"High Country News and Report for America are seeking local and statewide newsrooms to build an environmental reporting network for the Western U.S. We're calling this partnership the Western Environmental Reporting Collaborative, or WERC for short. Partner newsrooms will host full-time reporters dedicated to covering topics that are near and dear to Westerners' hearts, including public and private lands, wildlife and water, and wildfire and drought, with a focus on rural and Indigenous communities."
"Report for America and High Country News will cover 50% of corps member salaries in Year 1 (up to $27,500), 33% in Year 2 and 20% in an optional Year 3, and provide business development and fundraising support to help you cover the rest. We will also provide mentorship and support for reporters, access to in-house editors and expertise, and meetups and training sessions to help reporters build their networks and expertise."
"Participating newsrooms will employ and supervise the reporters, who will spend roughly 2/3 of their time reporting on issues determined by your organization to be of importance to local and statewide audiences. Their remaining time will be spent working with HCN editors on regional stories and and cross-newsroom collaborations, and deepening their knowledge of topics such as public lands policy, Western water law and Indigenous land and treaty rights."
High Country News and Report for America are launching the Western Environmental Reporting Collaborative (WERC) to place full-time reporters in local and statewide newsrooms across the Western U.S. The partners will subsidize corps member salaries (50% Year 1 up to $27,500; 33% Year 2; 20% optional Year 3) and provide business development, fundraising, mentorship, editorial support, training, and meetups. Reporters will spend roughly two-thirds of their time on newsroom-determined local issues and the remainder on regional collaborations and expertise-building. Initial launch in July 2026 will embed six reporters across six states, with plans to expand to 12 states; application deadline is October 20.
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