Flint Beat is growing, expanding coverage after receiving editorial grant

FLINT, Mich. — Flint Beat has been awarded a $260,000 grant to focus on essential reporting work for the Flint community.

“We are excited about this opportunity,” said Flint Beat Founder and Publisher, Jiquanda Johnson. “I spend countless hours working on funding to cover salaries in our newsroom. This grant will help ease that burden and is an investment in editorial content, allowing us to get back to the root of why I started Flint Beat.”

The grant, from The Online Journalism Project, a nonprofit supporting local journalism, will fund full-time reporter and editor salaries focused on daily local government coverage. Additionally, some of the funds will be allocated for office space.

“We are currently working out of our homes and occasionally in a local community center,” Johnson said. “This will help us come together as a team and hopefully increase our productivity and focus.”

In the past, Flint Beat has received funding for reporting projects, operational support, community engagement and technology. This is the first grant that focuses solely on editorial content.

This grant will allow the organization to hire at least two additional full-time reporters, continue to pay two key staff members contributing to content and provide funding for freelance photographers, videographers and writers.

It will also free up other funding to help reporters produce more in-depth and investigative stories that take time and resources, including FOIA requests and research. 

“I don’t think people quite understand the cost associated with producing impactful journalism,” Johnson said. “Or even the burden of being a founder. I often forgo a salary to make sure that Flint Beat exists for a city I love. I would rather be out there doing the work. Now I can.”

Johnson will also join the reporting team to focus on in-depth and investigative work while helping cover local government. The newsroom announced on Jan. 23, 2026, that it is seeking a local government reporter and seeks to fill the position by mid-February. 

We’re Hiring

Flint Beat is in search of a local government reporter. To find out more about the position, click here.

If you are a visual storyteller, find out more about opportunities with Flint Beat here.