Report for America has selected 225 journalists for its 2020 reporting corps, and one of those reporters will be joining the Northern Kentucky Tribune as a full-time health reporter.
The new cohort will be placed with more than 160 local news organizations across 45 states and Puerto Rico.
These reporting positions come at a time when local journalism is already reeling from years of newsroom cuts and unforeseen challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. They also mark a major expansion from the current corps size of 59, of whom, more than 90 percent are returning.
Report for America is a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities through its reporting corps. It is an initiative of the nonprofit news organization, The GroundTruth Project.
Maridith Yahl, who has been reporting on a part-time basis for the Northern Kentucky Tribune, will join the staff full-time. Her focus will be health reporting, a decision made even before the onslaught of coronavirus.
“The timing couldn’t be better,” said Judy Clabes, editor of the Northern Kentucky Tribune. “We knew we needed to devote more attention to NKY health issues, and the coronavirus pandemic has made that even more apparent. We can’t wait to have Maridith’s full commitment as part of the NKyTribune team.”
Yahl has been writing stories for the Northern Kentucky Tribune since November 2018 while working full-time for the Boone County schools, helping teach English language learners. She has worked with a number of nonprofits in the area, including the Behringer-Crawford Museum.
In 2000, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northern Kentucky University, where she also got a master’s degree in integrated studies. She grew up in Northern Kentucky, attended local schools, and has traveled and studied extensively. On her own, she has taken online courses with the Poynter Institute.
“Her deep knowledge of our place and her commitment to it makes Maridith a valuable addition to our team,” said Clabes. “I particularly admire that she is a perpetual student — always eager to learn the next thing. And The Report for America program is a perfect fit for our nonprofit newsroom.”
The journalists start in June and reflect wide-ranging backgrounds of the communities they will serve:
● 225 reporters in 162 newsrooms
● About 40 percent are journalists of color
● More than a quarter speak Spanish
● More than three quarters are women
● 5 are post-9/11 military veterans
“It’s now crystal clear that the need for trustworthy, accurate, and local information can be a matter of life and death,” said Steven Waldman, co-founder and president of Report for America. “This surge of reporters should help meet this moment.”
Report for America also announced a new round of support from the Facebook Journalism Project. Facebook is a leading supporter of the program and their latest contribution of $2.5 million will help scale the corps at this tremendous time of need for local news.
“Local journalists are providing us with an extraordinary public service 24 hours a day,” said Campbell Brown, VP, Global News Partnerships, Facebook. “We all need to understand how the virus is impacting the communities where we live — it’s vital information that’s helping keep our friends and families safe, and we’re proud to support Report for America in this effort.”
Report for America co-founder Charles Sennott, CEO of GroundTruth, said, “We’re grateful to all of our funders who are allowing us to answer a great need across the country for trusted local news and to restore journalism from the ground up in communities across the country.”
THE 2020-21 CORPS
This year’s Report for America corps was chosen after a highly selective national competition that drew more than 1,800 applications. Leading journalists, editors and academics from a diverse spectrum of backgrounds and different media platforms acted as judges.
“The talent level of our applicants was extraordinary,” said Kim Kleman, National Director of Report for America. “And it shows that there’s a new generation that can’t wait to get out there, connect with residents, and report on what’s happening in communities throughout the country.”
THE NEWSROOMS
The newsrooms were selected in December based on a national competition. To win, news organizations described an urgent gap in coverage and a plan to deploy a Report for America journalist to address that gap. As a result of the COVID-19 shock, some newsrooms pulled out of the program and other newsrooms asked for additional staff.
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The 162 newsrooms are in 45 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Nearly half of the positions are in nonprofit media organizations.
The final list of newsrooms, searchable by state or beat, can be found online on April 23.
THE FUNDERS
Additional leading, current supporters include: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Natasha and Dirk Ziff; The Joyce Foundation; The David and Lucile Packard Foundation; Jonathan Logan Family Foundation; Craig Newmark Philanthropies; Chan Zuckerberg Initiative; Heising-Simons Foundation; Tow Foundation; Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation; Evelyn Y. Davis Foundation; LOR Foundation/Solutions Journalism Network; Galloway Family Foundation; Leon Levy Foundation; Inasmuch Foundation; Henry L. Kimelman Foundation; Annie E. Casey Foundation; Newman’s Own Foundation; Annenberg Foundation; Santa Fe Community Foundation; Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation; Further Forward Foundation; and McClatchy Foundation.
To learn more about Report for America and its efforts to strengthen communities through public service journalism, please visit this website.