10 sites picked for Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk; apply for reporter jobs by Jan. 31, adviser posts by Jan. 14

Ten newsrooms have been picked to join the Missouri School of Journalism’s new Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk that was announced in July. The newsrooms will get "salary support to hire a full-time environmental reporter," a Mizzou news release said.

They are the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism; the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting in Champaign, Ill.; the Louisville Courier-Journal; the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; the Daily Memphian, Northern Illinois Public Radio, Kansas City-based Harvest Public Media; the Minneapolis Star Tribune; The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and The Lens of New Orleans.

Reporters will cover individual beats for their newsrooms, work together on regional and national projects and get training, mentorship and expenses-paid travel to the annual conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists. In some cases, such as the Louisville newspaper, the support will enable at least temporary restoration of an environmental reporting beat that was lost even before the pandemic. Journalists may apply for the 10 positions through RFA until Jan. 31.

The Ag & Water Desk is a collaborative that aims to provide "in-depth journalism and communication about water, agriculture and environmental issues across the Mississippi River Basin," the release says. "The editorially independent project is funded by a three-year, $1.4 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation." Sara Shipley Hiles, an associate professor, is executive director.

Editorial Director Tegan Wendland will lead collaborative reporting produced by the team. “I am thrilled that we received so many applications for the project,” she said. More than 20 newsrooms applied. The desk will hire five expert journalists to serve as mentors, team leaders and collaborators at $5,000 a year, with applications due by Jan. 14. More information is on the desk's website.