The California Local News Fellowship

Hub City Reporter is proud to be among the select newsrooms in the state to acquire one of the 75 California Local News Fellows. This initiative is the largest publicly funded news fellowship in the nation, launched in 2023 to address the peril facing democratic institutions and to provide a lifeline of accountability and integrity.

• Fusing Resources: This fellowship fuses local journalism with critical reporting resources across the state, ensuring that local news remains alive and content is shared across different platforms.
• Serving the Underrepresented: Our fellow, Marion Apio, works alongside our team to produce vital, community-centered reporting that reflects the voices and needs of Compton—an underrepresented community that often lacks deep, consistent coverage from big media.
• Impact: By focusing on critical reporting, this partnership helps share facts and stories that move and connect us, ensuring that local journalism remains a lifeline for our residents.

The California Health Equity Fellowship (USC Partnership)

This year, Hub City Reporter partnered with the University of Southern California (USC) under the California Health Equity Fellowship. This program is designed to support reporters pursuing ambitious, enterprising projects on overlooked health and health equity issues.

• The Mission: While newsrooms decide what stories need to be told, Hub City Reporter is prioritizing the intersection of Senior Health and Housing. This partnership connects us with health experts, policy analysts, community health leaders, and specialized editors through ongoing mentoring and virtual meetings.
• Focus Areas:
  • Senior Health & Housing: Improving health outcomes for Compton seniors, from those who are currently homeless to those struggling to live in their own apartments.
  • The PACE Program: We are digging deep into systematic barriers, such as how the PACE program can exclude seniors who are unhoused, and working with partners to see if these policies can be changed.
  • Wellness & Access: We look at data resources, tech support, wellness, health access, and insurance coverage to determine how these factors influence the well-being of our elders.
• Goal: By digging deep into these stories, we find insights that deliver maximum impact. We are listening to our seniors and working together with existing partners to ensure that senior voices are not just heard, but are driving community solutions.

Why This Coverage Matters

Our newsroom does not just report on challenges; we look for the solutions. By partnering with USC and the California Local News Fellowship, we are able to tell Compton’s stories with the dignity and professional depth they deserve, highlighting the work of those already addressing these challenges and bringing the community together to make informed decisions.