The Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) is excited to announce that Julia Merola has joined the new collaborative nonprofit newsroom, Spotlight Delaware, as a reporter.
Merola joins Spotlight Delaware after graduating from Temple University, where she worked for its independent, student-run paper, The Temple News. After starting as a freelancer, Merola served as the paper’s opinion editor and spent her junior and senior years as managing editor.
Merola was recently recognized as a Keystone Media Award winner for her work in covering former Temple President Jason Wingard’s administration. Her work also included investigating landlord violations within one mile of Temple’s main campus, analyzing the university’s sustainability efforts, and highlighting systemic issues within the School District of Philadelphia.
“I joined Spotlight because I wanted to be able to create stories using new formats, like data journalism, at an organization whose goal is to provide in-depth, accessible knowledge to the community it serves,” Merola said. “Spotlight is the perfect place to do that.”
Spotlight Delaware focuses on covering public policy and how it affects the daily lives of Delawareans throughout the state, with a particular emphasis on communities that have not always had access to local news and information.
“I am very impressed by Julia’s hyper local news coverage while working for The Temple News,” Spotlight Delaware Editor in Chief Jacob Owens said. “Her passion for reporting on both community and global issues and their effect on her local community make her an excellent new addition to the Spotlight Delaware newsroom, where our focus is on covering stories that matter most to our local Delaware communities.”
Reach Merola at jmerola@spotlightdelaware.org or by phone at 732.615.7298.
Learn more about LJI and Spotlight Delaware, sign up for the mailing list and donate at spotlightdelaware.org.
ABOUT THE LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE (LJI)
LJI, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, is working to strengthen local journalism as a vehicle for a stronger democracy and thriving communities throughout the First State. Learn more about LJI at ljidelaware.org.
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