Report for America has announced the placement of 107 journalists in newsrooms across the country — including an Indigenous community reporter at the Portland Press Herald — to respond to the growing crisis in local, independent news.

“It’s a good day for journalism as we welcome 107 next generation journalists into a compelling phase of their careers at a time when their energy, integrity, and skill are urgently needed,” said Kim Kleman, executive director at Report for America. “Our model of corps member recruitment and newsroom partnerships is a proven solution to today’s crisis in local news, bringing voice and coverage to undercovered communities and building back trust in media as a central pillar of our democracy.”

The incoming corps members were selected from a competitive pool of more than 1,300 applicants. Report for America’s newsroom partners go through an equally competitive process each year, and more than half of this year’s host newsrooms are first-time partners.

Corps members will begin their assignments in July. More than one-third of the 2025-26 corps members will focus on communities of color or immigrant communities and close to a quarter will be covering rural communities.

“We are pleased to partner with our host newsrooms to shed light on under-covered topics and communities, and the 2025 corps member cohort brings deep talent and diverse experiences to do just that,” said Earl Johnson, vice president of recruitment and alumni engagement at Report for America. “We intentionally invite journalists from diverse backgrounds to consider Report for America not only as their next professional opportunity, but for the chance to make a profound and lasting community impact.”

Reuben M. Schafir, a Bowdoin College graduate and former Press Herald intern, will be returning to the newsroom in July to cover Indigenous communities in Maine. He has spent nearly three years covering county government, the environment, public health and politics in Southwest Colorado.

This first-of-its-kind beat will examine how Maine’s distinct limits on tribal sovereignty affect more than 9,000 members of the tribes that make up the Wabanaki Nations – the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Mi’kmaq Nation, the Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe.

Find a complete list of incoming 2025-26 corps members, including their newsroom, and their beat here.