US journalists seek to help colleagues affected by virus

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Journalists from around the U.S. are finding ways to help their colleagues simply pay rent or buy groceries as they face lost or reduced paychecks because of layoffs and furloughs caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Writers in Oklahoma can be paid stipends to continue chronicling the effects of COVID-19 on the state and their jobs when they take unpaid time off. Virginia journalists have collected money to donate to others working in their field. A group of current and former reporters and editors from New York to California are providing interest-free microloans to help others in their field make ends meet.