Bridging The Digital Divide: Collaborating with Students in University-Led Statehouse News Programs

In this panel Richard Watts, the Director of the Center for Community News describes 20 University-led statehouse reporting programs in 19 states. More than 250 students in these programs co-publish more than 1,000 stories a year with partner publications, providing the content at no cost. More than 10 percent of statehouse reporters are students according to research from Pew. Richard is joined by Sarah Gamard, a former student statehouse reporter at Louisiana State University, who went on to be a statehouse reporter in Delaware and now is a staffperson at the Signals Network. They will describe the role of students in these programs, how ONA members can partner with them and plans to expand this network to 40 statehouses over the next few years.