Support Our State College Bureau

A Novel Approach to Reinvigorating Local News

Sunsrise over State College, PA — Abby Drey / Centre Daily Times

Consistent with Spotlight PA’s member-funded, public-service mission, all of this high-quality journalism is distributed at no cost to our media partners — led by the Centre Daily Times — and to the public through spotlightpa.org.

Our team of journalists has the time, resources, and mandate to dig deep into the issues of the region. You can expect reporting on everything from the challenges facing rural communities to Penn State to local accountability issues like how our tax dollars are spent and how our towns are run. All of Spotlight PA’s reporting is conducted through an equity and accountability lens, examining issues that are causing harm and proposing solutions.

The team is employed by Spotlight PA and receives organizational support from the statewide newsroom, including management and editing — thus avoiding the significant start-up costs associated with launching a brand-new, nonprofit news outlet. The bureau publishes via Spotlight PA’s extensive distribution network, elevating issues of regional importance to a statewide audience, while also fostering mutual understanding among all Pennsylvanians.

Fundraising

We estimate this new bureau will cost approximately $500,000 a year to sustain at its proposed size, and its future will depend on local support from the community. You can support this special effort by clicking here, or to learn more about getting involved, please contact Spotlight PA Director of Individual and Corporate Giving Michelle Mertz at michelle@spotlightpa.org.

We’re so grateful to our founding individual donors for supporting this effort (see our State College bureau donor list below).

This expansion has also been made possible by a $1 million grant from the American Journalism Project, which is focused on enhancing Spotlight PA’s business and operations capacity to enable it to expand its journalism locally.

Team

Wyatt Massey

Investigative Reporter

Massey investigates how Penn State University operates, including its influence in the region and state. The university receives more than $300 million in funding from the state but evades most transparency measures under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law. Massey scrutinizes the main University Park campus as well as the university’s 19 additional branch campuses.

A native of rural Wisconsin, Massey previously covered faith and religion for the Chattanooga Times Free Press in Southeast Tennessee.

Marley Parish

Rural Affairs Reporter

Marley Parish is the rural affairs reporter of Spotlight PA’s State College regional bureau.

Before joining Spotlight PA, she covered the state Senate for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, reporting on education, health, and elections. Previously, Marley was a community reporter for the Centre Daily Times, covering education, local government, and community issues.

She has received statewide recognition for her coverage of the 2020 post-election review conducted by Senate Republicans and how the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade could affect statewide access to reproductive care.

Sarah Rafacz

State College Editor

Sarah Rafacz is the editor of Spotlight PA’s State College bureau. Before joining Spotlight PA to help launch its first regional bureau, she was the editor of State College Magazine. Prior to that, Rafacz was a reporter at the Centre Daily Times, covering Penn State, local government and development. Rafacz, a native of Centre County, has bachelor’s degrees in journalism and English from Penn State.

Min Xian

Local Accountability Reporter

Central and northern Pennsylvania is home to vast natural beauty, historic towns with changing economies, and a diverse mix of social-political values. Xian reports on how local governments are run and how public dollars are spent, with a focus on how public and private forces shape ordinary life in this region.

Before joining Spotlight PA, Xian covered local government and rural issues for the region’s NPR affiliate, WPSU. Originally from southern China, she has called State College home since 2013.

State College Bureau Donors

Spotlight PA's State College Bureau (Donations of $1,000 and above)

Tony Barbieri
R Thomas Berner
Mimi Barash Coppersmith
Vincent Crespi
John and Janet Dillon
Ronald Filippelli
David Gray
Sharon and Jeff Hyde
Richard and Sally Kalin
Laura and Peter Kemper
Donna Queeney and Nicholas Kerlin
The Lenfest Institute for Journalism
David Martens
John Nichols
Katie O'Toole
Nancy Chiswick and Arthur Patterson
Kathleen Pavelko
Mary Prunty
Report for America
Gary Schell
Susan F. and Ron Smith
Daniel and Linda Trevino

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