WSLS–TV

WSLS-TV, the Graham Media Group station in Roanoke, VA, has been a cornerstone of the Roanoke community since its establishment in 1952 as the region’s first television station. Now, we’re looking to reinvent local broadcast news. As part of an incubator program, we’re hiring three RFA Corps Members to develop local news videos each day, mainly delivered on social media to start. We will analyze daily video experiments, discovering the preferences of our target audience: people in their 30s and 40s who care about their community but don’t connect to existing local news brands. What we learn will help transform WSLS—and the industry.

WSLS–TV

WSLS-TV, the Graham Media Group station in Roanoke, VA, has been a cornerstone of the Roanoke community since its establishment in 1952 as the region’s first television station. Now, we’re looking to reinvent local broadcast news. As part of an incubator program, we’re hiring three RFA Corps Members to develop local news videos each day, mainly delivered on social media to start. We will analyze daily video experiments, discovering the preferences of our target audience: people in their 30s and 40s who care about their community but don’t connect to existing local news brands. What we learn will help transform WSLS—and the industry.

WSLS–TV

WSLS-TV, the Graham Media Group station in Roanoke, VA, has been a cornerstone of the Roanoke community since its establishment in 1952 as the region’s first television station. Now, we’re looking to reinvent local broadcast news. As part of an incubator program, we’re hiring three RFA Corps Members to develop local news videos each day, mainly delivered on social media to start. We will analyze daily video experiments, discovering the preferences of our target audience: people in their 30s and 40s who care about their community but don’t connect to existing local news brands. What we learn will help transform WSLS—and the industry.

The Roanoke Rambler

The Roanoke Rambler is an independent, hyper-local and investigative news site. The weekly online publication’s mission is to inform the public of important issues affecting their lives, uncover societal ills, expose wrongdoing and hold the powerful accountable. Founded in 2021 and journalist-owned, The Rambler is the go-to source for local news in the Roanoke Valley about city government and politics, business, racial and social justice issues and the environment.

Cardinal News

Cardinal News is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news site that serves Southwest and Southside Virginia. Our mission is to report the untold stories of Southwest and Southside Virginia, and strengthen the voices of the people in our communities who have been sidelined in the commonwealth’s political, economic and cultural conversations simply because of where they live.

Henrico Citizen

Through fair, tenacious, thorough and clear nonpartisan journalism across five digital daily weekday platforms, the independent, 23-year-old Henrico Citizen helps connect the Metro Richmond locality of Henrico County, Virginia and the 340,000 citizens who call it home. The Citizen has earned more than 260 awards for its coverage, and in 2020 successfully transitioned from a print publication to a fully digital one, nearly quadrupling its readership in the process.

Prince William Times

Located less than an hour from Washington, D.C., Piedmont Media operates two print and digital news sites serving Prince William and Fauquier counties. The organization has consistently produced award-winning journalism and is financially stable with strong philanthropic support. We are in the midst of a transformation of two traditional weekly newspapers — the Prince William Times and the Fauquier Times — to more strongly connect with readers. We are seeking to grow our coverage of diverse communities.

Olivia Diaz

Olivia Diaz covers The Virginia Legislature, with a focus on political polarization, at The Associated Press. Before joining Report for America, Diaz covered local criminal justice issues in Fairfax County, Virginia, as part of an American University graduate fellowship at The Washington Post. Diaz has also covered crime and breaking news at The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina. She holds a Master of Arts from American University in journalism and public affairs and a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and global studies from the University of Richmond.

The Associated Press – Virginia

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.

Henry Brannan

Henry Brannan covers rural healthcare in the Shenandoah Valley and outside of Charlottesville for VPM News and WMRA. Before joining Report for America, he was the 2022-23 Jim Lehrer fellow at the PBS NewsHour, where he produced stories on topics ranging from the disparities driving a projected surge in U.S. heart disease rates to the future of military recruiting as officials struggle to attract Gen Z recruits. Brannon got his start reporting at Street Roots, a weekly investigative street paper in Portland, Oregon. While there, he reported on the housing crisis, racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes and Oregon’s struggling behavioral health system. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and History from Grinnell College. While in school, he researched corporate landlords' use of LLCs to obscure political contributions as an intern for the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project. He’s also a proud Pell Grant recipient and alumnus of Portland Community College.