Report For America Announces Host News Organizations For 2020

Names Hosts For 2020

REPORT FOR AMERICA, the project launched by THE GROUNDTRUTH PROJECT to place new local journalists in newsrooms across AMERICA, has announced the list of 164 host news organizations for 2020, with 250 emerging journalists to be deployed in the coming year. The new class is over four times the size of the 2019 class. Among the winners in the competition to serve as host newsrooms are 69 daily newspapers, 39 digital-only sites, 39 public radio stations, 12 local TV stations, and 5 non-daily papers; over 30 of the beats will cover state legislatures, with about half as part of a partnership between AP and REPORT FOR AMERICA. Applications for the reporting slots are being accepted through JANUARY 31st.

“REPORT FOR AMERICA is strengthening local journalism by placing talented journalists in communities and statehouse bureaus that are in need of rigorous reporting,” said KNIGHT FOUNDATION VP/Journalism JENNIFER PRESTON. “The expansion of the journalist corps is essential to inform and engage residents at the state and local level and sustain quality journalism to build a healthy democracy.”

“We offer a pretty simple fix for news holes in communities throughout the country -- local reporters on the ground, who hold leaders accountable and report on under-covered issues,” said REPORT FOR AMERICA President STEVEN WALDMAN. “The editors we’ve met during our application cycle have shown us amazing passion, commitment and sharp ideas for how to better serve their local communities.”

“REPORT FOR AMERICA is about serving these communities and helping to restore the pipeline for a new generation of journalists. We understand our program may not fix all that is broken in local journalism, but we are honored to be part of a wider community directly confronting the crisis and doing everything we can to restore journalism from the ground up,” said GROUNDTRUTH CEO/Editor-in-Chief CHARLES SENNOTT.

Radio newsrooms participating as host organizations, and the beats to be covered, include:

• WLRN PUBLIC MEDIA/MIAMI, Immigration and South MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
• ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS News-Talk WABE/ATLANTA, Minority communities in south ATLANTA
• LOUISVILLE PUBLIC MEDIA News-Talk WFPL/LOUISVILLE, Southern INDIANA; the KENTUCKY CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING, Youth, social services and legislative accountability
• UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS Classical-Jazz-News-Talk WWNO/NEW ORLEANS, Bayou parishes, based in THIBODAUX
• YOUR PUBLIC RADIO News-Talk WYPR/BALTIMORE, BALTIMORE's housing crisis
• UNIVERSITY RADIO FOUNDATION News-Talk WFAE/CHARLOTTE with the CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG LIBRARY and DIGITAL PUBLIC LIBRARY OF AMERICA, News desert coverage/local government beat
• WFAE with LA NOTICIA, Immigration and deportation
• OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY News-Talk-Triple A KOSU/STILLWATER-OKLAHOMA CITY, Agriculture and rural issues in OKLAHOMA
• NASHVILLE PUBLIC RADIO News-Talk WPLN/NASHVILLE, Criminal justice in NASHVILLE
• WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC BROADCASTING, State government and southern WEST VIRGINIA
• ARIZONA PUBLIC MEDIA News-Talk-Jazz KUAZ-A-F/TUCSON, Watchdog reporting in COCHISE COUNTY
• ARIZONA WESTERN COLLEGE News-Talk-Classical-Jazz KAWC/YUMA, AZ, Latino communities
• UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA-RENO Classical-Jazz-News-Talk KUNR/RENO, Accountability reporting on the energy industry, and its impact on health care and environment; Education and Latino communities in RENO
• TEXAS NEWS HUB, based at NORTH TEXAS PUBLIC BROADCASTING News-Talk KERA-F/DALLAS, Border and immigration issues
• HOUSTON PUBLIC MEDIA, Health issues in and around HOUSTON
• UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS News-Talk KUT/AUSTIN, Costs and benefits of suburban growth in WILLIAMSON COUNTY; HAYS COUNTY and development strains
• UNIVERSITY OF UTAH News-Talk KUER/SALT LAKE CITY, WASHINGTON COUNTY; Accountability reporting on the energy industry
• NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY News-Talk-Triple A WNIJ/DE KALB, IL, Substandard housing and police relations
• IOWA PUBLIC RADIO, IOWA statehouse, especially issues affecting underserved populations
• MICHIGAN RADIO, Mental health care in MICHIGAN
• UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS News-Talk KWMU (ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO)/ST. LOUIS, METRO EAST area in ILLINOIS
• KENT STATE UNIVERSITY Classical-News-Talk WKSU/KENT, OH, Rural healthcare
• ANTIOCH COLLEGE News-Talk WYSO/YELLOW SPRINGS-DAYTON, OH Climate change and environmental issues
• CONNECTiCUT PUBLIC, Latino communities; NAUGATUCK RIVER VALLEY
• DELAWARE FIRST MEDIA News-Talk WDDE (DELAWARE PUBLIC MEDIA)/DOVER, DE, State and local election coverage
• WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION News-Talk WCAI/WOODS HOLE, MA, Climate change impact in CAPE COD and the state’s southern shore
• PITTSBURGH COMMUNITY BROADCASTING CORPORATION News-Talk WESA/PITTSBURGH, JOHNSTOWN
• WITF, INC. News-Talk WITF-F and PBS affiliate WITF-TV/HARRISBURG, PA, Latino communities in READING, LEBANON and others; Local latino angle on elections
• THE PUBLIC'S RADIO/PROVIDENCE, Race and poverty in NEWPORT
• VERMONT PUBLIC RADIO, NORTHEAST KINGDOM
• RAVEN RADIO FOUNDATION Variety KCAW (RAVEN RADIO)/SITKA, AK
• RADIO BILINGÜE/FRESNO, SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
• SOUTH DAKOTA PUBLIC BROADCASTING, Ethnic communities, including Native Americans
• WYOMING PUBLIC MEDIA, WIND RIVER RESERVATION
• YELLOWSTONE PUBLIC RADIO, MONTANA legislature; Native American issues

Support for the project and its expansion came from THE JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION, THE FACEBOOK JOURNALISM PROJECT, THE JOYCE FOUNDATION, THE DAVID AND LUCILE PACKARD FOUNDATION, THE JONATHAN LOGAN FAMILY FOUNDATION, THE GOOGLE NEWS INITIATIVE, THE FORD FOUNDATION, HEISING-SIMONS FOUNDATION, CRAIG NEWMARK PHILANTHROPIES, THE TOW FOUNDATION, and others.

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