We’re excited to catch you up on the News Ambassadors program and highlight the amazing work done by our partners. If you care about strengthening communities and better supporting democracy, help us by following us on Instagram or Linkedin, donating or forwarding this newsletter to a friend. 

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📻One Big Story 📻

What happens when communities take on the work that institutions often overlook?

This month, we’re highlighting a story about the realities faced by gun violence survivors who are left with disabilities, either seen or unseen. One News Ambassadors student looked at how a community is coming together to fill in gaps in care for injured gun violence survivors, long after they leave the hospital.   

Student reporter Morgan Bruner was part of Columbia College of Chicago’s Spring 2025 News Ambassadors cohort. Bruner brings us the voices of several Chicagoans harmed by gun violence as they face another uphill battle: the day-to-day work of healing in a world that often sees disability as an afterthought. For many survivors, medical discharge doesn’t mean the journey is over. Rather, it marks the start of new challenges including finding resources, building community support and navigating a healthcare system that often fails to provide care accessible to people with disabilities.

Why we like it: This reporting pushes back against the widespread assumption that a hospital discharge signals the end of a survivor’s recovery. In reality, it actually marks the beginning of a much longer journey, including physical therapy, mobility support and navigating a healthcare system that doesn’t always account for a long-term disability. Bruner looks at how community advocates are stepping in to address pervasive challenges for survivors, offering everything from wheelchair repairs to emotional care. By focusing on the lived experiences of disabled survivors, her story reveals how medical systems can fall short and how communities are rising to fill in gaps in care.

Broader Context: This kind of work feels especially urgent in a time when healthcare access is shrinking and disability rights advocates are fighting to make sure the needs of survivors aren’t ignored. The Guardian reports that communities of color across the country face disproportionate higher rates of gun violence and are simultaneously least likely to get comprehensive care for trauma and disability. Journalists who lift up these stories remind us that the continued urgency for care doesn’t end outside the hospital door.

Tip: In any story, whether it’s about health, violence, education or civic life, consider: Who is left out of the traditional narrative and what networks or individuals are stepping up to meet unmet needs in your community? Reporting that highlights these gaps doesn’t just surface problems…it also reveals the resilience, care and creativity local communities bring to address them.

Read the full story by Morgan Bruner for the Latino News Network here. 

✨What We’ve Been Up To✨

Thanks to generous support this year from the Scripps Howard Fund, News Ambassadors students from across the country had the chance to connect with our professional mentors on their in-progress reporting and/or their career goals. Students from several collaborating schools in Texas, Illinois and other states participated in virtual one-on-one or small-group mentorship. Our mentor pool — professional working journalists from across the industry — offered personalized career coaching and/or reporting guidance as students integrated Solutions Journalism strategies from our training. By creating space for students to connect with professionals, our mentorship program enhanced experiential learning and bolsters inclusive storytelling for the next generation of aspiring reporters.

We have also been hosting training sessions for aspiring reporters from ideologically or demographically dissimilar communities to level up their game by learning new reporting strategies together. Our cohort from rural Texas linked up with our Illinois reporting fellows for a joint Solutions Journalism training. A couple months later, they connected again to share feedback on story progress and talk about best practices for community-responsive reporting. 

We also matched our University of Houston News Ambassadors cohort with our cohort of students studying Solutions Journalism and depolarization strategies at Endicott College in Massachusetts. News Ambassadors mentors Shia Levitt and Dana Amihere facilitated small group breakout rooms where students gave each other feedback on each other's reporting progress, and then mentors offered feedback as well before students made final revisions. In another session, a few journalism students from the midwest and rural Texas brought perspectives from different regions of the country as they joined KALW’s Audio Academy reporters for a depolarization reporting strategies training. We love connecting students to learn from and alongside their peers from dissimilar communities, and believe this enhances curiosity and skills to support quality coverage of a wider range of communities and stories that may be different from their own.

News Ambassadors ✨Resource Spotlight✨ 

Looking to deepen your reporting skills and build more trust with your audience? We’ll highlight resources in our newsletter, including this one to help you tackle challenging topics and tell more inclusive stories. 

Choosing Sources to “Complicate the Narrative”

A democracy depends on people with varied perspectives being able to work together to address shared problems. When local reporting gets stuck in an oversimplified “pro vs. con” rut, communities lose the nuance and empathy that foster real understanding across difference. That’s why we’re excited to share this guide we made, drawing from Solutions Journalism Network’s “Complicating the Narratives” strategies. This one-pager encourages journalists to seek out sources who defy easy categorization, like those who’ve changed their minds, don’t fit the expected mold, or who see nuances. Showcasing a wider range of voices and letting people define their own perspectives also helps journalists build trust and challenge toxic polarization. >>Check it out here<<

Upcoming Events/Opportunities

Join Us in Signing the News Futures Charter!

Want to help shape a better future for local journalism? News Futures invites journalists, educators and community members to reimagine local news as a public good. Add your name to the charter and join the conversation. >>Sign here<<

Ready to level up your reporting? Check out these training opportunities from some of our favorite journalism support organizations and friends of News Ambassadors. 

