WUFT News, a leading news organization in Gainesville, Florida, is the recipient of a Report for America (RFA) reporter position to cover racial inequity in East Gainesville.

WUFT News is located in the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications’ Innovation News Center and provides news to several broadcast and online properties, including WUFT-FM and WUFT-TV, the local NPR and PBS affiliates, respectively.

WUFT was one of 64 new local news organizations to become a host newsroom partner. In 2021, Report for America will place more than 300 journalists in the field expanding to more than 200 newsrooms across the country, at a time when the impact of the pandemic has decimated local news economically.

“We are thrilled to be a RFA host newsroom in 2021. Having a corps member join our team will enable us to go deeper with our local coverage by examining the immediate and long-term ramifications of inequities on our city and state,” said Assistant Dean for Student Experiences and Innovation News Center Director Mira Lowe.

According to Report for America, “This was a highly selective process, so being chosen is a sign that our judges were supremely impressed with the quality of your news organization, your commitment to local journalism and your proposal for how to deploy Report for America journalists.“

The selections were based on which newsrooms defined the most compelling gaps in coverage and their plan to deploy corps members in various beats. Those chosen include daily and weekly newspapers, digital-only news outlets, and radio and television stations.

“With the local news system shrinking, it’s important that we both put more and more reporters in the field—and that we help newsrooms that are working toward becoming more sustainable, and more grounded in the community,” said Steve Waldman, president and co-founder of Report for America. “It’s particularly gratifying that newsrooms have, en masse, decided that they want to do better coverage of communities of color.”

Report for America, which is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, is planning to place 1,000 journalists into local newsrooms by 2024. The two-year program (with an option for three) delivers a wide range of benefits to its corps members. Beyond paying up to half of the journalists’ salaries, it provides ongoing training and mentorship by leading journalists, peer networking, and memberships to select professional organizations.

The program is supported in its efforts by a number of philanthropic leaders, including the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Facebook Journalism Project, Natasha and Dirk Ziff, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the Lumina Foundation, the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Heising-Simons Foundation, the Henry L. Kimelman Foundation, the Tow Foundation, and the Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation.

The application window for reporters to apply as corps members in 2021 is now open. Information about how to apply can be found here.

Posted: December 8, 2020
Category: College News, Mira Lowe, News
Tagged as: Innovation News Center, Mira Lowe, Report for America, WUFT News