H. Rose Schneider, who covers the Helderberg Hilltowns for The Altamont Enterprise, has been named a fellow for the 2018 John Jay Reporting Fellowship on Rural Justice.

“I became a journalist because I want to bring justice to people who are mistreated,” said Schneider, who is 23. She stressed, “You have to look at everything fairly.”

To that end, she earned a journalism degree at the University at Albany, and interned at the local daily newspaper and public radio station.

Just after graduating in 2016, Schneider started working as a reporter for The Enterprise. She covers the four rural towns on the western outskirts of Albany County, an area largely uncovered by other media.

Schneider is one of 28 journalists from across the United States who met in New York City the week of July 9 at the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice for intensive briefings and discussions with academics, policymakers and practitioners.

“This is our first conference for rural justice, looking at incarceration in middle America, covering the hidden jail crisis,” said Ricardo Martinez, office administrator for the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College. “The fellows are from all regions of the country, mostly from small media organizations.”

Over the next year, the John Jay center will help the fellows with research and support on reporting projects. Schneider will pursue a story on the need for adequate mental-health screening at the county jail and examine what processes and programs are available, how they work, and how they could be improved based on models elsewhere.

The piece will be published in The Enterprise and also posted on The Crime Report, which John Jay describes as “the nation’s only comprehensive news service covering the diverse challenges and issues of 21st century criminal justice in the U.S. and abroad.”

The fellows are provided with travel, accommodations, and related expenses to attend the conference. The program is made possible with a combined grant from the Ford and MacArthur foundations.