Community Reporting Fellowship

Lede New Orleans offers a paid training program for emerging storytellers who want to sharpen their media skills while telling stories with and for their community.

The Community Reporting Fellowship at Lede New Orleans is a paid, hands-on training opportunity for emerging storytellers, age 18-25, who are looking for a trusted space and community to grow their media and civic leadership skills. The 24-week program is designed with equity and community engagement at its core, supporting storytellers from communities that have been historically under- and misrepresented in local media, including Black and Latinx communities. Fellows are paired with professional mentors to develop their reporting and media skills, and work with New Orleans community members to gather information and share stories about local issues, centering the needs, voices and lived experiences of those directly impacted by those issues.

Learn more about the fellowship program below. Applications for our annual fellowship cycle open in June each year.

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Past Projects

Participants in our Community Reporting Fellowship have produced multimedia series covering local issues like Black maternal health outcomes, access to fresh food, and the impact of incarceration on our communities. Read more of our past projects below.

2024 Parks, Recreation & Greenspace

Six fellows explored what access to public parks, recreation and green space looks like for Black and brown communities in New Orleans, and how locals are building equitable access to greenspace. Here are their stories.

Watch: Preserving roots, rhythm in New Orleans’ Congo Square

2024 Youth Abolition

Louisiana has one of the highest imprisonment rates in the world, but our communities don’t feel any safer. What are the alternatives to mass incarceration? Six fellows to better understand present-day abolition work and amplify local efforts to keep youth out of prison, fund rehabilitation programs and dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. This is what they learned.

Watch: Building Recipes for Re-Entry

2023 Black Motherhood & Maternal Health

Six fellows gathered perspectives on Black motherhood and maternal health in New Orleans, including a look at community solutions for improving health outcomes for mothers.

2022 Mental Health Care Access

Six fellows documenting stories around mental health care access in and around New Orleans, with a focus making media that promotes a dialogue about mental health needs and helps communities of color navigate care.

Read: Peace Love and Liberation: How New Orleans’ first non-alcoholic bar is redefining wellness
Read & Watch: How a New Orleans barber is helping Black men talk about mental health
Read & Listen: Music Manifestation: How our playlists shape our realities
Read: How support and cost have shaped my mental health care journey

2022 Food Access

Five fellows documented the stories of people working to build food access in New Orleans. Here are their stories.

2021 Education in a Pandemic

Eight fellows spent time talking to public school students and educators in and around New Orleans about their experiences going to school during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is what we heard.

2020 Voices in Quarantine

Ten fellows documented the lived experiences of community members in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when schools, churches and businesses were shuttered.

Meet Our Community

Join our fast-growing community of creators and get connected with alumni who can help you brainstorm your creative ideas, help coach you through applying for post-fellowship opportunities, and be cheerleaders on your journey as a storyteller.

Sofia Luciano Santiago | Spring 2023 Fellow

Justin Curtis Marcano | Fall 2021 Fellow

Nijah Narcisse | Fall 2021 Fellow

Have a Question?

We’re journalists, so we’re big fans of questions. Email Fellowship Coordinator Jay Marcano at jay@ledenola.org, or DM us on social media with questions about the fellowship and the application process.

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