AP hires two personal finance reporters

Associated Press global business editor Noreen Gillespie sent out the following on Thursday:

We are pleased to share that we will soon be welcoming two new journalists to the Business News team to focus on personal finance. These two journalists come to us with support from the Charles Schwab Foundation, which is providing grant funding for the project.

The goal of the project is to advance explanatory reporting on financial literacy and to help spread knowledge about personal finance among a younger, less affluent and racially and ethnically diverse group of Americans. Much of the work in the personal finance space is targeted at a wealthier segment of investors. Through this project, the AP will conduct original reporting and produce stories in multiple formats and languages. The team will work with journalists from across the AP newsroom and strive to equip AP customers with data and ideas for localizing stories in their communities.

Why now? And why AP?

There is a crisis around financial illiteracy in the United States that is taking place against a backdrop of widening inequality. A lack of understanding around money management strategies is a drag on the finances of Americans who can least afford it. As massive government programs that bolstered Americans’ finances during the pandemic begin to fade away, many are likely to experience fresh challenges. We also strive to meet people of various income brackets where they are, and empower them to make decisions that can help them advance.

We’re also excited about this project because it will help Business News develop a social strategy around building and keeping audience around key beats. One of the project goals is to build a repository of reliable and easy-to-understand stories in formats ranging from text to video to Twitter and TikToks that serve as primers on core financial concepts, especially suited for young and diverse audiences.

Helping us with this vision are:

Adriana Morga, a trending reporter for Hearst Connecticut Media Group. Adriana has experience looking out at the news landscape and turning complicated issues into practical, accessible news. A bilingual journalist, she brought multiple ideas for how she would reach immigrant and Spanish-speaking audiences. She has held internship or freelance positions at KQED, NPR and Al Dia.

Cora Lewis, former labor issues reporter at BuzzFeed. Cora comes to us with a history of experience in documenting labor issues among a wide group of workers, and she broke news about organizing efforts at Walmart and among Uber drivers. She just finished her MFA at Washington University in St. Louis.

We’re excited to welcome them and eager to see the impacts of their work. Please welcome them!

Noreen