Documented announces the first cohort of its national training program for immigrant-serving newsrooms
Documented is excited to announce the first cohort of newsrooms selected to participate in Building Bridges: An Immigrant Media Training Program, an initiative that will support local newsrooms across the United States and its territories to help them better serve immigrant communities. The program, inspired by Documented’s community-driven journalism model, is made possible through the primary support of Knight Foundation and will train over 20 newsrooms during the next three years.
The 2026 Building Bridges: An Immigrant Media Training Program will offer a practical, intensive, and highly supportive training program for six newsrooms interested in launching an editorial product based on inclusive, ethical, and high-quality journalism produced for and with immigrant communities in their region. The 15-module training, conducted by leadership from Documented’s product, education, and development teams, with support from editorial staff, from January – May 2026, is grounded in principles for building trust and fostering longstanding relationships with immigrants. Throughout the year, Documented will also serve as a pop-up product team for the cohort to continue supporting their development process.
The six newsrooms were selected from 82 applicants across 22 states in the United States. 44 were selected for the next stage of the application process based on the immigrant communities they wanted to serve, their geographic location, and the LPC Civic Index to achieve the greatest possible impact. Then, 15 candidates were invited to in-depth interviews with Documented staff members, during which they answered a series of common questions and specific questions about their projects.
They were selected for innovative project proposals, their commitment to serving immigrant communities, and for demonstrating that community-driven journalism is part of their mission, vision, ethos, or is embedded in their editorial process..
“This initiative comes at a critical time in our country for immigrant communities, where building trust in journalism is more important than ever,” said Mazin Sidahmed, Executive Director of Documented. “The first cohort of program participants was selected for bold, disruptive initial ideas for editorial products that will help their newsrooms more deeply connect with and serve immigrant audiences, and we are thrilled to help them make their vision a reality.”
In 2019, Documented was one of the first newsrooms to pioneer a Spanish-language newsletter on WhatsApp, Documented Semanal, in response to audience needs. Since then, Documented has built several additional products to serve New York City-based immigrant audiences across platforms and in multiple languages. As a result, Documented receives dozens of requests each year from newsrooms across the United States, Latin America, and Europe to learn from its community-driven, multilingual journalism model.
The first cohort includes the following newsrooms and projects:
Ethiopique is a local news and community platform serving Amharic-speaking immigrant communities in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. It focuses on clear, practical reporting about local government, housing, immigration, public safety, education, and daily life issues that directly affect immigrants. Beyond reporting, it brings people together through interviews, community events, and direct engagement. Henok Mengistu, the founder, and a multimedia reporter will join the training program. Project: Gamification of immigration news and the adoption of roads and other public spaces as means to build trust and bridges between immigrants and locals.
India Currents is an award-winning nonprofit news organization that tells Indian American stories exploring life in the United States. Founded in 1987, it is the oldest newsroom dedicated to covering America’s 5-million Indian diaspora—the fastest-growing Asian population in the country. It forges connections across generations, breaking down cultural silos and fostering civic engagement through dialogue, understanding, and collective action. Prachi Singh, the Audience Engagement Editor, and multimedia journalist Sobhan Hassanvand will represent India Currents. Project: Structured listening circles with Indian Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area.
KPBS is a public media station that has served San Diego communities for over 60 years, providing locally and nationally produced news, entertainment, educational, and lifestyle programming for all ages, as well as events and resources that help build a strong and vibrant community. KPBS has a proven record of connecting, reflecting, and serving immigrant communities through dialogue and community-driven journalism initiatives. Marielena Castellanos, the South Bay engagement producer, and Amanda Ochoa, the Grants and Engagement Manager, will attend the training program. Project: WhatsApp communication channels for transborder immigrant communities in San Diego and Imperial cities.
Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is an independent, nonprofit public media organization serving communities across Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Powered by member support, OPB connects people through trusted regional journalism freely accessible to everyone. They develop initiatives that ensure the newsroom is representative of the communities they serve across all aspects of their work. Shayna Schlosberg, the OPB’s vice president of community connections, and Margaux Maxwell, the director of platform and product, will attend the training program. Project: TV/Video/Digital products for content co-creation with Latin immigrants in Oregon.
The San Francisco Public Press is a nonprofit news organization focused on historically underserved communities, including Asian Americans. Its coverage areas include environmental protection, housing affordability, public health, transportation safety, homeless services, and immigration, among others. The newsroom defines itself as “conveners, bringing together diverse communities to listen, learn, and collaborate on ways to address problems and effect change.” Zhe Wu, an award-winning multilingual journalist serving the Asian American communities, Lila LaHood, the executive director, and Lisa Rudman, director of Development and Partnerships, will participate in the training program. Project: Comic strips and other visually compelling explainers in Chinese for immigration policies.
VozColectiva is a female community newsroom for women from Philadelphia’s Latin community, where they can share and amplify their voices on the issues that matter most to them. Launched in 2023, the newsroom has focused on covering domestic violence and promoting prevention strategies. VozColectiva produces a monthly YouTube program and collaborates with local organizations to create accessible, informative materials about available domestic violence resources. In 2023, the newsroom received the LION Publishers Award for Product of the Year, recognizing its innovative approach to community‑centered reporting. Evelyn Toriz, the community coordinator, and Zulma Guzmán, community reporter, will participate in the training program. Project: Pocket-sized brochures for domestic violence immigrant survivors with QR codes to news, guides, and resources in Philadelphia.
“This initiative comes at a critical time in our country for immigrant communities, where building trust in journalism is more important than ever.”
Mazin Sidahmed, Executive Director of Documented.
The selected newsrooms will participate in a practical, intensive training program focused on building editorial products with — not just for — immigrant communities, grounded in trust-building, listening, and long-term relationship development.
Through the program, participants will follow a structured, project-based curriculum and receive direct support from Documented’s staff and industry experts as they design, test, and prepare to launch their products.
Each selected newsroom will receive $10,000 in stipends to launch a news product that better serves immigrant communities through community-driven journalism. Newsrooms will also participate in a final investment round to receive additional funding for product development.
At the end of the program, participants will be invited to join a community of practice to receive ongoing support and peer advice in developing their product and to contribute to a growing field of community-driven journalism.
The training will be conducted by Documented’s Chief Product and Education Officer, Nicolás Rios; Program Manager Maria Arce; Product Lead Elite Truong; and Chief Strategy Officer Rebecca Neuwirth, with additional support from editorial leadership and staff.
As a sign of gratitude for their interest and time invested in applying to this training program, all applicants were invited to participate in two open virtual sessions to learn how to conduct community and fundraising mapping in the upcoming weeks.
The first cohort marks the beginning of a multiyear national initiative to strengthen local journalism that centers immigrant communities and their information needs. Two additional cohorts will be selected in 2027 and 2028.
About Documented
Documented—a New York-based, immigrant-facing nonprofit newsroom— has built an intentional system from our founding to integrate immigrant communities into our journalism workflows and editorial product development. We have created unique publishing platforms to successfully serve and engage directly with immigrants where they are. As a result, we regularly receive dozens of requests from newsrooms across the United States, Latin America, and Europe to learn from our community-driven, multilingual journalism model. This training program is a response to that.
Contact information If you have questions about our Education training programs, please email María Arce, our Education Program Manager at maria.arce@documentedny.com.
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