Feature article lauds Institute for Rural Journalism

Al Cross speaks to Latin American journalists visiting Bardstown,
Kentucky, in 2019. (Photo by Forrest Berkshire, Kentucky Standard)

A new feature article from the University of Kentucky provides a lovely retrospective on, and overview of, the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues.

UK co-founded IRJCI in 2004 with Al Smith, longtime friend and mentor of political reporter Al Cross who became director and started The Rural Blog shortly thereafter. "Hampered by socioeconomic conditions and population decline, local newspapers in Central Appalachia had been weakened," Akhira Umar reports for UKNow. "Cross saw the need for reliable journalism that provided leadership on local issues. Shortly after its inception, Cross broadened the reach of The Rural Blog to rural journalists across the nation, who were feeling the same pressures as those in Eastern Kentucky."

"I can’t overstate the value of the IRJCI and the impact it has on rural newspapers and rural journalists,” Kentucky Press Association President Sharon Burton told Umar. Burton, of Columbia, Kentucky, is the publisher of the Adair County Community Voice and The Farmer’s Pride, a statewide agricultural newspaper. "I’ve attended seminars; I’ve picked up the phone because I needed sound advice from a trusted friend; I’ve learned of news topics of interest to my community — all through the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues. When rural journalists are invited to the table, it reminds us that what we do is just as important as providing national or state news coverage."

The story also highlights IRJCI's other publications. Kentucky Health News, launched in 2011 with funding from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, "has been an invaluable source of information to the entire state throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. This publication focuses on health issues in a state that is one of the nation’s least healthy," Umar reports.

In 2008 Cross began the Midway Messenger, a mostly online newsroom for nearby Midway, Kentucky, run entirely by journalism students. "It’s hard to overstate the importance of The Midway Messenger to our community,” Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift told Umar. "While we get good coverage from The Woodford Sun, The Midway Messenger has become our paper of record. I can tell anecdotally that more people in Midway are getting their local news from the Messenger than from the Sun."

"Having led the IRJCI from its inception, Cross has ensured a solid foundation for the benefit of rural communities across the nation and for a healthier Kentucky," Umar writes. "Although he does plan to reduce his numerous responsibilities in his phased retirement starting in the 2021-2022 academic year, his effect on rural journalism through the IRJCI will be his legacy."