Report for America adds newsrooms, opens applications for reporters

NORTH DAKOTA, Dec. 7, 2022 — Report for America has announced the selection of nearly 30 new host newsroom partners, while opening applications for dozens of new reporting and photojournalism corps positions—to include a wide variety of beats—across the United States and Puerto Rico.

“Far too many Americans desperately need reliable, fact-based information to make decisions about their daily lives, and a growing number of local newsrooms are turning to us for support,” said Kim Kleman, senior vice president of Report for America. “We were blown away by the breadth of applications we received, and only wish we had the ability to bring on even more newsrooms this year.”

Newsrooms were asked to define the most compelling gaps in their coverage. Based on feedback from the field, this includes:

• Coverage of rural areas and issues
• Climate and the environment
• Communities of color
• Education and vocational training
• Local government
• Healthcare

Among those selected were recently-launched nonprofits like the Baltimore Banner, which is bringing back desperately needed coverage following cuts by hedge fund ownership at the city’s legacy newspaper; the Uvalde Leader-News, serving a Texas community still reeling from a devastating school shooting; and Metro Puerto Rico, which looks to deepen its health reporting as the island faces an aging population and struggles to recover from recent hurricanes. Several newsrooms will hire corps members to cover local sports (stories that go beyond the scoreboard); others will be fielding corps members to cover faith and religion.

With these additions, Report for America corps members will be working next year in nearly 220 newsrooms across the United States, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam. The full list of new newsrooms and beats can be found here.

Now that the newsroom selections have been made, Report for America is seeking talented, service-minded journalists and photographers to join its reporting corps—a two-year program (with an option for three years) that delivers a wide range of benefits to its corps members.

• Significant Beats: Report for America corps members cover a variety of beats, including healthcare, statehouse, climate, education, city hall, local business, communities of color, sports, religion, photography, and more.
• Training and Mentorship: Report for America offers more than 70 training sessions per year from experienced journalists and other experts, helping corps members sharpen their skills. We also pair you with a national mentor at the top of their game for additional skill-based/coverage gap-related support.
• All-Around Support: In addition to a robust peer network of fellow corps members who are covering similar beats and living in nearby towns, Report for America’s regional managers—deeply experienced, award-winning journalists— are assigned to support every corps member and partner newsroom.
• Community Service: Corps members volunteer their time on a student journalism or youth media project. The goal is to support the media literacy of young people by helping them produce stories about the world around them.
• Springboard to Career Success: Report for America graduates get hired by their newsrooms or by other regional, national, and international outlets. Corps members win dozens of state, regional, and national awards.

“Report for America provides a unique opportunity for journalists to pursue meaningful, local beat reporting that sadly is missing from many of today’s newsrooms,” said Earl Johnson, director of admissions at Report for America. “Beyond talented reporters and photojournalists, we are looking for a diversity of individuals who see journalism as a calling, who want to make a difference within their communities.”

The deadline to apply is Jan. 30, 2023. Report for America is hosting a number of information sessions between now and then. To learn more, visit reportforamerica.org/apply or contact a member of the recruitment team at recruitment@reportforamerica.org.

About Report for America

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.

# # #