NJCH and Center for Cooperative Media launch ‘South Jersey Community Reporters’ initiative

Selected participants will receive funding and mentorship to strengthen local news and community resilience in Black communities across South Jersey

CAMDEN, NJ — The New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH) and the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University announce the launch of “South Jersey Community Reporters,” a program that will develop and conduct training and workshops for aspiring community reporters from across South Jersey as part of the Center’s South Jersey Information Equity Project (SJIEP).

By fusing community journalism with public humanities practices and knowledge, South Jersey Community Reporters aims to create opportunities for residents of South Jersey to reshape how their communities produce, share, and engage with local news.

Community Reporters will receive funding of up to $5,100 to join a small intergenerational cohort that participates in 8 expert-led journalism and media workshops on topics such as media literacy, finding data, storytelling, and multimedia production skills.

The cohort will work alongside SJIEP media partner Tennyson Donyéa, founder of Black in Jersey, and recent fellow and Camden-based journalist Charles Curtis III. As part of this program, the community reporters will produce 1–2 collaboratively reported stories, which will be published by SJIEP’s local media partners.

“Robust local journalism, informed by a knowledge of communities’ histories and their values, is a cornerstone of democracy, and empowers community members to pursue a more just and responsive society,” said Carin Berkowitz, Ph.D., executive director of NJCH. “This partnership between NJCH and SJIEP will help build the capacity of South Jerseyans to shape their news in ways that create a better-represented and more equitable region.”

“The South Jersey Community Reporter initiative will incorporate multimedia journalism, the arts, and an exploration of how community-centered reporting, has historically fostered dialogue, advocacy, and healing, particularly in Black communities, in response to acts of hatred and injustice,” said Cassandra Etienne, assistant director of programming and membership at the Center for Cooperative Media. “We’re excited to partner with the New Jersey Council for the Humanities in this new effort to support local journalists and storytellers.”

As part of the program, NJCH and CCM will also co-host two “Telling Our Stories” public community learning events in Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 on the history of the Black Press and countering hate-motivated violence with restorative narrative.

The South Jersey Community Reporter initiative is generously supported by funding from “United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture,” a National Endowment for the Humanities initiative that supports humanities projects that combat hate by fostering cross-cultural understanding, empathy, and community resilience.

✨ What to look for going forward

We plan to publish the open-call application next week, so make sure you follow and subscribe to our new Medium publication so you don’t miss the announcement when it’s published.

Questions? Send an email to sjreporters@njnewscommons.org.

About the NJ Council for the Humanities: The New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH) explores, cultivates, and champions the public humanities in order to strengthen New Jersey’s diverse community. Since 1972, NJCH has partnered with statewide and community organizations to bring meaningful public humanities programming to the local level. We do this in 3 ways: by awarding grants and sponsorships, by providing programs ourselves, and by convening individuals and organizations that care about cultural and civic life in the Garden State. To learn more about our work, visit: https://njhumanities.org/.

About the Center for Cooperative Media: The Center is a primarily grant-funded program of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. Its mission is to grow and strengthen local journalism, and in doing so serve New Jersey residents. The Center is supported with operational and project funding from Montclair State University, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Democracy Fund, NJ Civic Information Consortium, Rita Allen Foundation, Inasmuch Foundation and the Independence Public Media Foundation. For more information, visit centerforcooperativemedia.org.