Remembering Marshall Allen

His death, at age 52, leaves a void that will be tough to fill

Last Wednesday afternoon, I was in the Minneapolis airport. When my phone rang, I looked down at the screen and saw it was Marshall Allen.

Marshall’s call was one I always took. He had been one of the nation’s top investigative reporters. A 2011 series he did on hospitals for the Las Vegas Sun won the prestigious Goldsmith Award for Investigative Reporting, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. From there, he spent ten years at ProPublica, the nation’s leading investigative journalism organization. At ProPublica, he was a Pulitzer finalist again, in 2021, as part of a team covering the Covid pandemic.

I got to know Marshall when he was working on a major investigation of St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis. Marshall left ProPublica before that investigation was complete, but we ended up publishing it at MinistryWatch. (You can read it here.) We become friends, talking on the phone often. Though I am nearly 15 years older than Marshall, I considered him a coach and mentor, and I’d often turn to him for advice. Just a few months ago, Marshall led a webinar for MinistryWatch writers on investigative journalism that shaped the way we do journalism here. The last time I was in his newly adopted hometown of Dallas, in March, we had dinner together. For me, he was almost the perfect friend: a committed Christian, a seminary-trained former missionary, a world-class investigative journalist, and a really fun guy to be around.

So when my phone rang in Minneapolis, I had two immediate reactions. The first was to smile. Talking with Marshall Allen was a blast. He was smart and funny. He knew where I was going with a line of thought before I got there. Our conversations were sharp and rapid-fire. My favorite kind.

The other reaction was to reach for a notebook. I knew with mathematical certainty that Marshall would say something, have some idea, I would want to write down. I wanted to be ready.

I was right. Marshall had read an article we had done at MinistryWatch and he was calling to praise it. That, too, was typical of Marshall. He always had an encouraging word for me and our work. I have learned in the past few days that I was one of many Marshall had encouraged in their journalism careers.

But then the pivot. “OK,” he said. “Have you ever thought about…”, and he launched into a brilliant idea that would take that story he had just praised to the next level. I took notes. I thanked him. I said we would jump right on that.

It was the last time I ever spoke with Marshall Allen. Last Friday, he had a heart attack. He died on Sunday at the age of 52.

Within hours, the tributes began to fill social media and elsewhere. I quickly learned that I was not alone in my affection and admiration for Marshall. His former colleagues at ProPublica called him a great collaborator and mentor. Charles Ornstein, an editor at ProPublica noted Marshall’s “curiosity,” which “allowed him to explore stories with a freshness that many veteran health care reporters can’t do.”

Marshall’s curiosity about the world was a reflection of his Christian faith and his belief that “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” (Ps. 24:1) In fact, he discovered his love for writing while a missionary in Kenya. The newsletters he wrote to his family, friends, and supporters back home ignited a journalistic impulse. His wife Sonja told ProPublica, “He just came to life when he started to write. I would say the No. 1 thing that motivated his work was his belief in the Bible, of standing up for what’s right.”

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Marshall became known both for his hard-nosed journalism and his Christian faith. He wrote an article in 2018, for ProPublica that was picked up by the New York Times, about how he integrated the two. He wrote of what he called a “natural progression from the ministry to muckraking.” He said, “Both are valid ways of serving a higher cause. The Bible endorses telling the truth, without bias. So does journalism. The Bible commands honesty and integrity. In journalism, your reputation is your main calling card with sources and readers. What I do as an investigative reporter is consistent with what the Bible teaches.”

My favorite tribute to Marshall came from Emily Belz at Christianity Today. She wrote of Marshall’s “cheerful determination.”

But he was also not a person to mince words. He faulted the mainstream media for not understanding religion and faith, which meant that the “truth” they told was often partial or even false. He also criticized Christian media for not striving for excellence and for being too soft on Christian institutions.

When his book Never Pay The First Bill: And Other Ways To Fight The Health Care System And Win came out in 2021, I interviewed him for WORLD. Our conversation quickly pivoted to a discussion of Christianity and journalism.  He said, “I think sometimes conservative Christians are completely ignorant about the way the media works. And I also think liberals are completely ignorant about the way the Christian world works. There’s so much ignorance on both sides. And it’s proud ignorance, unfortunately. What people need to do is…hang out together a little bit more. Have real conversations with people. Have respectful conversations. And I think people would find that, yeah, there’s a lot of ground where we don’t agree. But there’s a lot of ground where we do agree. And if we would listen a little more to each other, maybe we can be a little better informed and not just lob accusations back and forth.”

I cannot read these words without emotion. Not only are they beautiful and true, but they also remind me that I will not be able to “just hang out” with Marshall anymore, at least not in this life. Neither will his wife and three sons. Neither will his friends who so acutely feel his loss.

C.S. Lewis wrote that all the questions we have about heaven will vaporize when we actually get there. He said that all the times we have asked “Why, God?” will dissolve in an instant. In that moment, we will not scream “Why?”  Rather, we will whisper, “Oh.”

Marshall believed that, and he is enjoying that joyous “Oh” even now, his beautiful and relentless curiosity finally satisfied. That makes me smile.

I believe that, too. And, because of that belief, I look forward to seeing him again.

But, until then, I miss him. It is my prayer that all of us who were inspired by Marshall’s journalism will remain faithful to his calling and ours, and to carry on in a way that honors his legacy.