Press’ McClendon a reporting fellow

The Riverdale Press’ own politics reporter Sachi McClendon was named to the class of the 2022 New York State Elections Reporting Fellowship recipients.

Prior to joining the Press this year, McClendon was a local reporter for The Big Bend Sentinel in Marfa, Texas, where he covered just about everything from art shows to city council meetings.

After graduating from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2019 with an M.S. in Journalism, McClendon worked as a freelancer covering criminal justice. His work has appeared in The Daily Beast, The Marshall Project, USA Today, The Arizona Republic and several other outlets. His investigation into the U.S. Marshals was runner-up in this year’s Harry Frank Guggenheim award for excellence in criminal justice.

The Center for Community Media, a CUNY journalism school programs, announced last week that McClendon is one of 30 recipients of the fellowship. Serving communities all over New York State, from Brooklyn to Westchester County and Queens to the Shawangunk Mountain Range, these fellows will each produce four in-depth articles or explainers on the 2022 federal midterm and statewide local elections.

The fellowships began March 22, and will continue through Election Day on Nov. 8, 2022. 

They serve Black, Latinx, Asian and immigrant communities, hailing from Haiti, Korea, China, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Russia. Their audiences are Jewish and Muslim, Caribbean and African, and more. 

Building on the incredible impact of the 2021 City Elections Reporting Fellows, who together produced 120 articles in nine different languages during the 2021 primary elections, this fellowship will deepen local election coverage and civic engagement among immigrants and people of color across New York State during a critical election year. 

It is made possible with support from The Charles H. Revson Foundation.