Rural Newswire is launched; it's a 'new platform for finding and sharing rural stories that can be republished for free'

Image via Rural Newswire

To strengthen the national voice of rural journalism, Grist and the Center for Rural Strategies have launched the Rural Newswire, a clearinghouse for rural stories. The website, which opened today, was "created to help newsrooms that serve rural communities by providing a platform to both find and share stories that can be republished for free," reports Rachel Glickhouse of Grist. "Editors can use the Rural Newswire to source stories to syndicate and upload links to their own coverage. As part of this project, the Center for Rural Strategies and Grist are providing $100,000 in grants to report on rural America. The grants are open to both newsrooms and freelancers."

Center for Rural Strategies President Dee Davis, told Glickhouse, "As we saw rural reporting across the U.S. declining because of media consolidation, we organized a team of journalists and started The Daily Yonder, an online newsroom to fill the gaps. . . . But there is still plenty to do. We are committed to the sustained work of building new civic infrastructure and lasting relationships with rural publishers and audiences." Grist CEO Nikhil Swaminathan noted that climate change is first hitting rural areas and professions. She told Glickhouse, "Many times, they're also people who can be on the front line of the changes we need to take hold, from how rural electric cooperatives generate electricity for their members to regenerative agriculture practices that can cut down on carbon."

The Center for Rural Strategies and Grist are working with the Institute for Nonprofit News, home of the Rural News Network. Jonathan Kealing, INN's chief network officer, told Glickhouse, "Rural Newswire is yet another valuable investment in newsrooms serving remote populations across the country. It's an awesome resource for editors to share quality coverage with their audiences."