Kara Raudenbush for Open Campus
Collaborations
Editorial collaborations conducted through INN’s Rural News Network elevate important stories and connect geographically dispersed newsrooms to collectively tell their stories. Financial supporters play no role in the journalism. Find a complete list of funders here.
Falling Short
Rural nursing homes across the country, already understaffed, face significant new federal staffing requirements. With on-the-ground reporting and data analysis assistance from USA TODAY and Big Local News at Stanford University, seven newsrooms explore what the rule change would look like for residents in communities across America.
Rural Realities
People are growing more skeptical about the value of higher education. More rural residents are graduating from high school, but people in those communities remain less likely than their suburban and urban peers to continue their education. This five-part series explores how institutions and students are meeting their educational needs and the demands of today’s rural workforce.
Speaking Out
The nearly 14 million people of color who live in rural America face unique challenges that run the gamut — from navigating racism in real estate, environmental regulation and the justice system to gaining access to healthcare and broadband. This six-part series explores the issues these communities are facing and what some are doing to change their fates.
Breaking Point
Chronic health conditions and distance to medical services mean rural residents need more healthcare specialists and better telehealth. But they are less likely than urban areas to get it. In Hawaii, California, and North Carolina, communities look at ways to change that equation.
At the Crossroads
Seven INN members and three tribal outlets used audience engagement and a new model of editorial leadership to produce a series on the state of the economy in rural Indian Country, building relationships in tribal communities.
Tapped Out 2
The reporting in the first Tapped Out series led to $3 million in federal dollars to bring water to Gallup, California, and surrounding areas, as well as international attention to surface water transfer programs. INN member journalists documented what’s happened since – for better or for worse.
Tapped Out 1
Power, justice and water in the West
Eight INN member news organizations document serious concerns including contamination, excessive groundwater pumping and environmental inequity.
Lesson Plans
Rural schools grapple with COVID-19.
Nine INN member newsrooms worked together to tell the story of the unique struggles rural districts face as they educate students during the pandemic.