The Missouri News Network is going to break ground

Missouri News Network
Contact: Scott Swafford
Email: swaffords@missouri.edu

AND

Contact: Mark Horvit
Email: horvitm@missouri.edu

The Missouri News Network is going to break ground

Share your story ideas for the project.

June 3, 2022 — Newspaper journalists caught up in the daily grind are often unable to take time to assess the true impact of state government programs and legislative initiatives on their communities. A grant-funded summer project will allow the Missouri School of Journalism to do just that. Missouri News Network has hired six journalists  — five based in Missouri and one in Washington, D.C. — to spend the next few months reporting stories that credit state government for its successes and hold it accountable for its failures.

The stories we produce will be available for publication by any and all newspaper members of the Missouri Press Association. Distribution will be similar to our legislative session coverage, but we won’t be producing the same volume, because these are enterprise stories. MPA’s Matt Barba will share periodic emails, but you’ll also have two other ways to get the work. All stories will be published by the Columbia Missourian, and you are welcome to copy and paste the text from the site https://www.columbiamissourian.com/. Photos and graphics will always be available as well. We will upload that material to our Box folder (we can send links to anyone who wants it, and simple instructions on how to get that). The emails from Matt will also include links to each story.

We’re also interested in your ideas about what we should be covering and in collaborations on reporting projects that fit all our goals. Send ideas and suggestions to Scott Swafford and Mark Horvit (swaffords@missouri.edu and horvitm@missouri.edu.) Our reporters can take an idea and run with it, or work with someone from your staff.

Our first story has already published and is available to anyone who wants it. It details MoDOT’s upcoming spending plan for the state:

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/state_news/modot-reveals-massive-transportation-spending-plan-focuses-on-maintenance/article_6adeacc2-d7a9-11ec-a20c-5fd1cb360c7a.html.

There’s also a sidebar for the MoDOT story with a list of the biggest projects in each district. Here’s the link:

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/state_news/major-projects-in-modots-proposed-five-year-road-and-bridge-plan/article_06af8706-dd23-11ec-8d18-df4755b2cc88.html

We’re looking forward to working with everyone this summer.

Scott Swafford
swaffords@missouri.edu

Mark Horvit
horvitm@missouri.edu