An unprecedented stream of taxpayer money has been flowing into municipalities.
Is it going where it’s supposed to? Are you up to speed on the best ways to track it?
It’s those questions that Beat Academy seeks to answer.
On Thursday, Poynter’s Beat Academy presents Auditing ARPA and IRA: How to report on Biden’s promise to communities, at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Beat Academy enrollees from the Great Lakes states (Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio) have the opportunity to apply for one of two $10,000 reporting grants to help news organizations watchdog the government’s spending through the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. APPLY HERE
With that legislation, President Joe Biden promised to make life better in disadvantaged and marginalized communities by targeting them with billions of dollars tied to climate change, affordable housing, drinking and wastewater infrastructure and more.
So how’s it going?
“In Beat Academy, people are going to get up to speed on what ARPA is — they’ll get a sense of what the purposes are, how the money can be spent and what the deadlines are,” said Beat Academy lead faculty Jon Greenberg. “Enrollees will get a national view of how the money has been allocated, and we will talk about what to watch for as this money actually touches ground. And we’ll also be asking the question, ‘Has it really created change for disadvantaged communities?’”
Great Lakes journalists who attend live or watch a replay are eligible to apply for one of two $10,000 reporting grants, provided by The Joyce Foundation. The grant applications open the same day as the seminar — Thursday, Feb. 29.
This training is an opportunity not just to potentially get your reporting or a special project funded, but to learn more about ARPA and IRA.
In this 90-minute session, enrollees will get:
- A guide to the best mapping data, showing where the money has gone in your area.
- Panelists who will help you understand the forces and factors that eased and impeded the ability of deserving communities to access these funds.
- A reporting roadmap to assess whether projects have or are likely to improve communities.
- Story ideas that cut across large swathes of your community.
Beat Academy is an eight-part, multi-webinar series designed to empower journalists to smartly cover evolving and emerging topics and beats.
Upcoming sessions include:
- Immigration in Focus: How domestic labor demand and politically-driven immigrant busing expose flaws in the system (March 14)
- Economic Realities: Understanding your local economy and telling compelling stories centered on people and families. (April 4, writing session June 13)
- Transgender Coverage: Avoiding rhetoric to deliver meaningful journalism (April 18, May 2)
- New Healthcare Dynamics: What medical AI and the lack of long-term care choices mean for your communities (May 30, Sept. 26)
- Vote Watch 2024: What’s on the line for your state’s voting system?
- Climate Change: Finding the angle in any beat (Sept. 12)
A previous session, available for replay, was titled Extremist Politics: How to report on powerful undercurrents in the 2024 elections. That session includes information about an expenses-paid trip to Chicago for an advanced reporting workshop and another series of $10,000 reporting grants.
Applications for the ARPA/IRA grants open Thursday, Feb. 29, and are due March 15. Applicants must be enrolled in Beat Academy, have attended or watched a replay of the Feb. 29 session, and live or work in one of the Great Lake states (Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana or Ohio). Grant winners will be notified in early April.
Enrollment in Beat Academy is just $75 for the entire eight-topic course, or $50 per person when you enroll with five or more others from your newsroom.
