Investigative Reporter, Local Journalism Initiative

The PBS series FRONTLINE partners with local news organizations on investigative projects through our Local Journalism Initiative. We are now accepting project proposals for 2023-24.

LJI provides support to local news organizations to produce a specific investigative journalism project. Our focus is on communities where independent reporting is endangered by financial pressures on news media.

We’re looking for great stories in every medium — text, audio or video. As we approach the 2024 election year, we are particularly interested in projects about elections, democracy and voting. In some cases, a project may also be considered for a FRONTLINE documentary.

For this, our fifth year of LJI, we'll select several partners based on the strength of the proposed investigation, the geographic diversity of the news organizations, and representation of racial/ethnic diversity on the reporting team and/or coverage area. We will also consider the need for outside support to complete the reporting and tell the full story.

Check here to see work from previous Local Journalism Initiative projects.

Through the partnerships, FRONTLINE will provide:

The annual salary for a reporter. The financial support is designed to free the reporter from deadline journalism to pursue an in-depth reporting project lasting approximately 6-12 months.

Additional reporting resources. Depending on the needs of the investigation, we can also provide supplemental funding for research, database building, FOIA requests, travel or other expenses.

Editorial guidance from FRONTLINE. FRONTLINE editors offer regular, hands-on editorial support tailored to the needs of our partners.

Advice from FRONTLINE’s audience development and impact teams. We’ll help strategize about how to build community engagement with the project and extend the reach of the partner's reporting within the local community.

Support for training. We’ll collaborate with partners to design specific training for local journalists in areas that can help make investigative journalism and storytelling sustainable.

Newsrooms are welcome to submit more than one proposal.

The application deadline is Monday, October 16, 2023.