Radically Rural Summit announces community journalism sessions

Radically Rural, a partnership between The Keene Sentinel of Keene, New Hampshire, and the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship, is staging its fifth summit on Sept. 21-22 in Keene, featuring a community journalism track aimed at innovative ways to cover justice and divided communities.

Terrence L. Williams, president and COO of The Sentinel, said this year’s program also features its annual “Crazy Good” session, which provides helpful tips on using tech, data and other tools to become better journalists.

“We hope each year to help journalists from small news operations manage a bit better the challenging tasks they face,” said Williams. “If there’s been a time when local news is more important, I’m not sure when that was. Our program this year seeks to assist reporters and editors perhaps better handle covering communities that are split over race, COVID, justice, politics and now abortion.”

Williams gave details on the sessions, which are being held in person and online:

Sept. 21 | 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Covering the Divide: An exploration of how news organizations can better serve communities that are split over politics, the pandemic, guns, policing, voting and more.

Moderator – Jim Iovino is Ogden Newspapers' Visiting Professor of Media Innovation at West Virginia University. He runs the Reed College of Media’s NewStart Newspaper Ownership Initiative, a program that focuses on recruiting, training and supporting the next generation of community newspaper owners and publishers.

Panelists – Tony Baranowski, manager, special projects, Cedar Rapids Gazette, Iowa; Sara Konrad Baranowski, editor, the Iowa Falls Times Citizen, Iowa; Peter Huoppi, director, multimedia, The Day, New London, Connecticut, and co-producer of the documentary, “Those People.”

Sept. 21 | 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Better Judgment: How innovative newsrooms are changing their coverage of cops, courts, climate and other intersections of justice to provide fairer, more equitable news reporting.

Moderator - Cierra Hinton, publisher, Scalawag. Hinton has an undying love and passion for the complicated South, which she brings to Scalawag where she oversees operations and planning. According to its mission, through journalism and storytelling, Scalawag works in solidarity with oppressed communities in the South to disrupt and shift the narratives that keep power and wealth in the hands of the few.

Panelists – Paul Cuno-Booth, freelance journalist and reporter on several alternative justice projects in New Hampshire, and Molly Born, West Virginia multimedia producer and educator, now documenting West Virginia’s history and future.

Sept. 22 | 2:00 p.m.  – 3:30 p.m.

Crazy Good – 50 ideas to make you a better journalist

Jeremy Caplan, director of teaching and learning at City University of New York Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Caplan teaches classes, workshops and webinars on entrepreneurial and digital journalism. He is a former Ford Fellow in Entrepreneurial Journalism at the Poynter Institute, a Wiegers Fellow at Columbia Business School, where he earned his MBA, and Knight-Bagehot Fellow at Columbia Journalism School, where he earned a master's degree in journalism.

In addition to community journalism, Radically Rural features six other tracks, all focused on making small communities more sustainable: arts and culture, lands and community, downtowns, clean energy, healthcare and entrepreneurship. For more information on the Radically Rural summit and to purchase tickets, visit the event’s website at www.radicallyrural.org or contact Williams at twilliams@keenesentinel.com.

A limited number of free tickets to attend online are available through a Knight Foundation sponsorship. Those interested should contact Williams.