WSU’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication is moving forward with a $10 million initiative to change the ‘news deserts’ across Washington.

Partnering with the nonprofit Report for America, the college aims to place a dedicated reporter in each of the state’s 39 counties by 2029.

The program, led by Murrow College Fellowship Program Leader Benjamin Shors, is designed to restore civic reporting in areas that have lost consistent local coverage. 

Under the proposal, the university would utilize private donations and state matching funds to support the reporters over a five-year period.

Shors, also the chair of the department of journalism and media production, shared a story about the impact of one previous Murrow fellow.

“In Snohomish County, one of our Murrow fellows learned that a center for homeless people was about to close. She reported it,” Shors said. “A reader — the travel writer Rick Steves — saw the story and stepped forward with more than $2 million to keep it open. That center is still serving people today because a reporter was there to see what was happening. Many of the people who benefit from that center may never know the role that local news played in saving the facility. Local news doesn’t just inform us; it also can connect people and galvanize communities.” 

Shors believes that work like what happened in Snohomish County can drive important change within journalism.

“WSU is uniquely positioned to create a model for other states seeking to address the crisis in local news,” Shors said. “We have a presence in every corner of a state, a mission to serve the people of the state, and more than a century of work dedicated to connecting communities.” 

Change is a popular theme in the journalism industry at the moment, but Shors believes Murrow’s program can defy those odds.

“On the same day we announced our project, The Washington Post laid off 300 journalists. The timing was jarring,” Shors said. “The dominant narrative around journalism right now is contraction — layoffs, closures, shrinking newsrooms. We are offering a different story that shows communities can choose to invest in local news together. Public institutions, foundations and local newsrooms can partner in meaningful ways to inform and engage communities. They must.”

The Murrow fellowship expansion will begin with a group of 13 reporters in 2027, followed by additional hires in 2028 and 2029.

The program is intended to serve as a national template for university-led journalism initiatives. They will continue their fundraising and legislative outreach throughout the upcoming academic year to secure the necessary matching state funds. 

The first official fellowship placements are scheduled to be announced in late 2026.