The Fresno State Institute for Media and Public Trust and the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative announced a partnership establishing a health care reporting fellowship in California’s San Joaquin Valley.
The fellowship will create a full-time health care reporting position within the collaborative dedicated to producing comprehensive coverage of critical health issues impacting the Valley. The fellow will be a mid-career journalist working in collaboration with a Fresno State student who assists with research and data analysis. This partnership will enhance the fellow’s reporting while providing mentorship and training to develop the next generation of local journalists.
Joe Kieta, executive editor of collaborative, stressed the synergistic nature of the fellowship.
“By involving a student journalist, we are not only enhancing the depth of our reporting but also mentoring the next generation of journalists. This fellowship will produce valuable and insightful journalism that resonates with our diverse Valley communities.”
The fellowship is funded for four years through grants from the Institute for Media and Public Trust, the California Health Care Foundation, The California Endowment and the James B. McClatchy Foundation.
Partner news organizations will distribute the journalism produced by the fellow, ensuring important news reaches as wide an audience as possible. The fellow also will collaborate with the collaborative’s existing Health Equity Lab.
Jim Boren, director of Fresno State’s Institute for Media and Public Trust, said this is a “groundbreaking reporting fellowship” that will focus on the many health inequities faced by underserved residents of the San Joaquin Valley.
“We are pleased to launch this initiative and thank our partner organizations for their support and commitment to in-depth health journalism.”
Readers can expect in-depth stories, investigative pieces and multimedia content on health care topics like access to care, public health initiatives, health disparities and environmental health issues. The fellow will actively engage with local communities by attending relevant events, forums and meetings, gathering valuable insights and building a robust network of sources. Leveraging the fellowship’s resources – including access to data, experts and training opportunities – the fellow will be well-equipped to produce high-quality, impactful reporting.
Alma Martinez, executive director of collaborative, highlighted the significance of the stories produced through this key partnership.
“We are pleased to partner with the Fresno State’s Institute for Media and Public Trust to elevate critical health care stories impacting the Central Valley. This fellowship will enable us to produce in-depth health care access and systems reporting that will elevate the unique health challenges faced by our community, while also fostering the development of future journalists.”
The Institute for Media and Public Trust at Fresno State is committed to improving media literacy and enhancing public trust in journalism. The institute promotes ethical standards, transparency and accountability in media practices, and supports investigative and public service journalism. The institute also sponsors the Journalists of Color training program that seeks to increase diversity in Valley newsrooms.
Launched by the James B. McClatchy Foundation in 2021 as part of its sunrise strategy, the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative is a new nonprofit infrastructure dedicated to keeping public service journalism thriving in California’s Central Valley despite the collapse of the traditional media industry over the past 15 years, and the outright demise of independent local news in many communities. James B. McClatchy Foundations is establishing this new journalism collaborative as a commitment to the Valley’s multiracial communities to fortify First Amendment press freedoms, strengthen diversity in journalism and give visibility to perspectives often marginalized in mainstream news — core values to the Foundation’s mission and vision.
