Report for America adds newsrooms, opens applications for reporters

Report for America corps member Will Brown reports on race, inequality and poverty for WJCT and Jacksonville Today in Jacksonville, Florida.
Sam Kille|

See the full list of new newsrooms and beats here.

Report for America has announced the selection of dozens of new host newsroom partners while opening applications for just over 50 new reporting corps positions across the United States.

“We have placed a bet on these newsrooms, that with our help they will become beacons of the whole industry,” said Kim Kleman, executive director of Report for America. “They know the coverage they need to better serve their communities. With our help recruiting talented early-career journalists, paying part of their salary, and working with newsrooms to become more sustainable, we expect exciting results.”

Newsrooms were asked to define the most compelling gaps in their coverage. Based on feedback from the field:

  • More than half will cover diverse communities
  • Nearly half will report on the environment
  • Some 35% of the positions will focus on rural communities
  • A third will cover state politics

The selected newsrooms add 11 new positions as part of the Mississippi River Basin Ag and Water Desk. Seven beats involve statehouse coverage for The Associated Press. The positions also include a new partnership with the North Carolina Collaborative, led by Scalawag Magazine and The Assembly, which will bring a strong new local news cohort to North Carolina with reporters at five outlets: The Assembly, IndyWeek, CityView Today, Blue Ridge Public Radio, and WHQR.

The full list of new newsrooms and beats can be found here.

Now that the newsroom selections have been made, Report for America is seeking talented, service-minded journalists and photographers to join its reporting corps—a two-year program (with an option for three years) that delivers a wide range of benefits to its corps members.

  • Significant Beats: Report for America corps members cover a variety of beats, including healthcare, statehouse, climate, education, city hall, local business, communities of color, sports, religion, photography, and more.
  • Training and Mentorship: Report for America offers more than 70 training sessions per year, from experienced journalists and other experts, helping corps members sharpen their skills. We also pair you with a national mentor at the top of their game for additional skill-based/coverage gap-related support.
  • All-Around Support: In addition to a robust peer network of fellow corps members who are covering similar beats and living in nearby towns, Report for America’s regional managers—deeply experienced, award-winning journalists— are assigned to support every corps member and partner newsroom. 
  • Community Service: Corps members volunteer their time on a student journalism or youth media project. The goal is to support the media literacy of young people by helping them produce stories about the world around them.
  • Springboard to Career Success: Report for America graduates get hired by their newsrooms or by other regional, national, and international outlets. Corps members win dozens of state, regional, and national awards.

“Report for America invites journalists from diverse backgrounds to weave their unique narratives into the fabric of local newsrooms. With a dedicated beat as their canvas, these storytellers ensure that every community’s voice is heard and critical issues are amplified,” said Earl Johnson, vice president of recruitment and alumni engagement at Report for America. “Through Report for America, journalists find not just a job but a calling—a perfect opportunity to make a profound difference where it matters most.”

The deadline to apply is Jan. 31, 2024. Report for America is hosting several information sessions between now and then. To learn more, visit reportforamerica.org/apply or contact a member of the recruitment team at 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.