Columbia Journalism School has approved a second cohort of 2026 Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) awardees, bringing the initiative’s projected support this year to more than $777,000 for 80 journalists working in local and public interest newsrooms across the country.
The announcement comes on the program’s third anniversary, marking three years since Dean Jelani Cobb first announced LRAP during Columbia Journalism School’s 2023 graduation ceremony on May 17. What began with an inaugural cohort of 30 recipients has since grown into a multi-school initiative that has distributed more than 100 awards and over $1 million in total assistance as more graduates become eligible for support while building careers in local and public service journalism.
The most recent cohort includes 36 graduates from Columbia Journalism School, Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications and, for the first time, Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and Morgan State University’s School of Global Journalism & Communication.
The program has become a key part of Columbia Journalism School’s efforts to strengthen local news ecosystems and expand access to journalism careers through partnerships with peer institutions supporting the next generation of public service reporters.
Read more about the impact of LRAP in ‘A weight was lifted’: Journalism School awards $450,000 in loan repayment assistance to 45 graduates of journalism schools from the Columbia Daily Spectator.
