MyEugene was recently chosen out of 100+ applicants around the country – and as far away as Uruguay – to be one of five online local news organizations to attend an intensive New England Center for Investigative Reporting (NECIR) training program to be held at Boston University’s College of Communications this weekend.
“Congratulations! You have been chosen out of 100+ applicants to be one of five Placeblogger Angel Fund Fellows at the New England Center for Investigative Reporting’s investigative reporting training for bloggers.”
– Lisa Williams, Placeblogger CEO
The scholarship was awarded by the Placeblogger Angel Fund, which exists to support investigative reporting at local, independent, online news organizations.
“In 2006, one in eight Americans lived in a city or a town with an independent, online local news source…now that number is one in two,” said Lisa Williams, CEO and founder of Placeblogger, the largest searchable index of local news blogs.
“This astounding expansion comes at a time when it’s really needed. Newsrooms across the country are facing difficult times and tens of thousands of journalists have been laid off,” said Williams, who is also a NECIR board member. “The kind of basic reporting that allows people to be engaged citizens is at risk. Many of these new local online outfits are ready to take the next step, either by digging in to do more journalistically ambitious work, beginning to build their sites into a business (or seeking non-profit funding), or both.”
Williams said this is the first time that Placeblogger Angel Funds have been used to fund scholarships. “It seemed like an excellent opportunity to pursue our mission. We’re hoping that we’ll see great work from the graduates of the course over the next year,” she noted.
So does Placeblogger plan to sponsor future programs? Williams said that it depends on what the students get out of the course and the degree to which the students are inspired and encouraged to do the kinds of stories they might not have considered prior to the professional training. “If you come up with great stories, we’ll be doing it again,” she said.
The lucky scholarship winners who will join MyEugene and 15 other program attendees, including Williams, are:
- Kristie Cattafi, Baristanet.com;
- David Goodman, Open Media Boston;
- Toni Bee, Neighbormedia/CCTV.org; and
- “…one other very exciting addition to be announced…” said Williams.
The training program, “Watchdog Reporting for Bloggers, Citizen Journalists, and Activists,” will be taught by two veteran award-winning investigative journalists:
- Joe Bergantino, NECIR’s Director, is an award-winning investigative reporter with 30 years experience, including 22 years as WBZ-TV’s I-Team Reporter and five years as an ABC News Correspondent.
- Maggie Mulvihill, NECIR’s Associate Director, a 2004-2005 fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, is an award-winning investigative journalist with more than 20 years experience in both print and broadcast reporting.
“The New England Center for Investigation breaks great stories. But they’re more than that: they’re an example of what the future can be like,” said Williams.
