The Ford Foundation has given the Los Angeles Times a $1M, two-year grant to expand news coverage of topics like immigrant communities in Southern California, the state’s prison system, the U.S. border region and Brazil.
The Times is hiring five new reporters to cover those beats, which were previously assigned to staffers with other responsibilities, said editor Davan Maharaj. It had used stringers to cover Brazil, an emerging economic powerhouse.
“These are vital coverage areas that have been affected by our need to make tough choices in the past decade,” Maharaj said in an email to staff. “Although the grant is for two years, we intend to continue with these beats beyond that period. We will immediately start our search for reporters.”
The Ford Foundation told the paper it would consider extending the grant after two years.
A spokesman said the foundation “and many other funders are experimenting with new approaches to preserve and advance high-quality journalism.”