We often talk about the closures of newspapers over the past few decades. Of course this is all happening at a time when the population has increased. So the number of journalists per American has declined even more. If you view local reporting as a public service, that means there’s been an even sharper decline
Report for America presented awards to journalists in a dozen categories and named a Mentor of the Year at its inaugural Local News Awards program, held virtually, June 25. Among the evening’s top winners was The Columbus Dispatch’s Ceili Doyle, who took home Dispatch of the Year honors for her piece “Against the tide:
Rebuild Local News, a coalition representing more than 3,000 local newsrooms, funders of local journalism, and civil society organizations advocating for a healthy free press—including Report for America—today placed its support behind the newly reintroduced Local Journalism Sustainability Act for the 117th Congress. Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA) introduced the bipartisan bill
A coalition representing more than 3,000 local newsrooms, funders of local journalism, and civil society organizations advocating for a healthy free press—including Report for America—today urged Congressional leaders to bolster support for America’s community news organizations in the infrastructure bill. “Local news is a pillar of democracy’s civic infrastructure — and it is crumbling,” began
Forty-five percent of corps members are journalists of color, reflecting America’s diverse communities Report for America today announced the placements of some 300 journalists for its 2021 reporting corps. The cohort, which includes a number of corps members returning for a second or third year, will join the staffs of more than 200 local
Supporters commit nearly $5M this week toward a $15M year-end goal; challenge other philanthropic partners to match the commitment Today, Report for America shared plans to expand its efforts to eliminate America’s news deserts with support from a diverse network of philanthropists. To reach its aim of placing a reporter in every community, Report for
March 11, 2021: One year since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, the virus has claimed more than 2.6 million lives worldwide, and is approaching 530,000 deaths here in the United States. Report for America corps members adapted with swiftness and grace to cover the most consequential story of a generation, maybe a
Report for America today released Local News Philanthropy: Strong Signs of Positive Movement, a report on local sustainability and development efforts by the nonprofit program’s newsroom partners in 2020. The report underscores the fact that the demand by communities for local news is healthy—it’s the industry’s business model that must change. “It’s time for local
On Canyon Crest Drive in Riverside, California, sits Jammin’ Bakery and Café, a sandwich shop that recently closed. It is one of the latest casualties of the coronavirus pandemic. Paulette Brown-Hinds, publisher of Black Voice News, was a regular at the bakery and on Valentine’s weekend hosted a virtual farewell for people who’d read from
Report for America today announced that it will release its 2020 Local Newsroom Sustainability Report during the Knight Media Forum, hosted virtually by the Knight Foundation, March 2-4. The upcoming report includes the striking news that Report for America newsroom partners raised 61% more funding per reporter in 2020 than in 2019, jumping from a