The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, which publishes The Maine Monitor, welcomed a cohort of six interns and fellows this month, including its first outreach fellow and a reporting intern with Monitor Local, The Monitor’s hyperlocal civic news initiative covering downeast and western Maine.
Abi Brissett is an Ida B. Wells reporting intern for The Monitor. Hailing from Virginia, Brissett earned a degree in political science and studio art from Davidson College, where she was editor-in-chief of Hobart Park, Davidson’s student-run literary magazine, and news editor for The Davidsonian, Davidson’s student newspaper.
John Forbes is a reporting fellow for The Monitor supported by the Scripps Howard Fund. Born and raised in Indiana, Forbes attended the University of North Texas, where he earned two bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political science. He previously worked as a reporting fellow at the Fort Worth Report, the news editor for his university’s student-led, editorially independent publication the North Texas Daily, a freelance reporter and photographer for his hometown paper the South Bend Tribune and as an intern in the U.S. Senate.
Kate Kaufman is a Fitzgerald Reporting Fellow at The Monitor. Originally from Utah, she is a rising senior at Harvard College, where she serves as co-editor-in-chief of The Harvard Crimson’s weekly narrative journalism magazine Fifteen Minutes and writes a column about the undergraduate experience as a Ledecky Fellow for Harvard Magazine. She is passionate about empathetic storytelling that embraces complexity, and is interested in writing about technology, scientific advancements, and mental illness in the digital age.
Megan Blonigen is a Fitzgerald Reporting Fellow at The Monitor and a rising junior at Harvard College. Blonigen is interested in translating complex policy issues and helping readers understand the direct impact of politics on their daily lives, and is especially passionate about government accountability and transparency. She covers university finances for The Harvard Crimson and previously served as a reporter, photographer and assistant editor at her hometown newspapers, The Paynesville Press and The Eden Valley-Watkins Voice.
Makayla Morello is a Maine Monitor Dirigo Intern for Monitor Local, The Monitor’s hyperlocal civic news initiative covering downeast and western Maine. Originally from Westbrook, she serves as editor-in-chief of The Free Press at the University of Southern Maine. Morello is passionate about investigative and public-interest journalism and approaches her reporting with nuance and curiosity. She has reported on topics ranging from emerging technology in higher education to local government and community issues across southern Maine.
Jacob Sher is a Fitzgerald Outreach Fellow. Hailing from Washington, D.C., Sher earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental and urban studies from the University of Chicago and is currently a student at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Master in Public Policy program. Sher’s background is in campaign finances, political communications and urban studies.
The Monitor’s internship and fellowship opportunities are made possible through philanthropic support. The Fitzgerald Fellowship is a program established by The Monitor in partnership with Harvard University and the Libra Foundation; Forbes’ fellowship is supported by the Scripps Howard Fund; Dirigo internships are made possible with generous support from William and Sally Zierden, and the Ida B. Wells internship is supported by the Ida B. Wells Society in collaboration with the Scripps Howard Fund and the Institute for Nonprofit News.
Associated Church Press recognition
Sean Scott, a Report for America corps member and The Maine Monitor’s religion, society and politics reporter, received recognition last month from the Associated Church Press.
Scott earned a second place accolade in the long format, local feature story category for his story on how, while the Southern Baptist Convention has faced declining membership nationally, its popularity in Maine has surged in recent years.
Southern Baptist churches in Maine saw their membership triple between 2010 and 2020, according to the Association of Religion Data Archives, from around 2,700 adherents to more than 8,100. Non-denominational evangelical Protestants also saw significant growth, jumping roughly 75 percent.
The growth, Scott reported, comes despite Maine’s status as one of the least religious states and the convention’s conservative stances on social issues, which cut against Maine’s laws on abortion, same-sex marriage and gender identity.
