WASHINGTON — States Newsroom reporter Shalina Chatlani has been selected as a New York Times Local Investigations Fellow to examine Mississippi’s state health care system. The fellowship program is led by Dean Baquet, the former executive editor of The New York Times. It gives journalists the opportunity to produce signature investigative work focused on their state or region. Chatlani’s reporting will be published by The Times and States Newsroom.

“Shalina is a top-notch reporter, and we’re thrilled to see her talent and dedication recognized,” said Chris Fitzsimon, Director and Publisher of States Newsroom. “We look forward to reading the excellent investigative journalism she produces over the next year on her home state’s health care system.”

“There was so much talent out there and so many good ideas. These were hard choices. But this is a remarkable group of reporters. And their work will have an impact on their communities,” said Baquet in The Times’s announcement.

Chatlani, who was raised in Mississippi, will live in Jackson for the next year as part of her fellowship. Two other fellows will also be based in Mississippi, and are the first Times employees to be hired in the state. Additional fellows hail from Hawaii, Maine, Maryland and Wisconsin. All will report from the communities where they live.

Chatlani will return to States Newsroom at the conclusion of her fellowship.

About States Newsroom
States Newsroom is the nation’s leading network of state-based nonprofit news outlets with newsrooms in 32 states and content-sharing partnerships with other nonprofit news organizations in 8 additional states. States Newsroom is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by the generous contributions of readers and philanthropists and committed to supporting fact-based, non-partisan news to the public at no cost and ad-free.

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