Louisiana Illuminator welcomes Report for America corps member focused on water issues
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NEW YORK — Report for America is pleased to announce that it will place nearly 60 reporters and photojournalists in new positions at local newsrooms across the country this summer, including the Louisiana Illuminator.
These new corps members join hundreds more who will continue reporting on undercovered communities and topics for their second or third year in the national service program. Report for America has now matched more than 650 journalists with local newspapers, public radio stations, digital platforms, and television outlets, since its launch in 2017.
“Report for America extends a welcoming hand to journalists from diverse backgrounds, encouraging them to add their experience, perspective, and talent to local newsrooms nationwide. These storytellers help ensure that under-covered communities and issues receive the attention they deserve,” said Earl Johnson, vice president of recruitment and alumni engagement at Report for America. “Here, journalists find not just a job but a calling—a chance to make a profound difference where it matters most.”
Elise Plunk
Elise Plunk will join the Illuminator this summer to report on water and its impacts in Louisiana for the next two years. Her coverage will include coastal issues, flooding, drinking water concerns, the Mississippi River and other ways the state interacts with its most abundant yet fragile natural resource.
Plunk will graduate from the University of Florida this spring with a degree in journalism and communications. She is the editor-in-chief of the campus magazine Atrium, where she has been a staff member since 2021. Her additional experience includes internships with the Thompson Earth Systems Institute and WUFT, the National Public Radio affiliate at the University of Florida.
The Report for America corps remains diverse — nearly half are journalists of color and more than half are women. Report for America believes that by helping its partner newsrooms better reflect the communities they serve, they can strengthen trust in local media. Almost a third of the corps members will boost coverage of rural communities, and a quarter will provide reporting on communities of color.
The corps members will begin their new assignments in July, with Plunk among several who will take on new positions as part of an expanded Mississippi River Basin Ag and Water Desk. Others will provide statehouse coverage for The Associated Press in time for election season.
The reporting corps, new and returning, will work across a variety of newsrooms and mediums:
● Newspapers: 34%
● Digital only: 31%
● Radio: 22%
● News service: 8%
● Television: 4%
● Magazines: 1%
While many of the incoming corps members have produced award-winning work in prior newsrooms, Report for America collaborates with top journalists and journalism organizations to provide training opportunities that will help sharpen their skills, enrich their craft, and build resilience. Additionally, Report for America’s regional managers — deeply experienced, award-winning journalists — are assigned to support every corps member and partner newsroom.
“Today’s newsrooms have become so lean that it can be difficult for them to provide the mentorship and support that early-career journalists are looking for,” said Rachel Rohr, vice president of program development at Report for America. “By sharing resources and creating opportunities for peer networking, we can strengthen their reporting and well-being.”
Report for America also leverages an innovative three-to-one regional funding match model, paying up to half of a corps member’s salary, while its local sustainability team trains newsroom partners to raise the other half from local funders. This approach promotes collaborative investment in local journalism, increasing the chances of sustaining local reporting, for the community, by the community.
Report for America’s work is made possible by the Knight Foundation, Google News Initiative, Microsoft, Spring Point Partners, Vere Initiatives, Joyce Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Walton Family Foundation in partnership with the Missouri School of Journalism, The Hearthland Foundation, The Just Trust, Posner Foundation, Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation, Henry L. Kimelman Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, Tow Foundation, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, Park Foundation, Kresge Foundation, and other leading philanthropic partners.
To learn more about Report for America and its efforts to strengthen communities through public service journalism, please visit www.reportforamerica.org.
The post Louisiana Illuminator welcomes Report for America corps member focused on water issues appeared first on Louisiana Illuminator.
