NEW YORK, New York — The Mitchell Republic has been selected as one of 70 newspapers to host a Report for America reporter in 2022. Report for America is a national service program that places talented emerging journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered topics and communities.
News for America has also opened applications for approximately 150 new reporting corps positions to help the national service program continue its growth, replace program graduates and further efforts to reverse the collapse of local journalism.
The Mitchell Republic will host a reporter who will focus on rural issues and the South Dakota Legislature. The South Dakota Legislature convenes in Pierre beginning the second week of January and affects the lives and livelihoods of all South Dakotans. The Report for America reporter will provide coverage of the legislature from Pierre, a relatively isolated state capital at the center of the state.
The reporter will also cover general state rural issues.
The newly-selected newsrooms, along with those renewing their partnership, will expand Report for America’s corps size to 325, including nearly 270 newsrooms across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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In order to win the right to host one or more reporters, each news organization must demonstrate that there is a civically important gap in coverage and that they have a strong plan to deploy new reporting resources in the public interest. Some news organizations focused on geographic gaps and others on coverage of particularly issues or communities.
The selections were made mostly on the basis of which newsrooms defined the most compelling gaps in coverage and plans to deploy corps members well.
“Yes, local news is in crisis — but this batch of newsrooms also fills us with tremendous hope,” said Steven Waldman, president and co-founder of Report for America. “Newsrooms across the country are pushing to cover essential local beats like schools and rural areas, at the same time they try to better represent all of the people in their communities.”
Those chosen include daily and weekly newspapers, digital-only news outlets, radio and television stations. They all offer exciting opportunities for prospective corps members, to include dozens of open beats. Among them are increased broadcast and multi-media opportunities through partnerships like Spectrum News. Additionally, Report for America is seeking photojournalists for CatchLight’s Local Visual Desk in California.
Applications are being accepted until Jan. 31 , however those who apply before Dec. 31 will receive early consideration. Corps members will be selected from a highly-competitive national competition. Last year, more than 1,800 applications were received. Those hired become employees of their respective newsrooms and will begin their employment June 1, 2022.
Launched in 2017, Report for America strives to create a new, sustainable system that provides Americans with the information they need to improve their communities, hold powerful institutions accountable and rebuild trust they need to improve their communities. It is an initiative of the GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization with an established track record of training and supporting teams of emerging journalists around the world, including the recent launch of Report for the World in partnership with local newsrooms in India, Nigeria and Brazil.
More information can be found at www.reportforamerica.org .
