Reporter David Boraks will take on the role of climate reporter, expanding WFAE’s coverage of
climate change. He will focus on how climate change affects the Carolinas and how the way we live influences climate change. Boraks will produce stories that look at coastal erosion and sea level rise, flooding from more frequent and intense storms, and the drive for more renewable energy. Climate is one of the big stories of our time. Scientists have said we are living in a climate emergency, and yet many people are not clear on what that means or what can be done, said Ju-Don Marshall, WFAE s executive vice president and chief content officer. This grant will allow us to report on how climate-related issues are impacting lives in the Carolinas, the risk if things don t improve and what is being done elsewhere to address these issues.
WFAE will add three journalists to its newsroom in June to cover race and equity issues.
The journalists are part of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to cover under-reported topics and communities.
Gracyn Doctor and Dante Miller will cover race and equity issues as part of a new team that will help transform the way WFAE covers communities of color and issues of equity.
Maria Ramirez Uribe will work for WFAE and the Spanish-language newspaper La Noticia to report on Charlotte’s Latino community. This is the second year that the two organizations will share a Report for America corps member.
The American Journalism Project
announced today that it is awarding WFAE, Charlotte’s NPR News Source, a grant of more than half a million dollars. The $590,000 will be used to enhance WFAE’s already impressive fundraising results and subsequent investments in local journalism.
The grant will be paid to WFAE over two years and will be used to fund the addition of key positions and expertise to WFAE’s fundraising team. These positions will focus on revenue generation outside of “traditional” public media fundraising.
“This is a transformational grant for WFAE,” said station President & CEO Joe O’Connor. “In the last six years, WFAE has been a public media leader in revenue and newsroom growth. This incredible grant from the AJP will turbo-charge our fundraising, which will, in turn, enhance our investments into local news programming.”