Deadline extended to June 24. APPLY HERE
BOSTON, May 2, 2022 — Report for the World announced today open applications for local newsroom partners anywhere in the world.
The program — which currently supports 15 local reporters in six newsrooms across Brazil, India, and Nigeria — will, for the first time, welcome applications from prospective host newsrooms in an open call that will expand the program’s support to up to 30 total reporters globally by the end of this year.
Report for the World is an international service program that matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe. The program is an initiative of the award-winning nonprofit, The GroundTruth Project. Newsrooms applying to the program must make a case for what critical issues are going under covered or uncovered in their communities, and also how they will provide support and mentorship to their prospective Report for the World ‘corps member.’
“Democracies around the world are in peril, but independent media holds the key to checking power, connecting communities, and keeping people safe and healthy,” said Kevin Grant, co-founder and chief content officer of GroundTruth. “Report for the World is seizing this moment, partnering with mission-driven news organizations committed to the public good.”
The announcement comes on World Press Freedom Day, and as attacks on journalists in Ukraine and around the globe have press freedom advocates on high alert. Report for the World joins other leaders around the globe, such as the new International Fund for Public Interest Media, the Media Development Investment Fund, and others in scaling efforts to support public service journalism at a time when it’s needed most.
“In a polarized world, journalism can draw the attention of audiences to urgent concerns that they all share—and need to solve together,” said Naresh Fernandes, editor and founder of our partner newsroom Scroll.in. “That’s what our Common Ground series, with support from Report for the World, aims to do.”
The application process for Report for the World tends to be highly competitive, and newsrooms who receive corps members welcome those reporters as full-time employees of the newsrooms for up to three years. Corps members take on issues that are too often overlooked from gender inequality to climate change, labor rights, health disparities, and lack of access to education.
Since Report for the World launched last year, corps members are making a direct impact on the communities they serve.
“My reporting on the criminal justice system in Nigeria has brought issues negatively affecting everyday Nigerians to the forefront,” said Ayodele Oluwafemi, a corps member who covers criminal justice for TheCable. “My reporting has also shed light on the experiences of victims of human rights violations, perpetrated by security operatives.”
Report for the World corps members also receive world-class training in journalism safety, cyber security, international collaboration and story design. Corps members cover a range of topics and stories, such as the environment, education and health.
Report for the World draws upon best practices learned from GroundTruth’s successful Report for America program, which will be announcing its latest selection of corps members this month. Like its sister program, Report for the World is based on a highly-leveraged financial model meant to inspire community philanthropy. The program pays for half the full-time salary of a corps member for the first year, while coaching and supporting local partner newsrooms to raise the other half of the salary through philanthropy, earned revenue and crowdfunding.
Prospective Report for the World partners can apply now on the program’s website. Applications close on at midnight ET on June 24.
Report for the World is generously supported by Google News Initiative, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and individual contributors from around the globe.
To learn more about Report for the World and its efforts to strengthen communities through local journalism that informs, engages and enables, visit www.reportfortheworld.org.
About Report for the World
Report for the World is an international journalism program that matches local newsrooms with talented journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe. By creating a more sustainable and impactful media ecosystem, Report for the World informs, engages, and enables communities through public service journalism. Report for the World is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to rebuilding journalism from the ground up.
