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 certain histories are left out of the public narrative? 

This month, we’re highlighting a video story that’s a bit off the path of the local student reporting we usually bring you. This spring, some past and current News Ambassadors students from Montclair State University in New Jersey traveled to the San Francisco Bay Area in California as part of a class called “On the Road: Reporting from the Field.” In this piece about Angel Island, student reporter Jennifer Sanchez and classmate producer Izzy Conklin aimed to fill in gaps in the historical coverage of Asian American immigration via California. Between 1910 and 1940, about half a million newly arriving immigrants came through the San Francisco port, including many from countries in Asia. The two thirds who were detained upon arrival - about 300,000 people including a disproportionate number of Asian Immigrants - were routed through the Angel Island Immigration Station. Known as the “Ellis Island of the West,” this immigration center located in the San Francisco Bay remains a significant landmark for the surrounding Asian community. But its story has a dark side. 

• A disproportionate number of Chinese immigrants were detained during the immigration process. Around 60% of all arrivals were held at Angel Island for at least three days. Because of the Chinese Exclusion Act from 1882 to 1943, Chinese immigrants were detained longer than other immigrants, staying a few weeks to several months on average. When storytellers spotlight local landmarks with national significance, they push back against the myth that there is only one story of the American past. Understanding history allows journalists to better understand how history influences policies today. 

Why we like it: This reporting reminds us that a journalist’s job isn’t just to report what’s new but to also surface what has been ignored. While Angel Island may not be a household name, its legacy still shapes immigration policy and cultural memory today. 

Broader Context: This kind of work feels especially urgent in a time where institutions tasked with preserving marginalized histories are being dismantled. In a previous newsletter, we wrote about efforts by the federal government to erase histories of marginalized groups and federal data and measurements tracking everything from weather to human health to climate. Efforts ramped up when staff at the Institute of Library and Museum Sciences was put on administrative leave at the end of March. Digital archivists are now racing to preserve Black histories and federal data of all kinds online before it is taken down. 

Tip: Whether you’re reporting locally or nationally, consider which stories are usually prioritized and which ones are usually forgotten. Re-centering little-known histories can start with asking yourself what you think you know. 

Watch the story here. An audio version aired this spring on WMSC.

✨News Ambassadors Alumni Spotlight✨

Abby Lee is a News Ambassador alumna from the University of Missouri’s 2023-2024 cohort, where she co-reported the third places in rural spaces story we featured in our August newsletter. Abby is now a reporter at Delaware Public Media. 

Tell us about what stuck with you from your time in Mizzou's News Ambassadors cohort last year - any impacts on how you view your work, the field, or the role of journalism? 

I am so grateful for my team with the News Ambassadors. I learned a lot about working collaboratively, which wasn't something I had a chance to do outside of the classroom yet. I had a fantastic time going out to Sedalia with my colleague Gillian Koptik and sitting in on a Dungeons & Dragons campaign at the local library.

At first, we were planning on simply talking about the library as a third place. The story turned more whimsical when we discovered there would be a campaign that afternoon.

It taught me a lot about letting a story morph into what it needs to be rather than starting [to report] with a script outline already cemented in my mind. I view my interviews and stories more fluidly now, which I think makes me a better conversationalist during interviews and a better storyteller when scripting.

You're now a full-time public radio reporter at Delaware Public Media. Are there any parts of your experience or training with News Ambassadors that have impacted your reporting or any individual stories in this new role? 

Our discussions on Solutions Journalism stuck with me after graduating and moving on from the News Ambassadors cohort. I write and produce six stories for newscasts per week. It would be easy to just pitch stories about events and press briefings, but those aren't always meaty or meaningful. I have a notebook that I jot messy thoughts into, and one of the more organized pages I have in there includes a list of stories to check back in on.

I want to be a journalist that gives readers and listeners the opportunity to remember the people around them and the action that is being done at the community level. For example, when I first moved to Delaware, I wrote a [one-day turnaround story] about a Recovery Cafe. The site is a free third place open on weekdays for folks in recovery. I'm currently working on a follow-up day turn to see how they're doing. Having conversations about the opioid epidemic and local substance use is important, but framing those conversations by using a solution like a Recovery Cafe is very productive. 

I also appreciate the people I get to talk to with these kinds of stories, as they tend to be more boots on the ground than someone like a data analyst.

Is there any advice you'd give current students participating in the News Ambassadors program that would help with job readiness? 

Team up with someone. I think bouncing ideas off of someone tends to create a more engaging story. Calling weird places has been a reliable way for me to find sources, too, as I discovered by going down Sedalia rabbit holes online. Since then, especially when covering rural areas, I've called post offices, pizzerias and state fire commissions just to see if they have advice on who I should reach out to next.

🎧What We’re Listening To🎧 

This week, we’re tuning into Episode 2 of “Living at Odds” on Slate’s How To! Podcast. The episode was guest hosted by Amanda Ripley, co-creator of “Complicating the Narratives” depolarization methodology we teach to News Ambassadors participants. Ripley is author of High Conflict, a book about how people get stuck in messy, toxic conflict and how we can get out. If you’ve been reading our newsletter for a while, you know we are big fans of Ripley. For more of her work, check out Good Conflict, which she co-leads with fellow CTN-designer Hélène Biandudi Hofer. 

Interested in scheduling a depolarization reporting strategies training or Solutions Journalism training for your organization? Get in touch via our training request form. 

Upcoming Events 

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

Convening Your Community: Creating, Empowering, and the Art of Hosting Socially Just Conversations: May 27th @ 1pm EST on Zoom. 

Gathering your local community to explore potential stories isn’t always easy—but it can be transformative. Join Hearken for this workshop led by Ken Schneck of The Buckeye Flame, focused on “The Art of Hosting.” This approach taps into community members’ lived expertise to foster more just and inclusive conversations.  >>Register here<<

Depolarization Reporting Strategies training led by Dana Amihere:  June 3 @3pm EST on Zoom. About the trainer: Dana Amihere is a data journalist, designer and developer and founder/executive director of AfroLA. She’s also a News Ambassadors mentor!  >>Register here<< 

Want to explore News Ambassadors support for 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 cross-section of communities, 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 rural areas or news deserts (few or no local news outlets)

• community colleges

• HBCUs

• Hispanic-Serving Institutions

• schools in conservative communities 

• religious institutions

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