Report for America Picks Five COM Journalists

Four COM graduates and one about to receive her degree were selected this month as members of a “reporting corps” inspired by national service models, to help revive local journalism across the country.

They will join in June a cohort of 225 journalists placed with more than 160 local news organizations across 46 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, as part of Report for America, a national service program of the nonprofit news organization, The GroundTruth Project.

This year, more than 1,800 journalists applied -- and among those selected were five who studied at Boston University:

Sophia Eppolito (‘19) will cover the Utah Legislature for The Associated Press where she concentrates on the intersection of religion and state government.

Shivani Patel (‘17) will report for The Ventura Star in Camarillo, Calif., where she focuses on education, the disparity between expenditures and outcomes and how a 2014 state school funding law is affecting children.

Lexi Peery (‘19) will report for KUER/NPR Utah, focusing on issues about fast-growing Washington County.

K. Sophie Will (‘20) will report for The Spectrum in St. George, Utah, where she will focus on the major national parks in the area—Bryce Canyon, Zion, and the Grand Canyon—and the consequences of growth and tourism.

Eve Zuckoff (‘18) will continue her work for WCAI on Cape Cod, Mass., as an environmental reporter, focusing on stories about how climate change affects people in the region.

“It’s now crystal clear that the need for trustworthy, accurate, and local information can be a matter of life and death,” Steven Waldman, co-founder and president of Report for America, said in a statement. “This surge of reporters should help meet this moment.”

To counter shrinking newsrooms and tight budgets, Report for America pays half of a corps member’s salary, with the local news organization and local funders together contributing the other half.