Report for America welcomes newest corps members, injects hope for the future of local news

Nonprofit program helps hire emerging journalists to fill newsroom gaps across the country

NEW YORK, April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Report for America is pleased to announce that it will place nearly 60 reporters and photojournalists in new positions at local newsrooms across the country this summer.

These new corps members join dozens more who will continue reporting on undercovered communities and topics for their second or third year in the national service program. Report for America has now matched more than 650 journalists with local newspapers, public radio stations, digital platforms, and television outlets, since its launch in 2017.

"Report for America extends a welcoming hand to journalists from diverse backgrounds, encouraging them to add their experience, perspective, and talent to local newsrooms nationwide. These storytellers help ensure that under-covered communities and issues receive the attention they deserve," said Earl Johnson, vice president of recruitment and alumni engagement at Report for America. "Here, journalists find not just a job but a calling?a chance to make a profound difference where it matters most."

The corps remains diverse?nearly half are journalists of color and more than half are women. Report for America believes that by helping its partner newsrooms better reflect their communities, they can strengthen trust in local media. Almost a third of the corps members will boost coverage of rural communities, and a quarter will provide reporting on communities of color.

The corps members will begin their assignments in July and report on several beats including the environment, local government, and health. Among them, 11 are taking on new positions as part of an expanded Mississippi River Basin Ag and Water Desk. Seven will provide statehouse coverage for The Associated Press in time for election season.

New this year is a partnership with a collaborative in North Carolina, led by The Assembly, which will bring a strong new local news cohort to the state with reporters at five outlets: The Assembly, IndyWeek, CityView Today, Blue Ridge Public Radio, and WHQR. Beyond working together, the collaboration will extend opportunities for training and event participation with other Report for America newsrooms in the state.

The reporting corps, new and returning, will work across a variety of newsrooms and mediums:

• Newspapers: 34%
• Digital only: 31%
• Radio: 22%
• News service: 8%
• Television: 4%
• Magazines: 1%

While many of the incoming corps members have produced award-winning work in prior newsrooms, Report for America collaborates with top journalists and journalism organizations to provide training opportunities that will help sharpen their skills, enrich their craft, and build resilience. Additionally, Report for America's regional managers ? deeply experienced, award-winning journalists ? are assigned to support every corps member and partner newsroom.

"Today's newsrooms have become so lean that it can be difficult for them to provide the mentorship and support that early-career journalists are looking for," said Rachel Rohr, vice president of program development at Report for America. "By sharing resources and creating opportunities for peer networking, we can strengthen their reporting and well-being."

Report for America also leverages an innovative three-to-one regional funding match model, paying up to half of a corps member's salary, while its local sustainability team trains newsroom partners to raise the other half from local funders. This approach promotes collaborative investment in local journalism, increasing the chances of sustaining local reporting, for the community, by the community.

Report for America's work is made possible by the Knight Foundation, Google News Initiative, Microsoft, Spring Point Partners, Vere Initiatives, Joyce Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Walton Family Foundation in partnership with the Missouri School of Journalism, The Hearthland Foundation, The Just Trust, Posner Foundation, Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation, Henry L. Kimelman Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, Tow Foundation, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, Park Foundation, Kresge Foundation, and other leading philanthropic partners.

To learn more about Report for America and its efforts to strengthen communities through public service journalism, please visit http://www.reportforamerica.org.

About us: Report for America is a national service program that places talented emerging journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered topics and communities across the United States and its territories. By creating a new, sustainable model for journalism, Report for America provides people with the information they need to improve their communities, hold powerful institutions accountable, and restore trust in the media. Report for America is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to rebuilding journalism from the ground up. 

Media Contact

Sam Kille, Report for America, (631) 354-9190, [email protected], www.reportforamerica.org 

Twitter Facebook

SOURCE Report for America