Who we are
On our own, we’re seven public media stations across three states and NPR. We’re Nashville Public Radio, WUOT at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, WKMS at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky, WKU Public Media at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY; WEKU at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, KY, Louisville Public Media, and West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
Together, we’re 50+ local journalists and editors who operate on the belief that public media is stronger when we work together. Our multi-platform storytelling informs the communities of our region; providing accessible information and in-depth coverage of important local and regional issues. Our reporting connects people living in rural areas and population centers and amplifies stories centered on people, to audiences across the region and across the nation.
“This is the work — bringing local journalism to the platforms people are already on, not waiting for them to come find us.”
Rachel Evans, NPR Chief Development Officer
Our Team
Managing Editor
rvanvelzer@lpm.org
Deputy Managing Editor
jboyle@wpln.org
Audience Editor
ahenderson@lpm.org
Project Manager
ciwu@lpm.org
Director of Development
kroselle@lpm.org
Video Journalist
jared.kunish@wku.edu
PURPOSE: The Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom is a collaboration among public media stations committed to producing and distributing high-quality local and regional news stories across Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia. We strive to be the essential newsroom for the Mid-South and Appalachia regions, areas frequently overlooked and marginalized in media and reporting.
MISSION: The Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom operates on the belief that public media is stronger when we work together. Multi-platform storytelling informs the communities of our region, providing accessible information and in-depth coverage of important local and regional issues. Our reporting connects people living in rural areas and population centers and amplifies stories centered on people, to audiences across the region and across the nation.
VISION: With increased capacity through collaboration, the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom is an essential leader in the local and regional media ecosystem, championing partnerships and innovations that connect people with the information they need to engage in civic life and create a narrative of our region that reflects our abundant landscapes, economies, and cultures.
For questions, story ideas, news tips or comments about our collaborative, please email us at info@appalachiamidsouthnews.org
NPR’s Collaborative Journalism Network
Every day, NPR and its Member stations are working together to tell the story of the whole country. The Collaborative Journalism Network creates collaborations among local stations, launches teams of journalists covering the same topics, and builds teams that cover a mix of skills. We can do more together than we can do on our own.
The Collaborative Journalism Network leverages our unique strengths as a network. The networks combine local reporting expertise and the “on-the-ground” reach of public media to share stories for rural and urban audiences, not simply about them. And at a time when confidence in journalism has reached a low, audiences rank public media as one of America’s most trusted sources.
By collaborating, NPR and Member stations can
- Expand coverage by hiring reporters in the regions that need them.
- Increase ambitious investigative reporting projects.
- Bring more local and regional stories by station reporters to NPR’s national programs.
- Enrich national programming with voices and perspectives from communities across America.
- Develop the next generation of local public media journalists.