Join the WMRA Freelance Corps!
Sustainability Matters
Do you have journalism experience you'd like to put to work researching, reporting, and relaying local news stories with accuracy and context to local NPR listeners?
Apply to join the ranks of our freelance reporters!
Send a brief introduction and a few examples of your published work to Assistant News Editor, Randi B. Hagi (hagirb@jmu.edu) to be considered and learn more about our freelancer program.
We pay per-story for original, local, fact-checked radio pieces that illuminate the region's current events for our listeners.
Recent stories from our freelance reporters
-
Aerospace and defense manufacturer Northrop Grumman is still waiting for the state to green-light an operating permit that would allow it to emit nearly 25 tons of pollutants from its Waynesboro facility each year. Opposition from Valley residents, however, continues to mushroom. WMRA’s Christine Kueter reports. -
On Monday, the city of Buena Vista welcomed residents and visitors to their 55th annual Labor Day festival. The day featured a parade through downtown followed by political speeches as a kickoff to the campaign season. WMRA’s Meredith McCool reports. -
The University of Virginia is asking local middle and high school students to imagine what American democracy could look like 250 years from now. WMRA’s Anjoleigh Schindler reports. -
Three Central Virginia counties have committed a combined three-quarters of a million dollars to fighting a proposed high-voltage transmission line. They're joined by a growing coalition of localities across multiple states opposing a large-scale energy grid overhaul. WMRA's Anjoleigh Schindler reports. -
John Rose, the former Elkton Middle School teacher who pleaded guilty in Bedford County last fall to several counts of sexually abusing a child, has yet to enter a plea on similar charges in Rockingham County. Questions remain, including how he was able to leave Rockingham County and teach in Bedford for another year while continuing to abuse a child. WMRA’s Bridget Manley reports. -
In the second report of our two-part series on the grassroots effort to remove Flock cameras from the Valley, we look at how Virginia law allows Flock to operate and how the opposition to the cameras spans the political spectrum. WMRA’s Bridget Manley reports. -
Flock cameras photograph and store license plate data that police can use to investigate criminal activity. They’ve become the center of growing debate across the Valley. Critics argue that the cameras violate privacy rights, and their efforts to remove them have paid off in several communities. In this two-part series, we examine the fight over the future of the cameras. WMRA’s Bridget Manley reports. -
In a landmark decision last week, a federal judge in Harrisonburg ruled in favor of Shenandoah County students and the NAACP, who sued the county school system over its controversial decision to revert two school names to Confederate names. Now, lawyers for both sides are considering next steps, as an appeal seems as likely as mounting court costs. WMRA’s Bridget Manley reports. -
In a long-awaited decision, a federal judge ruled Thursday in favor of the students who, along with the NAACP, sued Shenandoah County’s school board over its renaming of schools after Confederates. WMRA’s Bridget Manley reports. -
Abigail Spanberger spent her first “National Night Out” as Governor at two stops in the Valley. WMRA’s Omega Ilijevich reports.
