Two new regional newsrooms will be created by NPR thanks to a multimillion dollar grant. The newsrooms will be in California and a Midwest hub to boost local coverage and investigative journalism.
The $4.7 Million grant from the Schmidt Family Foundation went to the NPR Collaborative Journalism Network. The California regional operation is based in San Francisco and the Midwest hub, based in St. Louis, connects member stations in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.
“Now more than ever, we depend on high-quality journalism for timely and critical information,” said Wendy Schmidt. “Local news is especially important, and with so many newsrooms in decline, we need to invest in strengthening reporting resources from trusted sources like public radio.”
“This generous gift will allow the Midwest and California regional newsrooms to focus on investigative reporting, which is so essential to an informed citizenry and democracy. It’s also the type of journalism that has been eroding at the local level as newspapers scale back,” said Nancy Barnes, NPR’s SVP for News and Editorial Director.
The California news hub is the second regional collaboration with local public radio stations as part of NPR’s Collaborative Journalism Network. The Midwest hub is the fourth regional newsroom, with more in the works.
