Paging Bill Hanson: It's called Report for America ... in part, addressing that pesky bit about holding elected officials accountable.

Not trying to bug you or anything, Bill. Maybe you can leave the cheerleaders be, check out Report for America and imagine the possibilities?

The crisis in journalism has become a crisis for our democracy.

Our mission: To strengthen our communities and our democracy through local journalism that is truthful, fearless, fair and smart.

Local coverage has been decimated. Residents no longer get the information they need to understand the critical issues facing their community, to make good decisions for their family, and hold elected officials accountable.

We need a new model — one that calls an emerging generation of journalists to service, reporting in under-covered corners of America.

Think City Year, Teach for America or Code for America for journalists — a public service program we call Report for America. The initiative deploys outstanding emerging journalists into newsrooms around the country to report on under-covered topics and communities. The model draws on successes of national and community service movements, as well as recent innovations in local news. An initiative of the nonprofit media organization, The GroundTruth Project, it is structured to harness the skill and idealism of an emerging group of journalists plus the creative spirit of local news organizations. RFA is NOT government funded. Rather, its unique structure and funding formula will dramatically expand the base of donors supporting local journalism.