Technical.ly is bringing a full-time Report for America journalist to Pittsburgh in 2021

For the past dozen years, Technical.ly has been investing in local news. We do this by sending reporters into the tech, entrepreneurship and innovation communities within Philadelphia, Baltimore, D.C. and Delaware.

This past June, we expanded those ranks of local journalists with two Report for America corps members: Michael Butler in Philly, and Donte Kirby in Baltimore.

And today, we’re excited to announce that we’re growing again: Starting in spring 2021, we’ll be bringing on another full-time reporter to cover economic development in Pittsburgh, thanks to returning support from the national journalism fellowship nonprofit. For up to three years, an emerging journalist will be joining our newsroom to report on issues of growth, equity and access in the rapidly changing Pennsylvania city.

As with our existing corps members, whose roles are supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism and the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, this reporter’s role will be funded partly by Report for America and partly by philanthropic dollars. To bring those national dollars to add dedicated beat coverage on Pittsburgh’s tech economy, Technical.ly needs to match it with local funders. If you’re interested in that work, contact our CEO Chris Wink at chris@technical.ly.

https://twitter.com/Report4America/status/1336310403148763143

Technical.ly is no stranger to Pittsburgh. In 2018, in partnership with PublicSource, we ran Open Data PGH, a six-month, pop-up reporting series on civic tech in the city. And this spring, in partnership with the Pittsburgh Innovation District, we launched a new edition of our This Week in Jobs newsletter and deep-dive reporting on economic change. But never before have we had a dedicated, full-time reporter who will allow us to bring the same daily coverage we have in our other four markets to Western PA.

When it comes to the Pittsburgh economy, a new foothold is rapidly forming in technology-focused jobs growing out of a prominent group of educational and medical institutions. Now firmly on the map as a result of the presence of big tech companies and self-driving pilots, the city is at the beginning stages of the kind of economic transformation that policymakers and economic developers long for. However, as the jobs and opportunities multiply, there will necessarily be pressure to ensure equitable growth, alongside a push to bring the type of career growth that can push the city toward destination status for software and life sciences.

Technical.ly’s reporter in Pittsburgh will assess the work of the entrepreneurs and economic developers in providing opportunity for residents — including those who have traditionally been underrepresented in the tech industry — as well as how it is changing the local economy. This next level of coverage is necessary both to consider the technology and innovation community’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as to explore its impact on the city and changing economy as a whole.

After a competitive application and interview process, we join the ranks of more than 200 other local news organizations representing each region of the country, and including public media, legacy outlets and other digital-only startups — all working to counter the siphoning of information sharing at the local level.

The Technical.ly reporter will be selected and named in the spring, and begin their work in June. Want to apply to be a Report for America corps member? Apps are open until Jan. 31:

Apply here