These journalists are in addition to the statehouse reporters AP already has in all 50 states. They will provide local newsrooms with important accountability journalism and state government coverage.
The 17 new AP statehouse reporters are:
- Farnoush Amiri, Columbus, Ohio
- Bryan Anderson, Raleigh, North Carolina
- Cedar Attanasio, Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Sara Cline, Salem, Oregon
- Acacia Coronado, Austin, Texas
- Sophia Eppolito, Salt Lake City, Utah
- Camille Fassett, data journalist; San Francisco
- Andy Tsubasa Field, Topeka, Kansas
- Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Frankfort, Kentucky
- Mohamed Ibrahim, St. Paul, Minnesota
- Michelle Liu, Columbia, South Carolina
- Samuel Metz, Carson City, Nevada
- Anna Nichols, Lansing, Michigan
- Patty Nieberg, Denver, Colorado
- Iris Samuels, Helena, Montana
- Casey Smith, Indianapolis, Indiana
- Leah Willingham, Jackson, Mississippi
The statehouse reporters, who start in June, will report on congressional, statehouse and state-level elections; cover budget and policy decisions; track state-level health policy decisions related to the coronavirus; reveal issues connected to voter access, voter suppression and voter security; break news on the impact of new administrations and changes of power at the state level; and work with the AP State Government Team and other national beat teams to deliver impactful journalism. The dedicated data journalist will work to bring policy journalism to all 50 states.
The journalists’ work will be available to AP member news organizations and customers, as well as to other news outlets in the states in which they report, such as nonprofit news organizations.
Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, will help fund the 18-month positions. The collaboration was announced in November 2019.
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