The Ida B. Wells Society and the Miami Herald are excited to announce that Alyssa Johnson will be the inaugural IBWS-Miami Herald investigative fellow. “The Miami Herald is pleased to partner with the Ida B. Wells Society on this extraordinary opportunity to support the mission of bringing more journalists of color into investigative reporting. Local investigative journalism with impact is a part of the fabric and brand of the Miami Herald,” shared Monica Richardson, executive editor of the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald and McClatchy’s Florida Regional Editor.
Alyssa Johnson is a graduate of Northwestern University’s journalism program. She has also served as an intern for People Magazine and an IBWS-ProPublica investigative intern with ProPublica’s engagement team last summer. “I feel so incredibly grateful to be given this opportunity and I look forward to being able to work with and learn from such an incredibly talented team. I’m so excited to be able to grow as a journalist in this position and to further sharpen my investigative skills,” said Johnson.
Following the completion of her internship with ProPublica, she continued on as an engagement reporter fellow for another six months. “I also plan to continue using the engagement journalism skills I’ve gained at ProPublica to engage with communities within Miami. Thank you so much to everyone who made this opportunity possible.”
This is the second investigative fellowship partnership that the Society has done. The first being with The Associated Press in January 2021. Like the fellowship with AP, Johnson will begin her position with the Miami Herald as a fellow and after one year, her position will become permanent staff. “We are especially excited to welcome this talented journalist into our 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom this June. Alyssa brings with her a strong portfolio of accountability journalism and she has covered important issues involving race and inequality. We look forward to the great work she will do for our South Florida community,” added Richardson.
