The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has awarded a grant providing three years of additional funding to the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, a journalism collaboration spanning public radio and television across Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Participating stations in the Louisville Public Media-led collaboration include WKU Public Radio (Bowling Green, KY), WEKU (Richmond, KY), WKMS (Murray, KY), WPLN Nashville Public Radio, WUOT (Knoxville, TN), and West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Each partner station contributes the equivalent of one reporter’s time toward regional coverage.
CPB’s $649,703 grant will support a video journalist, a project manager, and four shared editorial roles to expand the collaborative’s reach and efficiency.
The grant is part of CPB’s ongoing investment in public media journalism collaborations, totaling nearly $50 million over the past 15 years. These initiatives focus on delivering regional news that reflects the unique challenges and concerns of rural America, including issues related to agriculture, military life, and emergency response.
CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison noted, “Local journalism is essential to the civic health of America’s communities. In addition to providing fact-based reporting and emergency information, public media stations respond to the information needs of the communities they serve, reflecting and respecting local voices and perspectives, including stories of civic pride and engagement. These stations are committed to working together with the communities they serve, and they have already started.”
Louisville Public Media Co-Interim CEO Ellen Oost said, “We’re thrilled to have CPB’s support to extend shared services and capabilities that will make our journalism more impactful and sustainable. This collaboration allows us to coordinate journalism resources to strengthen local news across our region, which covers a swath of rural America as well as population centers – each with a distinct culture and common concerns.”
West Virginia Public Broadcasting Executive Director Eddie Isom added, “West Virginia Public Broadcasting can only strengthen our storytelling by working with other stations in greater Appalachia. We see this collaboration as a positive step in working together to tell the important stories that are happening in an often overlooked region.”
