Type Investigations is among 64 local news organizations chosen to join the Report for America program next year.
The national service program announced on Tuesday that it would place more than 300 journalists in local newsrooms across the country. Each year, Report for America awards grants to newsrooms across the country to cover underreported stories.
As part of the program, Type Investigations’s newsroom will partner with the weekly St. Louis American, one of the nation’s largest African American newspapers, based in St. Louis, Missouri.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to expand on our coverage of underreported stories and facilitate a journalist of color getting a chance to publish watchdog reporting that impacts the local community,” said Mark J. Rochester, editor-in-chief of Type Media Center. “A big part of our journalistic mission is widening the pipeline for women and journalists of color to practice investigative journalism, a reporting speciality they are often excluded from, while also supporting strong local journalism,” he said.
“We’ve worked with the St. Louis American on previous stories and we’re thrilled to continue partnering with them as one of the newest Report for America newsrooms.”
Participation in the program will allow the newspaper to hire a business reporter who will explore economic development and business-related issues among the African American community for the weekly paper and website, while Type works to develop a series of accountability stories on those topics throughout the year.
Type Investigations is a newsroom for high-impact investigative reporting that holds the powerful accountable. We bring underreported stories to light, cultivate diverse journalistic talent, and create a home for independent journalism that serves the public.