Cardinal News is pleased to announce that it has been selected as a 2025 Report for America host newsroom partner and will be able to hire a reporter to cover the greater Lynchburg area.
“Lynchburg has remained the one, big gap for us in staffing a full-time reporter, and we have had to rely on freelance writers to cover this vital region,” said Luanne Rife, executive director of Cardinal News. “This partnership with Report for America will allow us to deliver the type of coverage Lynchburg and the surrounding counties deserve.”
Cardinal executive editor Jeff Schwaner said the newsroom and staff are excited about the expanded coverage the Report for America partnership will enable. “We’ve known for a long time that this is where our reporting needs to go next. It’s great we’ll have someone on the ground in Lynchburg.”
Report for America will fund half of the reporter’s salary. Cardinal News will need to raise the funds to fully support the reporter and the costs of reporting and will look for corporate and reader support in the Lynchburg area.
Report for America is a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
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.
Cardinal News is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news site that serves Southwest and Southside Virginia. Our mission is to report the untold stories of Southwest and Southside Virginia and strengthen the voices of the people in our communities who have been sidelined in the commonwealth’s political, economic and cultural conversations simply because of where they live.
Journalists who are interested in working for Cardinal News and practicing watchdog, civic journalism in an underserved Virginia region should apply through Report for America https://www.reportforamerica.org/reporters/. They can also let us know of their interest by emailing jobs@cardinalnews.org. The deadline for applying is Feb. 3, with the position starting July 7.
“I know there are a lot of talented reporters out there who’d be up for the challenge of this new role, and I encourage them to apply,” Schwaner said. “I’m looking forward to meeting the candidates.”
Businesses or individuals who would like to contribute to this position should contact Rife at luanne@cardinalnews.org.