The Mountain Citizen of Inez, Ky., wins the 2025 Tom and Pat Gish Award for courage, integrity and tenacity in rural journalism
A scrappy little newspaper that has fought for more than 30 years for clean water and open government in its Appalachian county is the winner of the 2025 Tom and Pat Gish Award for courage, integrity and tenacity in rural journalism.
Reporter Bill Estep wins Al Smith Award for community journalism, recognizing 40 years of Appalachian stories
Bill Estep, who chronicled the stories of Appalachian Kentucky and its communities for more than 40 years, is the 2025 winner of the Al Smith Award for public service through community journalism by a Kentuckian.
Enterprise stories can help to improve news and features coverage
Journalists are often so focused on the daily demands of news coverage that they might not think they have time for enterprise reporting.
A commitment to updating websites with breaking news can lead to more traffic and help communities
IRJ Director Benjy Hamm speaks to the importance of web presence for rural journalism outlets in his Sustaining Rural Journalism column.
Nominations sought for the Tom and Pat Gish Award for courage, integrity and tenacity in rural journalism by April 15
Each year the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, publisher of The Rural Blog, presents the Tom and Pat Gish Award for courage, tenacity and integrity in rural journalism, named for the couple who exemplified those qualities as publishers of The Mountain Eagle in Whitesburg, Ky., for 52 years.
Al Cross to deliver 2024 Joe Creason Lecture at Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame Ceremony
Well-known journalist, Kentucky politics expert and University of Kentucky Professor Al Cross is scheduled to deliver the Joe Creason Lecture in Journalism at the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame ceremony, held by the UK School of Journalism and Media, at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, in the Gatton Student Center Grand Ballroom on the UK campus.
IRJ Director featured in "Editor & Publisher"
Benjy Hamm, the director of the UK Institute for Rural Journalism, was profiled alongside the UK School of Journalism and Media in the February 2024 edition of "Editor & Publisher."
Al Cross named 2023 KPA Most Valuable Member
The Kentucky Press Association has named UK School of Journalism and Media's Professor Al Cross as its Most Valuable Member of 2023.
Four CI faculty members selected for UK Engagement Academy
Four University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information faculty members were selected to participate in the inaugural Land-grant Engagement Academy, a two-day program through UK’s Land-Grant Engagement Office focused on building multi-disciplinary partnerships around community-level engagement work.