ECONOMIC HARDSHIP REPORTING PROJECT

The idea behind the Economic Hardship Reporting Project is clever yet very direct: let working class people tell their own stories and shed light on the everyday struggles of ordinary Americans and get them in major publications and platforms. In the fog of disinformation, false news and biased myths flourish, creating divisions where there should be bonds of solidarity. In response, EHRP tells a story that connects people across the class gradient.Through financial, professional and editorial support, we uplift journalists who might be ignored so that the stories of their experiences have impact. We publish work that comes from vulnerable communities that are not often heard in media outlets so that they can change narratives about inequality.In 2024, EHRP distributed over $100k to more than 60 independent journalists, photographers, documentarians, poets, and illustrators to shed light on the struggles and joys of working class Americans. Their work reached approximately 3 million people, appearing in outlets as varied as WNYC, Grist, The Nation, The Daily Beast, The Guardian, Mother Jones, Harpers, USAToday, Time Magazine, Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, and much more. These pieces featured rich and compelling stories, such as Julie Poole making the connection between poverty and self-storage in Slate; Alex Park reporting on What Kamala Harris Rhetoric About McDonalds Reveals About Democrats Shifting Views on Poverty" in TIME; or Anya Groner telling the story of how climate change is affecting immigrant farmers, in an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning podcast Nuoc: A Viet-Cajun Story on SeaChange. We also supported the photography behind Kia LaBeijas Peabody-award winning Blindspot, which we co-published along with WNYC. Another major photography project in 2024 was in partnership with Magnum Photography and Mother Jones, where we explored the paradox of the modern labor movement through striking images.EHRP itself was in the public eye in 2024 at a number of dynamic events, including the Brooklyn Public Librarys Night of Ideas, the U.S. Presidential Scholars 60th Anniversary, and a very special evening at Symphony Space, where we celebrated the life and legacy of our co-founder Barbara Ehrenreich with a sold-out event featuring actors reading some of her most memorable work.Meanwhile, EHRPs Working Sources database provides journalists with alternative sources from working class and other underrepresented communities, thereby diversifying the expert quote on subjects ranging from drug addiction to wage discrimination. Our free library includes individuals with both professional and lived experiences who ground stories in the realities of communities across the country. In 2024, EHRP was featured prominently on American Public Medias flagship show Marketplace on three different episodes.We also launched our inaugural NextGen Fellows in 2024. While mainstream media struggles to reach young people who get their news from TikTok and other online platforms, EHRP was well positioned to develop a partnership with online intellectual creators and reporters to effectively syndicate our pieces to a wider and younger audience. With the support of the Puffin Foundation, we named Caitlyn Clark and Meagan Day as our first Next Gen Fellows. Their videos have been viewed 580k times already.EHRP wanted to make recipes more inclusive as well. So in a 2024 article, EHRP partnered with Mark Bittman of the Bittman Project and Mother Jones. We created recipes for time-taxed people who cant necessarily afford expensive ingredients, particularly as grocery prices remain high. The recipes demonstrate how there can be joy in cooking with limited resources and with an eye towards earth and animal justice.A more timeless approach to messaging is embroidery, which has a long history of serving as a record of everything from politics to community to identity. EHRP worked with noted embroiderist Diana Weymar to produce a series of pieces featuring EHRP quotes on inequality. The pieces were featured twice in Hyperallergic as well as INTO ACTION 2024, a Chicago art exhibition and community festival that coincided with the Democratic National Convention, and the gallery Lingua Franca in New York City.Lastly, EHRP won many of the top awards in 2024, including a Peabody Award in the public service category for a film produced in partnership with USA Today and The Tennessean; the Eddie Prize from the Education Writers Association; a NY Press Club Award; best business and economics feature at the 2024 CCNow Journalism Awards; and two first prizes at the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) Annual Writing Awards competition. We were also a finalist for an Award from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Work we produced in 2024 won awards in 2025, including another Peabody for Blind Spot and a Murrow for Anya Groners radio piece TK.