PrincessSafiya Byers is a reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service which focuses on low-income minority residents of the Wisconsin city. Her wide-ranging beat covers health, minority businesses, faith, jobs, housing and transportation. A proud Milwaukee native, Byers is a 2020 graduate of Marquette University, the Catholic university in Milwaukee. She has had internships with the Milwaukee Community Journal, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service itself. Byers has also co-produced a community podcast and written for community newsletters. In 2018, she was awarded the Bucks Youth Leader award for community service and leadership. In addition to her journalism, Byers has been working for the non-profit children and family center, COA Youth and Families Center, which began in 1906 as the Children’s Outing Association.
Beat: Health, minority businesses, faith, jobs, housing or transportation
Mainstream media coverage of low-income minority neighborhoods in Milwaukee's central city, typically focusing on crime, drugs, economic hardship and racial tension. Through comprehensive reporting about the challenges and assets of these communities, this RFA corps member alters perceptions of these negatively-stereotyped communities throughout the greater Milwaukee area, and within the neighborhoods themselves. We have several topical beats, and the fellow develops expertise in areas such as health, minority businesses, faith, jobs/careers, housing and transportation.