Ellen talks with Tim Marema, editor of The Daily Yonder, a digital news platform that provides news, information, and storytelling about rural America. Tim shares how the news ecosystem has changed since he started as a journalist 30 years ago and how it has become much more fragmented and nationalized as news deserts in rural areas increase and local journalism overall declines. Tim reflects on how the loss of local news impacts the way rural and urban communities see each other, what today’s news ecosystem does get right, and why a new model of nonprofit news organizations is bridging the information gap between rural and urban communities.

Episode Highlights:

03:25 Challenges in Rural Journalism

10:03 Evolution of Local News

23:42 The Role of Nonprofit News Organizations

More Information:
Tim Marema Bio, https://nationalpress.org/speaker/tim-marema/
The Daily Yonder, https://dailyyonder.com/

Questions, comments, want to get in touch? Email us at sidebyside@umn.edu or share your feedback by completing a quick survey: https://z.umn.edu/9wtp. We share your feedback with funders and stakeholders about the value of this podcast and how you engage with the insights and information.

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Ellen talks with Camden Blatchley, a data analyst with the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI). Camden discusses the complexities of defining rural and urban areas in the United States, and describes the differences between the two most commonly used definitions: one developed by the Census Bureau and the other by the Office of Management and Budget. Camden explains how these differing definitions can paint different images of rural America and reinforce narratives about rural and urban areas as a binary, when in reality they are a complex, diverse, interconnected continuum of geographies, people, and economic conditions. Camden also highlights his work on the Rural Aperture Project and the necessity for more accurate storytelling and policymaking that reflect the true state of interdependence of rural and urban areas.

Episode Highlights:

03:51 The Many Definitions of Rural

10:25 Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Rural America

15:42 Economic Realities and Misconceptions of Rural America

18:09 Rural-Urban Connections

More Information:
Camden Blatchly Bio

Center on Rural Innovation, https://ruralinnovation.us/

The Rural Aperture Project, https://ruralinnovation.us/resources/mapping-and-data-analytics/the-rural-aperture-project/

Defining Rural America, The Consequenes of How We Count, https://ruralinnovation.us/blog/defining-rural-america/

Who lives in rural America? How data shapes (and misshapes) conceptions of diversity in rural America, https://ruralinnovation.us/blog/who-lives-in-rural-america-part-i/

Who lives in rural America? The geography of rural race and ethnicity, https://ruralinnovation.us/blog/who-lives-in-rural-america-part-2/

The reclassification of rural counties and what it means for rural America, https://ruralinnovation.us/blog/the-reclassification-of-rural-counties-and-what-it-means-for-rural-america/

Questions, comments, want to get in touch? Email us at sidebyside@umn.edu or share your feedback by completing a quick survey: https://z.umn.edu/9wtp. We share your feedback with funders and stakeholders about the value of this podcast and how you engage with the insights and information.

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In the first episode of season 2, Ellen talks with David McCullough III, co-founder and CEO of the American Exchange Project (AEP). David discusses the origins and objectives of AEP, a program that sends high school graduates on week-long exchanges to different parts of the country. The program, inspired by international exchange initiatives after World War II, aims to foster cross-cultural understanding among rural, urban, and suburban students by building personal connections, which are key to overcoming prejudice, ignorance, and othering.

Episode Highlights:

02:54 How the American Exchange Project (AEP) Works: Activities and Experiences

12:11 The Impact of AEP on Students

22:37 The Historical Importance of Exchange Programs

More Information:
https://www.americanexchangeproject.org/

Questions, comments, want to get in touch? Email us at sidebyside@umn.edu or share your feedback by completing a quick survey: https://z.umn.edu/9wtp. We share your feedback with funders and stakeholders about the value of this podcast and how you engage with the insights and information.

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