Meet the Ledger-Enquirer’s new reporting duo focused on coronavirus recovery

Two new journalists started in the Ledger-Enquirer newsroom on June 1 thanks to a partnership with the Report for America Foundation and the recently established Local News and Information Fund at the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley.

Adrienne Underwood and Madeleine Cook will live and work in Columbus over the next year covering how our region recovers from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Stories could range from jobs, the economy, tourism, underrepresented communities and more.

Learn more about them and send us your ideas using the form at the bottom of this story.

Adrienne Underwood

Nice to meet you. I’m a new reporter at the Ledger-Enquirer, where I will be covering long-term coronavirus recovery in Columbus as a corps member with Report for America. Along with photojournalist Madeleine Cook, I’m here to report on what recovery looks like for the communities, healthcare systems, schools, businesses and more in Columbus and the Chattahoochee Valley.

Before moving to Columbus this June, I lived in New Orleans for the past five years, where I worked at the Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate. and studied at Tulane University. I graduated in 2018 with a degree in political science and English. And if you notice an accent, you’re onto something — I grew up in Kennett Square, PA.

Report for America is an initiative of the nonprofit Ground Truth Project that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-reported issues and communities. Its mission is to restore local journalism from the ground up.

Report for America and the Community Foundation have provided the financial support to bring Madeleine and myself here to Columbus. We’re thankful that they’ve made this partnership possible.

The best journalism brings together a sea of voices to tell one story. We want to hear from you: the nurse who sees tragedy every day, the teacher struggling to instruct remotely, the small business owner trying to stay afloat.

One of you might have started sewing handmade masks in your basement. Another may be struggling to make ends meet as the economy continues to turn downward. Someone else may fear for their health and safety, whether they already have the coronavirus or a preexisting condition that would make a case of the virus more dangerous, or even life threatening.

Journalism is at its core the communication between a newsroom and the public. But communicating looks a little bit different these days. Our chats over coffee have turned into phone calls from our homes and our community panels have moved to videoconferencing platforms.

This is where we need your help. We want to hear from you. Tell us what you want us to write about, what stories we need to cover, what topics you’re curious about.

We aim to take a solutions-based approach in our reporting, meaning that we want to write about how our community is finding ways to cope and succeed amid the pandemic in addition to its struggles.

Change in Columbus is far from over and we’ll be here to see it through. For me, being an outsider can at times lend a fresh perspective, but it also means I have a lot to learn. I want to understand Columbus and we need your help to do so. Madeleine and I want to hear your stories, your struggles, and your ideas. In fact, we need them. The impact and success of this reporting depends on hearing and listening to the voices of Columbus.

So please, tell us your stories. You can find me on Twitter @adrienneunderwd or over email at aunderwood@ledger-enquirer.com.

Madeleine Cook

A few weeks ago, I packed up my tiny sedan and my rabbit Corinne and drove 56 hours across the country to return to my home state of Georgia. I grew up in the Appalachian mountains, a small town called Young Harris.

My name is Madeleine and I am a visual journalist at the Ledger-Enquirer through Report for America. RFA is a nonprofit, public service program that has sent 200+ corps members across the country to serve as local journalists for underrepresented communities.

With my co-reporter Adrienne, we will write, photograph and produce videos about COVID-19 recovery around Columbus and the Chattahoochee Valley. We will focus on the economy, tourism, health, nonprofits, activism, families and most importantly the people of our community.

I attended college in Washington, D.C. to get my degree in photojournalism and then hopped around the country working in different newsrooms in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Oregon.

My favorite reporting usually centers around housing or homelessness — I grew up in a rent-controlled trailer park community. Accessible housing is important.

Right now there is a great level of mistrust in “the media.” As I’ve introduced myself to folks around town, and they ask what I do, there is a moment of hesitation after I say I am a journalist.

The staff at the Ledger-Enquirer are your neighbors. We eat at your favorite restaurants, go to church services, get stuck at the same traffic lights as you do. Through journalism, we want to make our community a better place, hold our government officials accountable and elevate the voices of our city.

We don’t aim to lean one way or another or make our city “look bad.” We depend on Muscogee residents to be our sources and help us find underreported stories. We want to elevate your voices, your stories.

And I’m here to publish thorough, solutions-based journalism. At this critical moment in history, we want to be around to tell you what’s going on.

Without the support of the Local News and Information Fund at the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley, Adrienne and I would not have the privilege of reporting in Columbus.

Thank you to the CFCV staff, and the staff at the Ledger-Enquirer for advocating for us to be here. We can’t wait to serve you in local journalism.

This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 7:00 AM.