The following excerpt was sent from The New York Times chairman and publisher AG Sulzberger:
After a week of happy announcements, I’m excited to share one more. Dean Baquet will lead a new locally investigative journalism scholarship at The New York Times.
He has a deep passion for local and investigative work, and this initiative pits his relentless journalistic mind and ability to nurture talent against one of our industry’s most urgent needs.
The year-long scholarship will produce investigative projects with a focus on the state and local level, where deeply reported responsibility journalism is most needed. It will offer a rare opportunity for future journalists, especially those with backgrounds who are under-represented in newsrooms and investigative reporting.
We want this scholarship to help create a diverse new generation of great investigative journalists at a time when fewer organizations are able to support this important work.
To enhance the impact of fellows’ work and support other news organizations, we will offer free co-publishing to local print, digital, radio and television businesses.
There is no one better to lead this effort than Dean, whose great career began in local journalism and whose name has accompanied powerful investigative reporting ever since. He started as a reporter for The States-Item and The Times-Picayune in his hometown of New Orleans. His first job at The Times was as an investigative reporter for our Metro desk.