Southeast

Gerard Albert

Gerard Albert

Gerard Albert III covers rural communities in Western North Carolina at Blue Ridge Public Radio. Before joining Report for America, Albert worked at WLRN in South Florida reporting on affordable housing, law enforcement, and local government accountability in Broward County. There, he won multiple state and national awards for his coverage of the Parkland school shooter death penalty trial. His work has been featured on NPR, Here & Now and the BBC. Previously, he reported on the criminal justice system in Palm Beach and South Carolina, where he won state-wide awards for his reporting on police policies. Albert started his journalism career at Florida International University’s student-run newspaper. He became Editor in Chief his senior year and earned state-wide awards for his investigation into the university spending millions of dollars on palm trees from a shady dealer. In Florida, he spends most weekends knee-deep in the Everglades and looks forward to exploring trails in the Blue Ridge Mountains. When not outdoors, he enjoys reading, writing poetry, and perfecting the sugar-to-coffee ratio for his coladas.
Cassandra Stephenson

Cassandra Stephenson

Cassandra Stephenson covers issues impacting rural West Tennessee for The Tennessee Lookout. Prior to joining The Tennessee Lookout, Cassandra covered Metro Nashville government at The Tennessean for nearly three years, chronicling the consequences of policy decisions for residents in one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation. Cassandra's post-collegiate reporting career began in West Tennessee in 2018 when she moved from her hometown in Ventura County, California after graduating from Pepperdine University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. There, she reported on breaking news and justice for a 13-county region, publishing award-winning investigations on local physicians’ involvement in the opioid epidemic and conditions in local for-profit prisons. Cassandra joined The Tennessean as a business reporter in 2020, covering pandemic-related business challenges including unemployment, workplace safety and eviction. Outside of the newsroom, you'll find Cassandra immersed in her latest art project or baking endeavor.  
PR Lockhart

P.R. Lockhart

P.R. Lockhart covers politics and power in Greensboro, North Carolina, for The Assembly. Before joining The Assembly, Lockhart worked as an economic development reporter in West Virginia covering labor and tax policy, workforce development, and business impacts on rural communities. Her background is in national reporting on race, justice and equity, and she has previously worked as a race and identity reporter for Vox, a Ben Bagdikian Editorial Fellow for Mother Jones, and as a freelance writer covering Black communities, voting rights, and policing for various outlets, including NBC News and the Guardian US. She is a 2024 Gwen Ifill Fellow through the International Women’s Media Foundation. Lockhart graduated from Duke University with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a certificate in policy journalism and media studies.  

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is a statewide family owned news organization based in Little Rock, the state Capitol. We have a strong commitment to providing unbiased, in-depth articles to readers of both our digital replica editions and our website. We believe in using the Freedom of Information Act to get the information that tells readers how their government is run.

WHQR Public Media

WHQR is a publicly funded nonprofit radio newsroom serving the Cape Fear Region of North Carolina. As WHQR's newsroom, we are dedicated to fair, in-depth, investigative journalism aimed at holding local government accountable. While our radio waves extend beyond the county we’re housed in, our coverage historically has not gone as far out into rural areas. We aim to change that, and bring our caliber of watchdog coverage to government agencies in surrounding counties.

Arkansas Times

For 50 years, the Arkansas Times has delivered both mainstream and offbeat news with zest and heart. A progressive voice in a blood-red state, the Arkansas Times chronicles the real-world effects of conservative politics and policy in a poor Southern state. We're also the go-to source for food, arts and entertainment news.

WUFT News

WUFT News is a multiplatform, bilingual public media newsroom housed in the Innovation News Center at the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications in Gainesville. In operation since 1958, our coverage today includes digital, TV and radio reporting across 16 counties in North Central Florida. Our mission is to inform and connect our diverse audiences and communities by producing excellent, multi-format news coverage across our region while nurturing the next generation of journalists.

Blue Ridge Public Radio (BPR)

Blue Ridge Public Radio exists to provide Western North Carolinians with a deeper understanding of one another and the world, by being an essential, independent source of news and cultural content. The most-listened to radio station in the Asheville, NC market, Blue Ridge Public Radio is the NPR affiliate for the region. We provide public media service to 650,000 people through digital platforms and two radio stations–BPR News and BPR Classic–across a 13-county region in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Associated Press – Louisiana

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate and unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.

CityView Today

CityView's mission is to deliver high-quality local news and information to Fayetteville and Cumberland County, free of charge, with the goal of enhancing public awareness and helping our audiences make informed decisions. Our CityView Today digital newsletter reaches more than 35,000 readers, providing government watchdog reporting and essential, impactful storytelling and multifaceted coverage of issues such as health care, Fort Liberty, education, race, culture and diversity.