A trio of young journalists will join newsrooms across Delaware this spring as part of this year’s Delaware Community Foundation Journalism Intern Program.
The initiative was launched last year in partnership with Delaware’s Local Journalism Initiative and the Maryland Delaware D.C. Press Association with an eye toward “helping increase local coverage, deepening the pipeline of local journalists who are people of color, and elevating stories of underserved communities.”
Delaware Online/The News Journal will welcome Donovan Aldridge of Wilmington, a recent University of Delaware graduate. Aldridge was a reporter and photographer for The Review, the UD student newspaper.
He will be joined by Bear resident Kirit Minhas, who will write for Delaware State News, and Wilmington podcaster Kira “Kira Savvy” Akins will join the WHYY Delaware bureau.
Minhas is a sophomore at Georgetown University, majoring in English and double minoring in journalism and French. He is a staff writer for the school newspaper, The Hoya. Akins hosts the “Literally Just T.A.W.K.” podcast.
The journalists will begin their work in June.
“Having a strong local news ecosystem is essential for our democracy and thriving communities,” said Allison Taylor Levine, Delaware Community Foundation vice president for marketing and communications. “These aspiring journalists will learn from the very best in Delaware and help engage our communities, keep our government accountable and share important stories from diverse communities.”
Last year’s inaugural class included four interns who worked in Delaware newsrooms: Docquan Louallen (Delaware Online/The News Journal), Xiomara Moore (Delaware State News), Johnny Perez-Gonzalez (WHYY) and Kayla Williams (Delaware Public Media).
The program was initially launched with a grant from the Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund.
Have a story idea? Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormierdelawareonline) and Twitter (@ryancormier).
