CPB awards $200,000 to PMJA for editorial assistance program

CPB announced additional funding Thursday to the Public Media Journalists Association’s Editor Corps.

The program, which started in 2020, will receive $200,000 over two years. It provides editing help to cover planned staffing shortages, breaking news coverage and special projects. Prior to the new grant, CPB had provided a total of $340,000 for the program. 

Part of the new funding will go toward creating an editor training curriculum to help journalists transition from reporters to editors.

CPB announced the funding at PMJA’s annual conference in Kansas City, Mo. 

“The PMJA Editor Corps helps ensure the fair, balanced fact-based reporting produced by local public radio stations,” said Kathy Merritt, CPB EVP and COO, in a press release. “This grant continues CPB’s investments in local capacity-building that helps stations respond effectively to the demands of news gathering in their communities.” 

PMJA’s Editor Corps provides temporary editing assistance to public media stations across the country. To date, the program has provided more than 4,700 hours of editing help to more than 60 stations. 

The new grant will provide stations with 2,000 hours of editing support, according to the release. 

“PMJA values its continued partnership with CPB to meet the critical editorial needs in public media,” said Christine Paige Diers, PMJA executive director, in the release. “Since its inception, the PMJA Editor Corps has enabled organizations across the system to provide quality journalism to their local communities. We are also excited about CPB’s investment in training future editors, recognizing that a strong editorial culture is essential for the future of great journalism.”