Report for America journalists named to N&O, Herald-Sun coronavirus recovery team
Two new reporters from the Report for America program will join the The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun in June to assist in covering the region’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
The journalists from the nonprofit journalism and community service organization will be part of the newsroom’s new Recovery Lab, set to launch this summer. The lab will include several journalists who will study and report on recovery efforts in the region and around North Carolina — particularly in at-risk communities already struggling with a shortage of affordable housing, high poverty, and hurricane damage.
The reporters are:
Sophie Kasakove, who will report on the economic impacts of coronavirus. She has reported on the environment, industry and development as a journalist in New Orleans, writing for national publications as well as The Lens, a local investigative non-profit newsroom in Louisiana. She is a graduate of Brown University.
Ben Sessoms, who will report on issues including affordable housing, rental market shifts and government assistance during recovery from the pandemic. Sessoms, whose work has appeared in several Eastern North Carolina newspapers, was a reporting fellow at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He is a graduate of Appalachian State University.
Kasakove and Sessoms join our current Report for America journalist Adam Wagner, who has worked for The N&O and The Herald-Sun since June 2019, reporting on hurricane recovery. Wagner also will be part of the newsroom’s Recovery Lab and will cover the particular challenges of at-risk communities around North Carolina as they deal with the pandemic’s impact.
Report for America is an initiative of the GroundTruth Project, a nonprofit news organization that supports talented journalists worldwide. This year, 225 journalists will be placed in 160 news organizations around the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The journalists are a diverse group with a variety of backgrounds, language skills and experiences, from recent college graduates to post-9/11 military veterans.
Report for America reporters are placed in local newsrooms to augment reporting on crucial issues. Part of their salaries are paid through the GroundTruth Project. In North Carolina, the N.C. Local News Lab Fund also has provided financial support, as has the Dogwood Health Trust.
For the remainder, we count on support from the community. Since our announcement last month, hundreds of readers have donated to Report for America to help support these reporters and their work in the new Recovery Lab.
Here’s how organizations, businesses and individuals can help support our non-stop coverage of the pandemic: Make a donation to Report for America, using this form at bit.ly/NandORFA.
Donations also can be mailed directly to Report for America/The News & Observer Campaign, c/o The GroundTruth Project, 10 Guest Street, Boston, MA 02135.
We appreciate your continued readership, engagement and support through the challenges ahead.
Jane Elizabeth is the managing editor of The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun.
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Report for America journalists named to N&O, Herald-Sun coronavirus recovery team."