After launching regional reporting collaborations in Georgia, Illinois, and Michigan in the past three years, Grist leadership is proud to announce a fourth partnership based in North Carolina with Blue Ridge Public Radio, or BPR.
Grist’s regional partnerships deepen local climate coverage by allowing Grist’s editorial team to work with local NPR affiliates. Grist and each station together hire a reporter to cover climate, the environment, and energy in that station’s state, and we then make local stories available to syndicate to a media network throughout the state. Each reporter also publishes several national stories each year, which are also made available to republish to Grist’s national syndication network.
Now, thanks to new funding, Grist is hiring a regional reporter to cover Appalachia. This reporter will work for both Grist and BPR to cover western North Carolina, as well as the Blue Ridge Mountain region of Appalachia.
“The Blue Ridge region is a fascinating lens through which to examine the climate crisis,” said Katherine Bagley, Grist’s executive editor. “Long defined by its relationship to fossil fuels, this area is seeing a wave of new clean energy investment, while simultaneously dealing with crippling extreme weather and economic and social inequities. We’re thrilled to be able to build BPR’s reporting capacity on climate issues and provide Grist readers more coverage from Appalachia.”
“The partnership with Grist enables us to better serve audiences across western North Carolina on multiple platforms,” said BPR News Director Laura Lee. “There is no shortage of important environmental news in the region, and this position will provide audiences with coverage we could not otherwise offer. We look forward to working with Grist to amplify the critical climate and energy issues that affect so many Appalachian communities.”
After the reporter is hired, Grist will work with BPR to establish a syndication network throughout the Appalachian region.
Interested candidates can apply for the role here. Newsrooms interested in joining our local syndication network can email Rachel Glickhouse, Grist’s director of partnerships.
Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
