Report for America opens newsroom applications, expands opportunity to hire more journalists

We recognize the difficulties modern newsrooms encounter, from recruiting skilled journalists to offering the necessary mentorship and support. Partnering with Report for America enables local newsrooms to address critical news gaps, diversify their staff, and foster sustainable local backing within their communities.”

Earl Johnson, vice president of recruitment and alumni engagement, Report for America

Report for America is looking to add more than 50 newsroom positions next summer and applications are now open for local newsrooms interested in partnering to host early-career and experienced journalists for up to three years.

Report for America is a national service program that places talented journalists —  corps members — into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Through the program, host newsrooms receive:

• Diverse, talented slate of candidates to choose from
• Subsidized salary support for up to three years
• Local fundraising coaching and resources, including the opportunity for no-cost fiscal sponsorship to accept donations 
• Extra training and mentoring for journalists

"We recognize the difficulties modern newsrooms encounter, from recruiting skilled journalists to offering the necessary mentorship and support," said Earl Johnson, vice president of recruitment and alumni engagement at Report for America. "Partnering with Report for America enables local newsrooms to address critical news gaps, diversify their staff, and foster sustainable local backing within their communities."

The application deadline is Sept. 13 and newsrooms will be publicly announced in December. More information about how the program works can be found here.

While all local news organizations are encouraged to apply, Report for America looks to expand its reach into rural areas where news gaps are prominent, and newsrooms owned or led by journalists of color. Prospective newsrooms must identify specific gaps in coverage in the community, drawing attention to under-covered communities or issues. 

Additionally, newsrooms must demonstrate:

• NEED — Explain why the beat you're proposing is vital to your audience and the community. We're particularly interested in important beats that no other newsroom in your area is covering, or covering well. Also, why do you need our help to support this position?
• SUPPORT — We look for newsrooms where corps members will receive good editing and mentoring, so they can do their best work.
• A COMMITMENT TO INCLUSION — Newsrooms demonstrating a commitment to inclusion and supporting a diverse staff are important in our selection process.   
• A COMMITMENT TO FUNDRAISING — Where applicable, we ask our host newsrooms to try to raise money from local funders to pay for part of their corps member's salary. Our development team can help you do this. We believe local philanthropy is key to strong local newsrooms and want to work with partners that believe this, too. 

Beats to consider can include but are not limited to criminal justice, elections, climate, education, communities of color, immigration, economic development, photojournalism, religion, military and veteran affairs, or even sports reporting. 

Report for America looks to reinvent local journalism by creating a sustainable business model that taps into the communities served by newsrooms. This includes providing up to half of the corps member’s salary and providing newsrooms tools and resources to raise funds locally to support their share. Nearly $30 million has been raised by local newsrooms with Report for America’s assistance.

Report for America has now matched more than 650 corps members with hundreds of local newspapers, public radio stations, digital platforms, and television outlets, since its launch in 2017 — and these talented journalists are making a big impact, newsrooms say.

“As our newsroom’s first full-time photographer, Pablo has elevated the reach and ambition of our work. His thoughtful and empathetic photographs resonate deeply with the Latinx communities we serve and have been critical to helping our bilingual coverage stand out across print and digital platforms. We are incredibly grateful,” said Erika Beatriz Carlos, editor at El Tecolote, of corps member and CatchLight fellow Pablo Unzueta.

Report for America will hold online information sessions with newsrooms and partner organizations throughout the application period. Start your application here. To learn more visit www.reportforamerica.org or send an email to: recruitment@reportforamerica.org.

About Report for America:

Report for America is a national service program that places talented emerging journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered topics and communities across the United States and its territories. By creating a new, sustainable model for journalism, Report for America provides people with the information they need to improve their communities, hold powerful institutions accountable, and restore trust in the media. Report for America is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to rebuilding journalism from the ground up.