About the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Emerging Journalist Corps
This Substack publication showcases the work of student journalists selected to participate in the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Emerging Journalist Corps.
The program is designed to give aspiring reporters something increasingly difficult to find in today’s media environment: hands-on mentorship, real-world reporting experience, and a public platform for their work.
Across Iowa, local journalism is under strain. Newsroom closures, staff reductions, and consolidation of legacy media have left many communities — particularly rural counties and smaller cities — without consistent coverage of local government, education, health, and community life. These areas have increasingly become news deserts, leaving residents without reliable information about the institutions that shape their daily lives.
At the same time, Iowa’s colleges and universities continue to graduate talented journalism students. Too often, however, those graduates leave the state — or the profession — because early-career opportunities and mentorship pathways into local reporting are limited.
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative believes this gap can be addressed.
For the past five years, the Collaborative has worked with journalists, educators, and communities across the state to better understand the needs of Iowa’s changing media landscape. Through statewide conversations, partnerships with university journalism programs, and gatherings such as the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat, a clear challenge has emerged: students need practical experience and mentorship, and communities need reporting.
The Emerging Journalist Corps brings those two needs together.
How the Program Works
The program recruits journalism students from participating Iowa colleges and universities and places them in structured reporting fellowships focused on underserved communities and public-interest beats.
Each student is paired with an experienced member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative who serves as a mentor — offering editorial guidance, coaching, and professional development.
Students will:
Report on stories that fill information gaps in Iowa communities
Produce publishable journalism for public audiences
Receive freelance stipends for their reporting
Work with professional journalists who help refine and elevate their work
In many cases, students may expand on reporting first developed for campus media or class assignments. Mentors will help shape those stories for wider distribution and impact.
Published work will appear through this Emerging Journalists Substack publication and may also be shared with partner media outlets when appropriate.
A Statewide Network of Mentors
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative is uniquely positioned to support this work.
The organization is a statewide network of independent journalists, authors, and columnists — many of whom previously served as editors and reporters at Iowa’s leading news organizations. The collaborative model allows experienced journalists to mentor emerging reporters while providing publication, editing support, and audience reach through a shared digital platform.
This approach makes it possible to connect student journalists with mentors across the state and place reporting talent in communities that currently lack consistent coverage.
Program Activities
Participants in the Emerging Journalist Corps will take part in:
Mentor-guided reporting fellowships
Workshops on reporting, ethics, and audience engagement
Editorial coaching and professional development
Publication of stories through the Collaborative’s digital platform
Annual in-person gatherings with partner institutions
Together, these elements create a program that combines training, production, and publication, strengthening both student learning and community journalism.
Join the Community
Follow this publication to read the work of emerging journalists across Iowa.
You can also participate in the conversation in the comments or support the project with a subscription.
Together, we can help build the next generation of Iowa journalists — and strengthen local reporting where it is needed most.
We will be establishing a nonprofit designation so when the paid subscription option is turned on, your donation will be tax deductible.
