We’re raising $40,000 in collaboration with The Huffington Post to create a new type of fellowship that trains and promotes promising new journalists on the local level. It’s called the Ferguson Fellowship and it isn’t possible without your support.
For the first time, you have the power to ensure on-the-ground coverage from Ferguson remains a part of the national conversation. The first Ferguson Fellow, Mariah Stewart, has already made an impact with her coverage on Beacon. But she can do even more with training, guidance, and support from The Huffington Post.
Mariah’s coverage from Ferguson has already been seen on the BBC, Al Jazeera and beyond. With your support, she’ll be able to do even more with a fellowship at The Huffington Post.
Mariah’s coverage from Ferguson has already been seen on the BBC, Al-Jazeera and beyond. With your support, she’ll be able to do even more with a fellowship at The Huffington Post.
Back this project and support Mariah’s work →
• • •
She’ll work closely for a whole year with The Huffington Post’s Ryan Reilly to cover the ongoing federal investigation into the killing of Michael Brown. Together, they’ll report on the activity of local and county police forces, long after the mainstream media returns home.
With your support, Mariah will learn the intricacies of public records requests. She’ll use those skills to investigate the funding sources and uses of military gear in St. Louis County, follow efforts to reform police procedures aimed at curbing abuse and monitor the ongoing activity of local police and their unfolding relationship with the local community. To enable this, we’re aiming to crowdfund at least $40,000 for 12 months of coverage plus benefits. After the first year, we’ll continue the fellowship if interest remains.
Backers on Beacon will get notifications whenever a new story is published, as well as exclusive interactions with Mariah and Ryan. Reporting from the fellowship will be shared with the more than 79 million people who read The Huffington Post each month, as well as made available on an open-source basis to any outlet interested in distributing it.
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For the first year, Missouri journalist Mariah Stewart has been selected as the Ferguson fellow. Mariah was part of a group of journalists who were funded by Beacon readers to cover the protests in August 2014. She provided a raw, gripping look at the situation in Ferguson.
Mariah is a recent graduate of Lindenwood University in Saint Peters, Missouri. Her coverage has appeared on Al Jazeera, ABC Radio and the BBC.
Mariah sharing her experience with the world on BBC World News.
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On August 13, Ryan was one of two reporters arrested at a McDonald’s while covering the protests in Ferguson, Missouri. He describes his experience here:
Their story was shared widely across social and traditional media and brought new attention to the unrest that followed the killing of an unarmed black teenager in the St. Louis suburb on Aug. 9.
Ryan covers the Justice Department and Supreme Court for The Huffington Post. He previously covered federal law enforcement and legal news for Talking Points Memo and MainJustice.com.
Ryan speaks about his experience being arrested in Ferguson.
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This is a new experiment in how journalism can be funded and supported. Stories funded through this fellowship will be delivered to backers on Beacon but will also appear and get distributed by The Huffington Post. By funding this project, you’re creating journalism that has broad, national impact. And we’ll give you regular updates on how that’s shaping the conversation in Ferguson and beyond.
Back this project and help us keep the focus on Ferguson →
Poster image by Raffe Lazarian
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Lee Minard
Marian Cruz
William Masters
Carol Kellermann
Rayshaine Hartwell
Traci Hill
Donna Seelbach
Richard Hudson
Alan Grayson
Natalie Beeler
Kate Delles
Joshua Hewitt
Katherine Tillotson
Brett Wish
Riane Lewis
Barbara al-Haffar
Martin Graves
Shareef Jackson
neal benzel
Michelle Wimes
breanne pendleton
Amber Taylor
marsha burgess
Lane Good
Erin Henry
Sara Lovell
Alexandra Quinn
Derrick Miller
Michele Linse
Brian Jetter
David Canty
John Ruffin
Maureen Travis
Amelie Scheltema
Sarah Bederman
Jeffrey Stein
Sonia Johnson
Nick Connell
Plus 542 others who want to read stories about The Ferguson FellowshipWith 5 days left, the Ferguson Fellowship is 95% funded! Your generosity and support over the past week have been phenomenal — and has pushed us right to the edge of our goal.
Things are looking very good, but we’re going to need your help spreading the word to make this happen.
Please share this link and help us reach the tipping point: http://www.beaconreader.com/projects/the-ferguson-fellowship.
Share on Facebook or Share on Twitter
Your contribution is helping to change the way we report on news, and creates new opportunities for the next generation of local reporters.
Thank you again for all your support.
You and nearly 500 readers have pledged to support reporting in Ferguson.
In fact, you’ve helped fund more than 60% of a full year’s salary for Mariah Stewart, a local reporter.
The Justice Department announced they are going to probe the Ferguson police force in a broad civil rights investigation and already Mariah and Ryan are giving you original reporting from Ferguson on the police force’s plans to cooperate.
Share this project with just one other person and we’ll be 100% funded in no time. Let’s give Ferguson the coverage it deserves.
http://www.beaconreader.com/projects/the-ferguson-fellowship
We’ve got a week left so it’s time for the big push. Things are looking great! If everyone shares this project with a friend, we’ll definitely get it done!
Mariah has already started reporting for the Huffington Post and we can help keep that going.
Your contribution is helping to change the way we report on news, and creating new opportunities for the next generation of local reporters.
Please share this link to friends and family: http://www.beaconreader.com/projects/the-ferguson-fellowship.
Thanks again for all your help!
Hey everyone,
We’ve been thrilled by your response since we launched the Ferguson Fellowship. In less than one week, you’ve helped us make it 40% of the way to our goal of $40,000.
More than 350 people have shown that by supporting the fellowship on Beacon they want ongoing coverage in Ferguson to ensure the truth gets told.
Now, we’re entering a crucial time in the crowdfunding campaign: the push to 50%. If you can help us spread the word by telling your family and friends to check out the fellowship, we know we can get this done together.
Please share this link: http://www.beaconreader.com/projects/the-ferguson-fellowship.
Thanks again for all your support!
The HuffPost Team
Beacon lets you back original reporting by experienced writers around the world. By backing one writer you get access to their stories as well as every story by every writer on Beacon.
You pay a monthly or one-time fee that directly supports a writer of your choice. They use that money to find and publish new and exclusive stories that you want to read. You get access to their stories so long as you back their work.
You'll get an e-mail update whenever the writer you back posts a new story. You can read them online or on mobile through this site. We'll also send you a weekly e-mail newsletter, with the best stories across Beacon.
Although a recurring subscription is the best way to support a project, you can also pay upfront for a fixed-length subscription. You can cancel a recurring subscription at any time.
It is a new form of crowdfunding. Traditional crowdfunding isn't well suited to journalism because it requires on going support. Beacon helps make crowdfunded journalism more sustainable.
Tell a friend. Sharing this page by email is best, but sharing on Facebook and Twitter can help spread the word and make sure the project is fully funded.
Help The Huffington Post bring them to BEACON. At $40,000, The Huffington Post can provide sustainable reporting on the topic you won't get anywhere else.
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