WGLT is proud to announce we have been selected as a Report for America host newsroom partner. The station competed against hundreds of worthy newsroom applicants across the country and is one of fewer than 30 funded projects following a highly selective process. WGLT is the only Illinois newsroom outside of Chicago to receive a Report for America grant.
“WGLT is McLean County’s trusted leader in local news,” said General Manager R.C. McBride. “The Report for America selection and funding is extremely validating for our hard-working newsroom. McLean County deserves this level of coverage as a public service, and we’re thrilled to have the increased resources to provide it.”
Through this partnership, WGLT will expand its coverage of mental health with a focus on the McLean County mental health action plan. Our country is in a mental health crisis and that includes McLean County. The decimation of local newsrooms has led to little in-depth reporting on mental health issues and the county’s plan.
“WGLT is well-positioned to provide McLean County residents with a deeper understanding of how the crisis is playing out in our community, services available, and how the plan is making a difference, or where it is failing,” said News Director Eric Stock. “The Report for America partnership will allow WGLT to dive deep into mental health issues and still meet the urgent and necessary demand of delivering daily news.”
Report for America is a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities. It is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, a nonprofit media organization, and is structured to harness the skills and idealism of an emerging group of journalists plus the creative spirit of local news organizations—like ours.
WGLT will join an expanding network of some 220 newsrooms benefiting from the support of this nonprofit program. Report for America is a two-year program (with an option for three) that 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.
WGLT will welcome our new Report for America corps members in the summer of 2023. Please consider supporting this vital mission to preserve local news at WGLT.org/Donate. Journalists interested in joining the Report for America corps can visit ReportForAmerica.org/Apply or contact Eric Stock.
About Report for America
Report for America is a national service program that places talented emerging journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered topics and communities across the United States and its territories. By creating a new, sustainable model for journalism, Report for America provides people with the information they need to improve their communities, hold powerful institutions accountable, and restore trust in the media. Report for America is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to rebuilding journalism from the ground up.
