Rural N.C. publisher starts journalism nonprofit to cover issues in four poor counties, gets $495,000 grant

Les High (photo provided)

A rural North Carolina newspaper publisher has founded a nonprofit journalism organization that will begin reporting on regional issues this month, Teri Saylor reports for the National Newspaper Association. Les High publishes The News Reporter in Whiteville, a Pulitzer Prize-winning twice-weekly with a circulation of more than 8,100. The new nonprofit is called The Border Belt Center, and will begin publishing online as the Border Belt Independent.

"Using a $495,000 grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust over the next three years, High will build a team of journalists who will publish in-depth stories about issues facing Bladen, Columbus, Robeson and Scotland counties in southeastern North Carolina, one of the poorest areas in the state," Saylor reports. "On the Border Belt Independent’s website, High explains that the new organization will focus primarily on the challenges faced by rural North Carolina counties, such as education, poverty, health, mental health and issues that adversely affect individuals based on age, race and the economy."

The Border Belt (NNA map)

Saylor's article features an in-depth interview with High about the new initiative, how it came about, and how the Border Belt Indepdent will collaborate with other rural papers that cover the four-county area. High may be familiar to rural journalists as a frequent example in the studies of Penny Abernathy at the University of North Carolina. Read more here.