NHPR earns place in prestigious national journalism program, expands local coverage of diverse communities
New Hampshire Public Radio’s listeners and readers will benefit from a national-local partnership that will allow NHPR’s newsroom to expand coverage of New Hampshire’s Spanish-speaking and immigrant populations. NHPR is one of 64 newsrooms chosen to take part in the latest class of Report for America, a program placing talented emerging journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. As part of that program, Gabriela Lozada, a bilingual reporter who lives in Manchester, will be the station’s first Report for America journalist.
Report for America is a highly competitive national program that newsrooms can apply for to help meet local staffing needs and grow their public service journalism efforts. The program builds up a corps of early career and diverse journalists, while also helping address ‘news deserts’ that can arise when local newsrooms lack resources or staff to cover some issues in their communities. In the latest Report for America class, more than 300 new positions across the country will help newsrooms – many in rural areas – enhance coverage about local government, agriculture, health care, military families, criminal justice and the environment. Report for America journalists are encouraged to pursue enterprise and innovative reporting, within local newsrooms that provide mentorship and training.
For NHPR, the primary focus of the new position will be reporting on Spanish-speaking and Latino communities in the Southern Tier of New Hampshire, including the growing populations in Manchester and Nashua. Lozada will produce reports in both English and Spanish that will air on NHPR’s broadcast stations and be published online at nhpr.org.
Lozada worked as a journalist in her native Ecuador before coming to the United States. Most recently, she worked in documentary film production and other creative pursuits. She will begin her work June 1.
“Over the past year, NHPR launched a Spanish language audio news service, boosted the availability of Spanish language content on its website, and continues to build out our coverage of diverse communities in our state,” said Dan Barrick, news director at NHPR. “We’re honored to be part of this Report for America class that provides needed resources to cover these communities with thoughtfulness and sensitivity. Having a native speaker who lives and works in the community will allow us to surface so many more stories that need to be told and that reflect life in our state.”
As part of a commitment to expanded coverage, last April NHPR launched ¿Qué Hay de Nuevo, New Hampshire? (What’s New, New Hampshire?) – a Monday-Wednesday-Friday audio news service that offers subscribers a short audio newscast on their mobile phones via WhatsApp (sign up here to subscribe). On the nhpr.org website, nhpr.org/noticias serves as a portal for Spanish language news and practical information relating to the Latino community, featuring the work of bilingual reporter Daniela Allee and producer Maria Aguirre. News in Spanish is made available to the members of the Granite State News Collaborative, which partnered with NHPR on the launch of Que Hay, and both NHPR and the Collaborative are working with a Spanish language advisory group to better understand community needs and interests.
During the lead-up to last year’s presidential and local elections, NHPR also created a Spanish language voting guide and other tools to help Spanish speakers navigate the voting process during a time of pandemic. In addition, more news and stories from national partners like WNYC and programs like Latino USA are now airing on NHPR’s airwaves.
“Spanish speakers are the biggest non-English speaking population in New Hampshire, and Latinos are the state’s biggest ethnic community. So as public media for everyone in New Hampshire, it’s critically important that NHPR forge connections with our Latino neighbors,” said NHPR’s president and chief executive officer Jim Schachter. “We’ve made a public and active commitment to expanding our coverage and highlighting new voices and perspectives in our journalism. Being part of this Report for America class is another concrete step building our capacity to better serve our listeners and readers and contribute to the diverse culture in our state.”
Funding for Report for America local positions is a collaborative effort between the national organization and the participating local media organizations. Reporting by NHPR’s RFA reporter, Gabriela Lozada, is made possible by generous donations from our community. If you are interested in helping support this project, please contact Deb Turner, VP for Development, at dturner@nhpr.org.
Learn more about Report for America’s overall 2021 reporting corps here: https://www.reportforamerica.org/2021/04/27/report-for-america-fights-crisis-in-local-news-expands-into-200-plus-newsrooms-with-300-journalists/
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About NHPR
Since 1981, New Hampshire Public Radio has shaped the media landscape in the Granite State and beyond. Our mission is “Expanding minds, sparking connections, building stronger communities.” NHPR is broadcast from 14 different sites, making it by far New Hampshire’s largest (and only) statewide radio news service. Every week, NHPR is the choice of 152,000 listeners as a primary source of in-depth and intelligent news coverage and enlightening programming. Thousands more view NHPR.org, follow our social media sites, stream our service online, or listen to our podcasts. Each day, New Hampshire Public Radio delivers several hours of local news reported by its award-winning news team. Locally produced programs and podcasts include The Exchange, The Folk Show, Outside/In, and Civics 101, among others. NHPR is the exclusive outlet for NPR News in the Granite State and broadcasts national weekly programs such as The Moth Radio Hour, Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, and This American Life. Visit nhpr.org to access our news and information.
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. Launched in 2017, Report for America is creating a new, sustainable system that provides Americans with the information they need to improve their communities, hold powerful institutions accountable, and rebuild trust in the media. Report for America is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization with an established track record of training and supporting teams of emerging journalists around the world, including the recent launch of Report for the World in partnership with local newsrooms in India and Nigeria.