<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="1.0">ProPublica will add three more partners to its <a href="https://www.propublica.org/local-reporting-network/">Local Reporting Network</a>, part of our continuing effort to help local journalists investigate wrongdoing and abuses of power in their communities.</p>
Our new partners will begin work on April 1 and continue for one year. This group of projects is made possible by a grant from Knight Foundation.
<p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="3.0">The following newsrooms are eligible to <a href="https://propublica.forms.fm/local-reporting-network-april-2020">apply</a>:</p>
- Nonprofit journalism outlets that are members of the Institute for Nonprofit News.
- News organizations in communities supported by Knight Foundation programs: Aberdeen, South Dakota; Akron, Ohio; Biloxi, Mississippi; Boulder, Colorado; Bradenton, Florida; Charlotte, North Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; Columbus, Georgia; Detroit; Duluth, Minnesota; Ft. Wayne, Indiana; Gary, Indiana; Grand Forks, North Dakota; Lexington, Kentucky; Long Beach, California; Macon, Georgia; Miami; Milledgeville, Georgia; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Palm Beach County, Florida; Philadelphia; San Jose, California; St. Paul, Minnesota; State College, Pennsylvania; Tallahassee, Florida; and Wichita, Kansas.
ProPublica will pay the salary (up to $75,000), plus an allowance for benefits, for full-time reporters. Reporters will collaborate with a ProPublica senior editor, and they can receive assistance with data analysis, research, design, audience development and engagement. Applications are due Jan. 31. Here are the details for those interested in applying.
With these projects, ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network will grow to 23 reporters.
ProPublica launched the Local Reporting Network at the beginning of 2018 to boost investigative journalism in local newsrooms.
<aside class="ad-300 hide-lg"><!-- /2219821/Mobile_Leaderboard --></aside><p data-pp-blocktype="copy" data-pp-id="5.0">One of our partners last year, MLK50, a nonprofit news organization in Memphis, Tennessee, reported on how the area’s largest hospital system <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/methodist-le-bonheur-healthcare-sues-poor-medical-debt">sued and garnished the wages of thousands of poor patients</a>, including <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/methodist-hospital-sues-low-wage-workers-medical-debt">its own employees</a>, for unpaid medical debts. The hospital subsequently <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/methodist-le-bonheur-healthcare-debt-collection-raised-wages-policy-change-after-mlk50-propublica-investigation">said it would raise</a> the minimum wage it pays employees, dramatically expand its financial assistance policy for hospital care and stop suing its own employees for unpaid medical debts.</p>
The Anchorage Daily News, in a first-of-its-kind investigation, found that one in three communities in Alaska has no local law enforcement: no state troopers to stop an active shooter, no village police officers to break up family fights, not even untrained city or tribal cops to patrol the streets. Following that coverage, U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr visited Alaska and later declared a federal emergency, releasing millions in funds to devote to the problem.
If your organization is selected, the reporter will continue to work in your newsroom but will receive extensive guidance and support from ProPublica. The work will be published or broadcast by your newsroom and simultaneously by ProPublica.
Applications should be submitted by newsroom leaders for a particular project and a specific reporter. If you lead a newsroom and are interested in working with us, we’d like to hear from you about:
- An investigative project. The proposed coverage can take any number of forms: a few long stories, an ongoing series of shorter stories, text, radio, video or more. Please tell us why this coverage will be crucial to your community, any similar coverage that has been done before it, why this project has particular urgency now and a plan for executing the work. Please also explain why your region and your newsroom are the right places to tell this particular story.
- The reporter whom you ideally envision spearheading the work and the market salary you would need to pay this person for 2020. This could be someone already on staff or someone else — for example, a freelancer with whom you aspire to work. Please include a personal statement by the reporter explaining his or her interest, at least three clips and, of course, a resume.
Freelancers are also welcome to apply, but they must find an eligible news organization willing to publish their work and submit a joint application.
The deadline for applications is 11:59 p.m. EST on Jan. 31. Please submit your proposal using this form. We have a detailed list of frequently asked questions available on our site. If you have questions that aren’t answered there, email us at Local.Reporting@propublica.org.
ProPublica reporters and editors are available to give you feedback on your idea before you apply. You can send your proposals to Local.Reporting@propublica.org, and someone will get back to you within a few days. Entries will be judged principally by ProPublica editors. Winning proposals will be announced in March.