When Jalen Scott was invited to become an inaugural Rural News Service intern with WFSU, he didn’t just step into a new role — he stepped into a mission.
Since fall 2025, Scott has played a pioneering role in expanding coverage of Florida’s often overlooked rural counties as part of an eight-person news team.
The Rural News Service (RNS) is a collaborative partnership between Press Forward North Florida, WFSU Public Media and Florida State University, WTXL, and Florida A&M University’s School of Journalism & Graphic Communication (FAMU SJGC).
RNS was created to address longstanding information gaps by supporting rural news organizations and amplifying community-centered reporting.
“Covering these rural areas exposes you to the towns and counties that are often overlooked but are an integral part of our state of Florida,” said the Tampa native, reflecting on the importance of the initiative.
While covering diverse counties, some with populations under 2,000, Scott has quickly learned that rural residents rely heavily on local news. He explained that although decisions are made in larger cities like Florida’s capital of Tallahassee, people often forget how policies and legislation affect citizens with limited access and resources.
“The number one thing I’ve learned while working with this internship is to not look at my work as just ‘I have to go tell this story.’ Instead, my mentors have taught me that my work is an extension of the community,” Scott said. “You are the middle ground between the viewer, listener or reader and the information you are reporting.”
The RNS internship also gives Scott an opportunity to pursue his passion. He has the flexibility to leverage all forms of media to tell his stories.
“It has opened my eyes to the possibilities of my career,” he said.
He says it was FAMU SJGC that prepared him for that flexibility.
“The beauty of SJGC, especially working with student media, is that you learn how to do it all. Because of all the things we have learned, I am able to make myself as useful as possible in newsrooms,” he said.
No matter the project or platform, Scott says he has always dedicated his work as a student journalist to shining a light on the people behind the story. He has developed a unique interviewing style to connect audiences to his story subjects, and as a result, he was named an Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) Awards finalist for “Best Sports Interview” in 2024, early in his career development journey.
Jalen Scott has become a known voice across campus and local airwaves. He is pictured here broadcasting from 90.5 studios along with fellow student Janelle Sears.
Like the paths he is paving as an RNS intern, his first three years as a FAMU student have resulted in a résumé filled with leadership roles in storytelling, including sports director for WANM-FM 90.5 (the “Best College/University Station for 2024-2025” according to IBS) and serving as a host of the “Word Around Campus” show. He’s also served as a FAMU Strike Forward Career Exploration Experience intern, where he wrote and produced the 90.5 podcast “Mind Your Business,” a documentary-style show highlighting local businesses in the Tallahassee area.
This summer, he is poised to add to his experience with a soon-to-be-announced prestigious Emma Bowen Foundation fellowship that will connect him to leading media and entertainment companies, shaping his future as a professional. His first opportunity includes more local journalism, an internship with Hearst Network and WESH in Winter Park.
Long term, he dreams of producing sports documentaries in the style of ESPN’s “30 for 30” — blending his love of sports with his passion for human-centered storytelling.
He says his approach to sports storytelling will be inspired by his training in local media: “less about the Xs and Os and more about the players and their storylines.”
Jalen Scott's interviewing and storytelling skills have positioned him as a leader among student journalists, including providing training and coaching to others.
For now, he remains committed to the communities he is serving and the stories that shape them, while also encouraging his generation to see the value in supporting and engaging with community-based news in an age where AI and social media have become so heavily relied on for information.
“Local news fills the gaps that social media and AI can’t. It brings forward the human aspect of storytelling,” Scott said. “For students looking for a trusted source, free of opinion, local news tells stories that are strictly facts and strictly from our community.”
About Local News Day
Local News Day is a national day of action connecting communities with trusted local news. Our mission is simple: reconnect people to trusted local journalists and their outlets, empower newsrooms and their storytellers to grow, and spark a national movement that sustains local news for generations. Learn more at https://localnewsday.org. Follow and engage with more stories on social media using #LocalNewsDay #SJGCisLocal.
