Our program must focus on areas where it has the most impact, RFA executive director Kim Kleman writes Report for America has been in the news this week after I shared during a journalism roundtable that we’re phasing out our support of hedge fund and private equity-owned newsrooms. The response I’ve seen has been mostly, “About time!” though we’re
Growing news deserts are leaving far too many people without a trusted source of information. But there’s also been positive news lately. If you want to understand the depth of need among America’s local newsrooms — plus their depth of passion for serving their communities — there’s no better way than to read hundreds of
Sixteen of us gathered in a neighbor’s living room last week, eager to hear from a mayoral candidate invited to discuss her platform. First, we were all asked to introduce ourselves and share why we decided to come. “There’s no local newspaper anymore—I can’t find out what’s going on unless I show up myself,” one
Report for America helps local newsrooms plug holes in their coverage. We’re accepting applications now, through Sept. 30, from newsrooms that want us to help them find great reporters, for under-covered communities or topics, and pay half their salary. Many of the beats of our 300 journalists, working in more than 200 newsrooms, are what
You’ve accomplished a lot in your long career—and now what? Maybe you dream of going back to your roots: signing on with a local newsroom to bring all your experience to bear reporting on an important subject, long under-covered. Perhaps you are interested in doing some editing and mentoring, too, to help emerging journalists grow
Newsrooms and journalists, you asked—and we heard you. We’re trying to improve our program all the time, so thanks to your insightful feedback we’ve made the following changes as we kick off this year’s newsroom application process: We’re offering a third year in the program. Up to now, Report for America has been a two-year program.