Report for America opens newsroom applications, expands opportunity to hire more journalists

We understand the challenges today’s newsrooms face, not only finding talented journalists but also providing the mentorship and support they might seek. By partnering with Report for America, local newsrooms are better positioned to cover important issues, diversify their newsrooms, and grow sustainable, local support within their communities.”

Earl Johnson, vice president of recruitment and alumni engagement, Report for America

Report for America announced today that applications are now open for news organizations interested in partnering to host emerging and experienced journalists in their newsrooms for up to three years, beginning next summer.

Report for America is a national service program that places talented journalists — corps members — into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Through the program, host newsrooms receive:

• Service-minded reporters, photographers and videographers.
• Diverse, hand-picked candidates from a pool of emerging and experienced journalists.
• Subsidized salary support, up to half for the first year.
• Local fundraising coaching and resources, including the opportunity for fiscal sponsorship to accept donations.
• Extra training and mentoring for journalists.

“We understand the challenges today’s newsrooms face, not only finding talented journalists but also providing the mentorship and support they might seek,” said Earl Johnson, vice president of recruitment and alumni engagement at Report for America. “By partnering with Report for America, local newsrooms are better positioned to cover important issues, diversify their newsrooms, and grow sustainable, local support within their communities.”

The application deadline is Sept. 18 and newsrooms will be publicly announced in December. More information about how the program works can be found here.

While all local news organizations are eligible to apply, Report for America looks to expand its reach into rural areas where news holes can be huge. Prospective newsrooms must identify specific gaps in coverage in the community, drawing attention to under-covered communities or issues.

Additionally, newsrooms must demonstrate:

• NEED — Explain why the beat you're proposing is vital to your audience and the community. We're particularly interested in important beats that no other newsroom in your area is covering, or covering well. Also, why do you need our help to support this position?
• SUPPORT — We look for newsrooms where corps members will receive good editing and mentoring, so they can do their best work.
• A COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION — Newsrooms that demonstrate a commitment to inclusion and supporting a diverse staff are important in our selection process.
• A COMMITMENT TO FUNDRAISING — We ask our host newsrooms, where applicable, to try to raise money from local funders to pay for part of their corps member's salary. Our development team can help you do this. We believe local philanthropy is key to strong local newsrooms and want to work with partners that believe this, too.

Beats to consider can include but are not limited to healthcare, education, communities of color, immigration, economic development, local government, religion, obituaries, military and veteran affairs, or even sports reporting.

Report for America looks to reinvent local journalism by creating a sustainable business model that taps into the communities served by newsrooms. This includes providing up to half of the corps member’s salary and providing newsroom tools and resources to raise funds locally to support their share.

Report for America has now matched more than 600 corps members with hundreds of local newspapers, public radio stations, digital platforms, and television outlets, since its launch in 2017 — and these talented journalists are making a big impact, newsrooms say.

Report for America will hold online information sessions with newsrooms and partner organizations throughout the application period. Start your application here. To learn more visit www.reportforamerica.org or send an email to: 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.