Build Trust with Your Audience: Mission Statements for Democracy and Civic Life Coverage from Trusting News

June 18 @ 1pm EST on Zoom 

Join Trusting News for a free, one-hour interactive training on how to get on the record about the goals and values that guide your coverage of democracy, civic life and public institutions. >> Register here<<

Deliberation in Action: A Civic Season Call to Reimagine Democracy 

June 23rd @ 12pm EST on Zoom 

From the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation. Explore how communities across the country are using dialogue, deliberation and civic engagement to bridge divides, build trust and shape inclusive policy. >>Register here<< 

Building From The Ground Up: Lessons and Resources From Tiny News Collective Workshop 

June 23rd @ 3pm on Zoom 

Join this hands-on workshop to learn how to build a community-centered newsroom from the ground up. Gain insights into listening practices, peer support and Tiny News Collective's unique “Ask/Offer/Get/Give” framework. >>Register Here<<

The Surprising Breadth of Student Reporting in Public Media

June 24 @ 1 pm EST

Hear the results of a Center for Community News study documenting news/academic partnerships across 320 public media stations.  >>Register here<<

Discussing Democracy: A Conversation About Evolving Journalism from Trusting News:

June 26 @ 1pm EST on Zoom 

What does it mean for journalists to cover democracy effectively right now? How does our approach need to evolve when democracy language has been weaponized and when research shows that threats to democracy are interpreted differently by people with different views? >>Register and full details here<<

Medill Solutions Journalism Summit 

June 27th @ 9am CDT in Chicago 

Join the Medill Midwest Solutions Journalism Hub for a full-day summit on how journalism can drive change. >>Register here<<

Introduction to Solutions Journalism Webinar 

July 1st @ 9am EST on Zoom. 

How can journalists better cover not just the problems, but the responses too? Join the Solutions Journalism Network for a one-hour session on the principles and pillars of solutions reporting. Led by Jaisal Noor (SJN) and Ebunoluwa Olafusi (TheCable), this webinar will explore how to find, report and share stories that show what’s working. >>Register here<<

What We’re Watching:

The documentary “Join or Die” (Netflix) shares our passion for fostering stronger, healthier communities. The movie, featuring Bowling Alone author Robert Putnam, focuses on how local club membership levels -- from civic councils to bowling leagues to faith organizations –  can predict the strength of local democracy.

Best practices for civic engagement journalism are for newsrooms to partner with trusted community members, local libraries or civic organizations to surface local priorities that will shape upcoming coverage decisions. News Ambassadors partners like KALW, KBIA and our WBEZ, Illinois Latino News, and Cicero Independiente have hosted community events or listening sessions that brought people together, often in partnership with local libraries or civic groups. Organized civic groups and clubs can help articulate local priorities with more weight, better organize to help neighbors effectively respond to challenges, and create a stronger sense of belonging, a contributor to mental and physical well-being. Many Americans want their local newsrooms to play a role in connecting communities and bringing people together. A shift to newsrooms taking a greater role in building community cohesion could help information providers and newsrooms better respond to what local communities actually want and need. 

In Hearken founder Jen Brandel’s recent article "Civic Space is Closing; How Local Journalism Can Open it Up, she asks:

“What if the highest and best use of local newsrooms at this fractious, fragile moment is to help residents join and start local clubs and associations? That is to say: what if newsrooms focused less on just reporting out what’s happening, hoping that when things aren’t great people will magically find the time and space to self-organize to improve conditions, and instead proactively help people find one another and create stronger interpersonal community relationships?“  

That’s a future we could get behind - and one which feels deeply connected to community engagement journalism.

Check out Join or Die, a film about why you should join a club...and why the fate of America depends on it.

• Rent Join or Die to watch at home here on Gathr

• Stream Join or Die at home here on Netflix

Big News!

News Ambassadors’ former engagement strategist, Kristine Villanueva just launched The Diaspora Handbook, a project dedicated to moving journalism beyond crisis reporting in immigrant communities. Check out her vision and see how you can support this important work here.

Want to help sustain the work we do? Become a monthly donor. For just $10 a month, you can support our mission to uplift community voices and train the next generation of journalists. Support News Ambassadors with a monthly or one-time donation! 

You can also explore how News Ambassadors can support your newsroom or journalism students. Fill out the News Ambassadors potential partners form! 

We’d love to hear from ALL schools with robust journalism programs or student media! To ensure our program reflects and supports a pluralistic democracy, we are recruiting a wide cross section of schools from across the geographical, political and demographic spectrum. We especially encourage the following types of schools to reach out if they have robust journalism programs:

• schools in news deserts (few or no local news outlets)

• community colleges

• schools in rural areas 

• HBCUs/Hispanic Serving Institutions

• schools in conservative communities 

• religious institutions 

That’s all we have for this month, folks. We’ll see you all in July!