Our purpose
The Community News Lab pairs student reporters with media partners to bring objective reporting to news desert communities in Rhode Island. Staffed with students from the Department of Public Relations and Journalism, the News Lab covers five towns that lack full-time news coverage: Richmond, Hopkinton, West Greenwich, Exeter and Charlestown. In addition, students report on four areas of importance to southern Rhode Islanders, including the environment, regional education, the fishing industry and agriculture. The News Lab supplies stories to newspapers in the R.I. Media Group, including The Westerly Sun, The Kent County Daily Times, The Independent, The Narragansett Times, and The Standard-Pendulum, as well as Ocean State Media, home of the Public’s Radio, the local NPR affiliate. Other partners, including EcoRI and The Providence Eye, will work with the news lab.
Who we are
The URI Department of Public Relations and Journalism, chaired by Daniel S. Hunt, is dedicated to providing students with professional experiences. The News Lab is one of the experiential learning spaces within the Harrington School of Communication & Media. Students in the department get real-world journalism experience in classes like Public Affairs Reporting and Writing, and Electronic News Gathering; internships in print, digital and broadcast journalism; and the News Lab. The department faculty includes award-winning photographers and documentary filmmakers, a scholar in computer-assisted reporting, and a longtime news reporter and editor. The News Lab editor is journalism instructor Betty J. Cotter.
News Lab reporters
Topics: Ellie Sennhenn, reporting on the environment; Emily Morgan, on regional education; Caroline McCullough, on agriculture; and Johnny Ochsenfeld, fishing and the ports.
Towns: Dustin Thodde, Exeter; Mel Eusebio, Charlestown; Megan Wallitsch, Richmond; Katelyn Drenga, Hopkinton; and Emily Morgan, West Greenwich.
Editing: Maia Hembruff
In the news
Chariho voters consider the pluses and minuses of one district elementary school - By Emily Morgan/While Chariho school officials search for land to build one consolidated elementary school, voters will have the final say at a referendum.- Candidate questionnaire highlights positions on housing, open space - Compiled by Mel Eusebio/Charlestown Town Council candidates weigh in on three issues before the Dec. 2 election.
- Galilee fishing community collecting Thanksgiving food for the needy - By Johnny Ochsenfeld/The Galilee fishing community is extending a lifeline to the needy this Thanksgiving.
- Seafood donations help feed the hungry - By Johnny Ochsenfeld/The Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island helped ease hunger during the government shutdown.
- Charlestown debates how to fund open space - By Caroline McCullough/The Town Council has yet to float an open space bond voters approved in 2015.
Exeter Food Bank serves elderly, disabled - By Dustin Thodde/An estimated 303 households in Exeter lost access to SNAP benefits during the government shutdown.- EPA lab, wildlife visitor center affected by shutdown - By Caroline McCullough and Megan Wallitsch
Narragansett's EPA laboratory and the state's national wildlife refuges see some impact from federal government shutdown.
- Wilcox, challenging Sen. Elaine Morgan, pledges service to District 34 - By Megan Wallitsch/Community News Lab
Democrat Samantha Wilcox pledges to improve constituent service if elected senator in state District 36.
Contact
If interested in partnering with Community News Lab or sharing news tips with the editor, please email newslabeditor@uri.edu.
