RFA Field Network — National Correspondent Program
If You Watch Your City,
Submit to the Wire.
A national network of community monitors, scanner operators, dash cam documentarians, and citizen journalists. Every city has someone paying attention. RFA is the wire that connects them.
Where this comes from. In Manteca, California, a community monitor named Joe Snow built something that TV networks couldn't: real-time eyes and ears on everything local dispatch, federal operations, and city government were doing — distributed to his community through a Facebook group and a GMRS radio network. CBS Sacramento uses his footage. The Mayor endorses him by name. He added FBI, DEA, and ICE channels when federal activity escalated in his neighborhood. That model scales. Every city should have a Joe Snow. RFA is building the infrastructure to connect them.
What the Network Looks Like
Scanner Operators
You monitor local PD, fire, county sheriff, CHP, federal agency channels. You know your city's radio landscape. You catch things the press misses.
Dash Cam Documentarians
You record what's happening on the street — traffic incidents, law enforcement activity, public demonstrations, federal operations in your community.
Court Watchers
You pull PACER filings, sit in on hearings, track local dockets. You know when something important is moving through the courts that nobody's covering.
FOIA Practitioners
You file public records requests and know how to read a response. You have documents. You want them to matter.
Community Sources
You're embedded in your city. You hear about things before they become news. You have sources in local government, law enforcement, or community organizations.
Federal Monitors
You track ICE operations, FBI field activity, DEA raids, or federal enforcement patterns in your region. You know when the federal footprint in your community changes.
How It Works
Apply
Tell us what city you cover, what you monitor, and what tools you use. Applications are reviewed by RFA editors. We'll follow up within a few days.
Get approved and receive your submission token
Approved correspondents receive a secure authentication token. This is how your submissions are identified and credited. Tokens can be revoked and regenerated at any time.
Submit to the wire
Push reports directly to the RFA wire queue via a simple API endpoint or the web form. Include your headline, summary, location, source type, and any supporting material. Your submission goes immediately into editorial review.
RFA editors review, verify, and publish
Every field submission goes through the same editorial gate as RFA originals. If it needs verification, we'll contact you through your preferred secure channel. If it's ready, it publishes to the wire with your byline: [Handle] / [City], [State].
Your work feeds investigations
Field submissions that point to systemic issues get escalated to the RFA investigation pipeline — full FOIA requests, document review, source development. Your scanner intercept could become a months-long investigation.
Ready to Apply?
The application takes about five minutes. You don't need credentials, a press pass, or journalism training. You need eyes on your city and a willingness to document what you see.
Apply to the Field Network →Have something right now? Don't wait. tips@radiofreeamerica.press · Signal available on request via our about page.
Source Protection. Your legal name is never published without your explicit consent. We support Signal for all correspondent communications. Submission tokens are one-way — they identify your submissions without exposing your identity to any third party. RFA does not share correspondent information with any government agency, law enforcement entity, or third party under any circumstances. If we receive a legal demand for correspondent records, we will notify you before complying to the fullest extent the law allows.
No pay-to-play. The Field Network is not a wire service you subscribe to. There is no fee to apply or participate. Correspondents are credited, not compensated — RFA is an independent outlet and does not currently pay contributors. If that changes, existing contributors are first in line.
Editorial independence. Acceptance into the Field Network does not guarantee publication. Every submission is independently reviewed. RFA editors make final publication decisions without input from contributors, advertisers, or any outside party.
No pay-to-play. The Field Network is not a wire service you subscribe to. There is no fee to apply or participate. Correspondents are credited, not compensated — RFA is an independent outlet and does not currently pay contributors. If that changes, existing contributors are first in line.
Editorial independence. Acceptance into the Field Network does not guarantee publication. Every submission is independently reviewed. RFA editors make final publication decisions without input from contributors, advertisers, or any outside party.