning.

Our reporting asks the questions that often go unexplored:

• Who made this decision?
• Why was it made?
• Who benefits?
• What happened behind the scenes?
• What changes because of it?

Whether we're following public dollars, examining local government, documenting the evolution of an industry, or profiling the people who reshape systems from within, our goal is always the same:

Help readers understand how change actually happens.

What We Cover

How We Report

We believe good journalism is built on curiosity, context, and transparency.

Whenever possible, our reporting draws from interviews, public records, official documents, financial filings, historical research, and conversations with people who have firsthand knowledge of the issues being covered.

We don't assume complexity should be simplified into slogans, nor do we believe every story has two equally valid sides. Our responsibility is to follow evidence wherever it leads, acknowledge uncertainty when it exists, and provide readers with enough context to reach informed conclusions.

That means asking difficult questions, spending time with primary sources, and looking beyond the most obvious explanation.

Why "In Plain Sight"?

The forces that shape our lives are rarely hidden.

More often, they're visible—but overlooked.

They're found in meeting agendas, budget documents, committee discussions, organizational cultures, long-term relationships, and decisions that seem ordinary until their consequences become impossible to ignore.

The answers are often there.

They're simply hiding in plain sight.

About the Founder

In Plain Sight was founded by Chelsie Hollencamp, a strategist, writer, and investigative journalist with a background in marketing, communications, organizational strategy, and systems thinking.

After nearly two decades helping organizations shape narratives and build public trust, she became increasingly interested in a different question:

What happens before the story everyone else tells?

That question became the foundation of In Plain Sight.

Our Mission

We don't just report events.

We investigate the systems behind them.

Because understanding how change happens is the first step toward participating in it.

Welcome to In Plain Sight.

Our Promises To You

Every piece of journalism published on this site is built on the same commitments — to you, every time.

• Plain language, always. Every technical term gets a plain-language translation in the next sentence. You should never need to Google something to stay with us.
• Named sources and documented records. Every specific claim of fact has a named source, a public record, or a document. We show our work. We link our receipts.
• Accountability without partisanship. We have a clear lens: power should be accountable. That's not a party. We apply it equally, across every aisle.
• Every piece ends with agency. We will never leave you in helplessness. Every story ends with something concrete — a meeting, a vote, a record, an action. Because knowing isn't enough. You deserve the next step too.
• No advertising influence, ever. Sponsors are disclosed. Editorial decisions are ours alone. We will never write favorable coverage of an advertiser. Our credibility is the product.

The Journalist Behind It

Chelsie Hollencamp
Founder & Editor · In Plain Sight
I started my journalism career covering a niche sport most people had never heard of — and learned that the best stories were never really about the sport. They were about institutions, power, who gets access, and who gets left out. I brought that instinct to Cheer Daily and Founding Season, where readers told me the reporting — not the scores — was what kept them coming back. In Plain Sight is what happens when I point that same lens at the things that actually govern our daily lives.

I believe in journalism that respects your intelligence and your time. That names the thing clearly instead of burying it in qualifications. That ends every piece with something you can actually do. If you've ever read something here and forwarded it to a friend saying "this is exactly what I've been trying to explain" — that's the whole reason I built this.

Support Independent Journalism

In Plain Sight is independently owned and reader-supported. No corporate backing. No hedge fund ownership. No advertiser with editorial influence. The journalism exists because readers decide it should.

If you read something here that helped you understand a thing you'd been trying to figure out — or that gave you the words for something you already knew was wrong — consider becoming a paying subscriber. That's what keeps this going.