Fund to back reporting collaborations for Philadelphia

An accountability journalism project announced last week by J-Lab will back in-depth reporting and collaborations among news organizations in the Philadelphia region. The Philadelphia Enterprise Reporting Fund is seeking proposals for enterprise, investigative, explanatory or computer-assisted reporting projects that enhance public understanding of important city or regional issues, engage in developing solutions or reveal new information. Collaboration–among news creators or between journalists and programmers, for example–is a key focus of the project. “This experimental pilot is intended to demonstrate the power and potential for increased civic accountability when strong, professional public affairs news operations are given incentives and resources to work together in the public interest,” said Shawn McCaney, program officer with the William Penn Foundation, which created the Fund. The project follows up on the findings of J-Lab’s recent analysis of the landscape of online news covering regional Philadelphia. The deadline for applications is Sept. 16.