2024-2025

Hiram Alejandro Durán

Hiram Alejandro Durán covers Latino and Mayan communities as a photojournalist for El Tímpano. He's from the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez border region. Although he is fourth-generation Mexican-American, Durán is the first person in his family to be raised and educated in the U.S. Before moving to New York City in 2018, he worked as a shoe salesman while studying Media Advertising and Marketing at the University of Texas at El Paso. He joined the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism with the intention of becoming a print reporter. But after auditing an intro to photojournalism course, he discovered the power of photography as a storytelling tool. His photography has won awards, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, the Marshall Project, the Pulitzer Center, Imprint News, Riverdale Press, The City, Bklyner and the Mail & Guardian in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Michael Symonds

Michael Symonds tackles the rural meets metro beat at WMUK 102.1 FM in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Symonds started his journalistic career as staff reporter with the Western Herald covering news and community, and cultural issues and events on Western Michigan University’s campus. After this position, Symonds worked as the lead Community & Culture reporter for the Western Herald. In addition to this, he worked as a general assignment staff reporter for WMUK 102.1 FM covering life in Southwest Michigan and hosted the talk show Stupid Questions on 89.1 WIDR FM, where he interviewed myriad guests including political experts and registered student organization leaders. Symonds graduated from Western Michigan University in 2023 with a bachelor's in journalism and digital media.

Isabela Weiss

Isabela Weiss covers rural government for WVIA, the NPR affiliate in Pittston, Pennsylvania. Before moving to the Keystone State, Isabela worked as a local politics reporter for NPR’s WUGA News in Athens, Georgia. At WUGA, Weiss mostly covered housing insecurity, county finances and community issues. As the daughter of Israeli and Nicaraguan immigrants, Weiss studied political science at the University of Georgia to better understand identity relationships and political psychology. Her love of literature and her high school newspaper, G-Tracks, led her to get a second bachelor’s degree in English. She adds a special thanks to Martin Matheny (WUGA), Dr. Audrey Haynes (UGA), and Dr. Krista Bowen (G-Tracks) for inspiring her to chase her dreams.

Michaela Rush

Michaela Rush covers the south and west neighborhoods of Dallas for the Dallas Free Press, a nonprofit news organization. Prior to joining RFA and DFP, Rush worked at The Battalion student newspaper at Texas A&M, most recently as the editor-in-chief, covering campus news, local businesses, student organizations and LGBTQ+ topics. Rush will graduate in May 2023 with a degree in English and minor in Spanish. Outside of journalism, she plays several instruments, and is a self-proclaimed "band nerd."

AL.com

AL.com is the largest digital news site in Alabama, and one of the nation’s largest local news sites. It is part of the Alabama Media Group, which also operates social brand “It’s a Southern Thing,” “This is Alabama,” “People of Alabama” and the millennial-focused news brand “Reckon.” Alabama Media Group is part of Advance Local. Content for AL.com comes from three Advance Local newspapers: The Mobile Press Register, Birmingham News, Huntsville Times. The staff includes 75 reporters, editors, social producers and videographers.

Fort Worth Report

Fort Worth Report, a nonprofit digital newsroom, was launched in April 2021 to provide original reporting on local government, schools, economic development, health care and other news in Tarrant County, home to Fort Worth. By providing free access to nonpartisan journalism about issues that affect the daily lives of residents, this news organization’s mission is to engage, educate and empower readers.

WYPR 88.1

WYPR is Baltimore’s NPR news station and has served the community for nearly 20 years. WYPR is committed to covering a diverse community. Its mission is to inform, connect and even challenge listeners in the metro area, and across the state via signals in Frederick and Ocean City, Maryland, by broadcasting programs of intellectual integrity and cultural merit. In 2021, it won several of the industry’s highest journalism awards.

The Salt Lake Tribune

The Salt Lake Tribune is Utah’s largest daily newspaper, founded as an alternative voice in 1871. From air quality to cultural trends to analysis of the Utah Jazz, the news organization’s goal is to inform, enlighten and empower Utahns with news they can trust. The Salt Lake Tribune is Utah’s leader in accountability journalism and investigative reporting, consistently pushing for access, open records and transparency through requests, appeals, legislation and, when necessary, litigation.

Richland Source

Richland Source is a free, digital news site that covers Richland, Ashland County and Knox counties in north central Ohio. Its focus is solutions journalism and journalistic responses to questions posed by readers.

Telegraph Herald

The Telegraph Herald news site and paper, published six days a week, is the nearly-exclusive news source in the Dubuque tri-state area (Dubuque, Iowa sits on the border of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin). Its mission is to connect the community with high quality journalism, and as a locally-and independently-owned news organization, it takes its role in the community seriously.