She has spoken with organizations like PEN America about collaborating with its PEN Across America initiative, which focuses on local news advocacy and media literacy.

Shoeleather’s purpose is to make it easy for editors at national news organizations to find reporters who are entrenched in communities and knowledgeable of, say, how agriculture price fluctuations affect residents surrounding Des Moines, or the effect 19th-century race riots might have on current voting legislation in North Carolina. A local reporter, Ms. Baird said, might be able to help an editor with a feature article or to collaborate on breaking news like hurricanes or shootings, rather than relying solely on staff reporters from out of town.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2017, about one in five news reporters in the United States worked in the metropolitan areas of New York, Los Angeles or Washington. (Many national news organizations do have staff reporters who live in different areas across the country, as well as freelance journalists in many regions whom they regularly rely on.)

The Shoeleather database follows the format of databases created to address the lack of representation in the media industry, including Writers of Color and Disabled Writers. Registering with Shoeleather is free. Journalists sign up using a Google form, noting their location and areas of coverage. Assigning editors can access the database at no cost, sorting reporters by state, city and coverage area and then getting their contact information.

Ms. Baird said she planned to connect with regional and national press clubs, as well as research hubs like the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute in Columbia, Mo., and the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues in Lexington, Ky. She will also attend journalism conferences to spread the word about Shoeleather.