NJ PBS, New Jersey’s public television network, announced that its newsroom, NJ Spotlight News, has welcomed a new reporter to its team, Hannah Gross. Gross will contribute to the newsroom’s coverage, reporting directly to John McAlpin, Managing Editor of NJ Spotlight News. Gross will cover education and child welfare in New Jersey—from preschool through college—with an eye on equity and opportunity. Her position is supported in part by the Report for America national service program, with additional support provided through a grant from the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium. These organizations also currently support a NJ Spotlight News mental health reporter position.

“NJ Spotlight is grateful to Report for America for its ongoing support of our newsroom,” said John Mooney, founding editor of NJ Spotlight News. “The addition of a talented journalist like Hannah Gross to our team enables us to provide deeper coverage of local education and children’s issues than ever before. Her experience and insight will be an asset from which both we and the state will benefit.”

Previously, Gross reported for NBC10 Philadelphia and Telemundo 62, where she covered gun violence prevention efforts in Philadelphia, a chemical spill in the Delaware River and other local issues in English and Spanish. She has also held education reporting internships at the National Education Association and Forbes. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and Hispanic Studies.

Report for America is an independent national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. The program covers a portion of its selected journalists’ salaries and provides ongoing training and mentorship by leading journalists, peer networking, and memberships to select professional organizations.

The New Jersey Civic Information Consortium is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that funds initiatives to benefit the state’s civic life and meet the evolving information needs of New Jersey’s communities.

Major funding for NJ Spotlight News and the NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi newscast is provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the William Penn Foundation, PSEG Foundation, the Fund for New Jersey, The Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation, RWJBarnabas Health, NJM Insurance Group, New Jersey Education Association, Orsted, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ, New Jersey Realtors and Wyncote Foundation.