Report for the World opens global call for newsroom applications

BOSTON, January 9, 2024—Report for the World once again invites independent news organizations across the globe to join its growing network of host newsroom partners, as it deepens its presence in different regions through editorial collaborations and professional development of its reporting corps.

Newsrooms are invited to apply until Feb. 27. They will be asked to make the case for the beat they want to cover and how they will provide support and mentorship to their prospective corps members. In turn, Report for the World will fund half the salary of the reporters for up to three years.

“As with every call, we will look for a combination of need-based support for inaugural beats at media that are covering underrepresented communities and regions, and more consistent support for well-performing outlets that are setting new standards in public interest journalism,” said Preethi Nallu, executive director of Report for the World.

“We expanded from eight to 20 countries last year, intending to create geographic and beat diversity among our newsroom partners,” added Nallu, “Over 2024 we will deepen our presence in these countries and add new roles among some of our existing newsroom partners.”

An initiative of The GroundTruth Project, Report for the World currently supports 45 local journalists in 32 newsrooms across 20 countries. Climate-focused journalism will continue to lead as a critical beat at Report for the World and will be informed by lessons from the recently-launched climateXchange hub in partnership with Syli.

Report for the World also looks to expand its support for media operating in exile, with the long-term goal of convening a knowledge exchange hub that helps these organizations establish physical, digital, economic, and psycho-social protections regardless of the country from which they operate.

The application process for Report for the World is highly competitive with two rounds of interviews with shortlisted applicants to determine a mutually beneficial fit. The selected newsrooms will then hire corps members through a competitive process and welcome them as full-time employees of the newsrooms for up to three years. Corps members investigate clearly defined public interest beats including government accountability, health, gender, environment, criminal justice, and disinformation/fact-checking.

“With our initiatives to gauge story impact and map revenue opportunities well underway (in partnership with IPI), the incoming newsrooms will benefit from these peer-to-peer networks, in tandem with tailored professional development for the reporters we support,” said Wilson Liévano, Report for the World’s director of training.

Report for the World is made possible by partners including the MacArthur Foundation, Google News Initiative, Microsoft, JournalismFund Europe, East-West Center, climateXchange, family foundations, and individual donors worldwide. To follow or support Report for the World’s work, visit reportfortheworld.org.

About Report for the World

Report for the World is a global journalism program that supports full-time, beat-focused reporting positions for public interest media. 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.

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