StateImpact Pennsylvania to expand its reach with grant from Corporation for Public Broadcasting

• StateImpact Pennsylvania
  BioRecent Stories

  

Four public media organizations in Pennsylvania, led by WITF, will receive a $652,902 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to expand a regional news collaboration. Lead station WITF (Harrisburg) will work with WHYY (Philadelphia), WESA (Pittsburgh) and The Allegheny Front (Pittsburgh).

The partnership, titled StateImpact Pennsylvania, will produce multimedia reports on the energy industry, the economic and environmental impact of energy choices, and how energy production affects the health of citizens and communities.

The CPB grant will support the hiring of three journalists at the partner media outlets for two years, with station support continuing in outlying years “Collaboration is a force multiplier; together stations can do more and innovate faster to provide the local journalism that is part of the bedrock of public media’s valued service to our country,” said Kathy Merritt, CPB senior vice president, journalism and radio. “We’ve seen the importance of our investments in collaboration when, for example, stations in the Texas Station Collaborative were better prepared to serve their communities throughout the devastation of Hurricane Harvey.”

StateImpact Pennsylvania has spent much of the past six years covering how natural gas drilling has changed the commonwealth. By adding more resources to the effort, the project plans to expand its scope by focusing on the entire energy economy — from coal to nuclear to alternative energy sources. The goal will be to help Pennsylvanians have a better understanding of the environmental, financial and health impacts the energy industry has on communities across the state.

WITF President and CEO Kathleen Pavelko, stated “WITF has long embraced collaboration with media partners within Pennsylvania to expand our capacity to provide high quality, contextual news, and to connect local and regional issues with statewide policies. This latest collaboration and generous grant will expand StateImpact Pennsylvania’s geographic reach and strengthen its editorial focus.”

StateImpact Pennsylvania will report for partner stations and contribute to national programs, including PBS NewsHour, Marketplace, Morning Edition, and All Things Considered, and other public media programs. The collaboration will provide audio, video, and web reporting.

Editor's Picks