The Ravitch Fiscal Reporting Program at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism is funding three new investigative projects: on how the new president’s policies affect sanctuary cities, fiscal control boards shed light on what’s happening in Puerto Rico, and massive economic development subsidies are impacting Tennessee.
This is the second round of fiscal reporting projects funded by the Ravitch Program, which also provides advanced fiscal reporting training for reporters and editors through various workshops and has developed an online training curriculum for those unable to attend sessions in New York.
Most projects receive $15,000 but higher amounts are available for efforts involving multiple outlets.
The program is considering a new round of grants. Full details are available by emailing director Greg David at greg.david@journalism.cuny.edu.
The three efforts underway are:
Sanctuary Cities: During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump made many promises that signal a change in the fiscal relationship between the federal government and American cities. The Takeaway will work with five public radio stations across the country in sanctuary cities to report on the fiscal repercussions of the cities’ failure to comply with Trump’s immigration policies. The Takeaway will cover whether these cities prosper under our new president and how their relationship with the federal government evolves over the next four years.
Co-produced by WNYC and Public Radio International, The Takeaway is where the American conversation unfolds. Hosted by John Hockenberry, this daily news program airs on 280 public radio stations in 44 states across the country, reaching a weekly audience of 2.4 million listeners.
Puerto Rico: The Center for Investigative Journalism in Puerto Rico will look into the social effects of fiscal control boards or similar mechanisms in at least five places, including U.S cities and sovereign countries. The CPI team will develop a comprehensive approach and identify standard indicators, such as people’s living conditions and social needs to see their comparative evolution before and after the debt restructuring process.
Incentives: Tennessean data reporter Mike Reicher plans to dig into Tennessee’s economic and community development programs to understand how policies affect residents and local businesses. Working with other reporters throughout the USA TODAY Network – Tennessee, Reicher will evaluate the successes and failures of key state and local incentive programs.
Two other CUNY J-School programs award money for investigative reporting: the McGraw Center for Business Journalism and the Urban Reporting Grants.