The Herald announces Report For America staff member to focus on Chester County

The Herald will add a new staff member starting June 1 who will focus solely on coverage of Chester County.

Tobie Perkins has been hired in partnership with Report For America and will fill that role.

The Herald is one of more than 160 news organizations across 45 states announcing today that they will host journalists through Report for America. These reporting positions come at a time when local journalism has been weakened by years of newsroom cuts and unforeseen challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Report for America is a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. It is an initiative of the nonprofit news organization, The GroundTruth Project.

Chester is a core part of The Herald’s coverage area. That coverage area also includes York and Lancaster counties.

Perkins is a graduate of the University of Florida and will fill a key need on The Herald’s staff as we tackle important issues such as growth, education, the impact of COVID-19, and other local news in that county.

The news industry, like all businesses, has been impacted by the pandemic. Amid these challenges The Herald has continued to provide important local news to people in this region. We will continue to do so.

However, we also need your help.

First, if you’re not a subscriber, we urge you to subscribe. We offer special pricing here.

You also can help us raise the matching funds for Report For America.

Individuals, organizations and businesses can make a tax-deductible donation directly to Report for America using the form at https://bit.ly/2X4YUZa.

The Herald will continue to provide useful and critical information as we move through this most crucial period.