Maryland

Bri Hatch

Bri Hatch covers education disparities in Baltimore, Maryland for WYPR 88.1, the local NPR station. Before joining the WYPR team, Hatch reported on college student well-being and diversity initiatives for The Chronicle of Higher Education, and rural Virginia education tensions for the Rockbridge Report. Hatch earned a Hearst feature writing award for their 2022 Chronicle of Higher Education story detailing the twisty journey of a donated 'Wizard of Oz' dress. Hatch served as the editor-in-chief of their college newspaper, The Ring-tum Phi, and investigated contentious Title IX policies and hazing allegations among a wide variety of other topics. They earned a degree from Washington and Lee University in journalism and American politics, with a minor in poverty and human capability studies. Outside of the newsroom, Hatch is an avid concert-lover, a longtime runner, and a cozy coffee shop enthusiast.

Daniel Zawodny

Daniel Zawodny covers transportation in Baltimore and its surrounding communities for The Baltimore Banner. Before joining The Banner, Daniel covered immigration and immigrant issues at the local, national and international levels as an independent journalist while working in the field of immigration law. He is fluent in Spanish and bachata and would really like to pet your dog.

WYPR 88.1

WYPR is Baltimore’s NPR news station and has served the community for nearly 20 years. WYPR is committed to covering a diverse community. Its mission is to inform, connect and even challenge listeners in the metro area, and across the state via signals in Frederick and Ocean City, Maryland, by broadcasting programs of intellectual integrity and cultural merit. In 2021, it won several of the industry’s highest journalism awards.

The Baltimore Banner

The Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism is a nonprofit organization founded in the summer of 2021 to bring high-quality local news to the Baltimore metro area. The news landscape has witnessed fundamental transformations resulting in a dramatic loss of capacity in local news. In June 2022, it launched The Baltimore Banner with a mission to be an indispensable resource that strengthens, unites and inspires our communities. We will accomplish this through trustworthy quality journalism that tells the varied stories of our people, holds our leaders accountable, and delivers local news that readers are willing to support.

Zshekinah Collier

Zshekinah Collier reports on education and the environment in Baltimore, Maryland for WYPR, a public radio station serving the metro area. Previously, she was a producer for “Disrupted,” a weekly talk show on Connecticut Public Radio. In 2021, as a member of the Ida B. Wells Society’s inaugural summer internship program, Collier joined USA Today’s investigative team and contributed to coverage of the Capitol riots, and the Title IX investigation. Collier earned her bachelor’s degree at American University, where she was co-editor-in-chief of The Blackprint, a student-run publication covering issues affecting students of color, news and pop culture. After graduating, Collier was a freelancer covering local events in her hometown, New Haven, Connecticut

Tashi McQueen

Tashi McQueen is a political beat reporter concentrating on voter education for Afro News, which serves Baltimore’s Black community. Prior to joining the Afro, McQueen freelanced for The Baltimore Sun, with her first story earning a spot on the front page. Holding a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Goucher College, McQueen got her start in journalism by reporting for The Goucher Eye, the college’s digital news source. She is a member of the Baltimore Association of Black Journalists, and she speaks French and Spanish and enjoys learning new languages in her free time.

Baltimore Afro-American

The Baltimore Afro-American is a news service, founded in 1892, that writes and reports news for and about African Americans. Staffers' reporting appears on the news site, in the weekly paper, and on social media platforms. The reporting includes a type of advocacy journalism that goes beyond reporting facts, and lends itself to how the news affects African Americans and their communities.

WYPR 88.1 FM

WYPR is Baltimore's NPR news station and has served the community for nearly 20 years. WYPR is committed to covering a diverse community. Its mission is to inform, connect and even challenge listeners in the metro area, and across the state via signals in Frederick and Ocean City, Maryland, by broadcasting programs of intellectual integrity and cultural merit. In 2021, it won several of the industry's highest journalism awards.

The Baltimore Sun

The Baltimore Sun, founded in 1837, is the largest daily newspaper in Maryland, with a coverage area that includes Baltimore City and five surrounding counties. Much of The Sun’s journalism has exposed corruption and sparked changes, including the resignation of the city’s mayor this year. At the same time, we surface powerful, often under-the-radar tales and trend pieces, like the struggle of refugees in a Baltimore high school, or how the century-long history of a vacant house—which collapsed and killed a man—told the story of our city.

Megan Sayles

Megan Sayles is a business reporter for The Baltimore Afro-American paper. Before this, Sayles interned with Baltimore Magazine, where she wrote feature stories about the city's residents, nonprofits and initiatives. Her love of music inspired her to be a writer. At a young age she realized it was not the melody that she was so infatuated with, but the lyrics that made up the song and connected with listeners. Sayles grew up in Pasadena, Maryland, and is a 2021 graduate of the University of Maryland, where for her senior capstone project she reported on how the coronavirus and inequality intersected in Baltimore. She also worked as a staff writer and copy editor for campus publications, including Stories Beneath the Shell and The Black Explosion. Sayles teamed up with a partner to report on how the pandemic had put many more responsibilities on the oldest child in families. The Associated Press and other news organizations picked up her story.