The Institute's Mission
The Institute’s focus is to help sustain journalism in rural communities, through information, expertise, training, outreach and other programs.
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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.
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