Connecticut Public is proud to participate in the Report for America initiative, a national service program that places talented, emerging journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-reported issues and communities through its reporting corps. An initiative of The GroundTruth Project, Report for America addresses an urgent need in journalism at a time when news deserts are widening across the country.
Connecticut Public is among 164 newsrooms across the country selected to join Report for America’s journalism program which is supported by national funders to The GroundTruth Project and local donors. In Connecticut, our RFA journalists will primarily focus in two areas:
Latino Community in Connecticut
Brenda León covers the Latino community in Connecticut, which represents 15% of the state’s population. Working in tandem with journalists from GFR Media in Puerto Rico, León chronicles the experience of Puerto Ricans with ties to both Connecticut and the island. Additional coverage includes stories about racial and wealth-based disparities in health, education, and criminal justice, as well as immigration reporting distributed regionally by the New England New Collaborative. Recent reports include a local project celebrating Black, Latinx, and indigenous changemakers and how Hartford’s Park Street has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
About Brenda León
León previously covered the recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico during her internship at The Center for Investigative Journalism in Puerto Rico. A graduate from Lehman College at the City University of New York, she focused on broadcast journalism with a concentration in political science. During her time there she was a host at WWRL La Invasora 1600 AM. Her work has been published in The Gothamist, Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN), El Deadline and The Mott Haven Herald. A Bronx native, León is a recent graduate from The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, where she obtained her master’s in Spanish-language journalism.
Naugatuck River Valley Community
Ali Oshinskie reports on the Naugatuck River Valley, a region previously overlooked particularly in radio reporting. Oshinskie covers stories that capture the essence of the Valley, including relevant issues related to work and the aging labor force, including the impact on blue collar workers. Recent reports include the effect of COVID-19 on Naugatuck River Valley companies and concerns about absentee voting in the wake of the upcoming election.
About Ali Oshinskie
Oshinskie has produced live radio shows during internships and fellowships for New Hampshire Public Radio, Marketplace Morning Report, and Connecticut Public Radio. She has written for The Hartford Courant and Arts Council of Greater New Haven’s The Arts Paper, and she has produced for Wondery’s Business Wars Daily and the New England News Collaborative’s weekly program NEXT. Later this year, her writing will be published in “Fast Funny Women,” an anthology of essays. After completing her undergrad at the University of Connecticut, Oshinskie founded a podcasting company, PODSTORIES. Most recently she was a program coordinator for the Yale School of Nursing.
Leadership Support for Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, comes from:
Access Health Connecticut Small Business
Hoffman Auto Group
Additional Support Provided by:
Tara and Arthur Diedrick
Jay Youngling and Susan Jordan
Joe Zimmel
William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund
