Rural Reporting Project

Student journalists from Washington State University hit the road! The Journalism & Media Production Department's rural journalism education project connects student journalists with rural communities in the region.

Select Student Work

Rural Reporting Plunge 2018

Twelve teams of four students visited different small towns on overnight reporting trips to learn about the communities and talk with residents about story ideas.

Rural Reporting Plunge 2019

Teams of student journalists traveled the first weekend of October to learn about small businesses, traditions and community leaders in our region.

Election Day 2020

Journalism students went out to visually document the 2020 Election Day on the Palouse.

One-Man Newsroom

Greg Wherry of The Cottonwood Chronicle showed students how he keeps the press running. This video produced during the 2019 Rural Reporting Plunge won a national award.

D-Day Veteran Joe Meiners

Students met World War II veteran Joe Meiners in Nezperce during the Rural Reporting Plunge. They visited again, and The Spokesman-Review published the story for the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

Nez Perce Culture Day

A team of student journalists attended the Annual Nez Perce Culture Day. They published four feature stories and a photo essay in an issue of The Daily Evergreen, the independent student newspaper.

From Puerto Rico to Ellensburg

Students who traveled to Puerto Rico for the annual Backpack Journalism trip reported on an animal rescue and followed up with one dog, Sage, at her new home in Ellensburg. The story was broadcast on KHQ.

Steelhead Season in Riggins

After a conflict jeopardized the steelhead season, students spoke to residents about how the town depends on the river.

Wildfire Effects in Yakima

Students visited central Washington to see how recent wildfires are affecting the region's vineyards and agricultural economy.

Richland's Atomic History

Students visited Hanford Site for the 75th anniversary to explore the local pride and lasting atomic legacy.

Boxing in Wallace

A pair of students traveled to Wallace in the Silver Valley in north Idaho to cover a boxing tournament, and produced a short documentary about one competitor.

What We Learned

Read the full report summarizing the 2018-19 project process, lessons and recommendations.

We investigated whether community guidance and involvement can improve “parachute” journalism to create meaningful coverage in rural areas. We worked with local libraries in rural communities surrounding our university to build story ideas, then sent teams of students to conduct interviews and produce multimedia content during a 48-hour event in October and subsequent small-group trips throughout the academic year. The project involved more than 60 students traveling to 26 communities they likely would not have otherwise visited.

When & Where

During the 2018-19 academic year, more than 60 students traveled to 26 communities they likely otherwise wouldn't have visited.

Team of four student journalists visited 12 small towns for the Rural Reporting Plunge. We looked for locations between 30 and 100 miles from Pullman, with 100 to 3,000 residents and a public library, and at least 25 miles from the closest city of 10,000 people or more. Students made reporting trips to other locations throughout the rest of the year.

Rural Journalism Education

The Journalism & Media Production Department is preparing students to report on rural issues in an informed, ethical and collaborative way.

This project involves students with extensive professional journalism experience and those who are just starting out. It is not tied to a particular class, and all communication students are welcome to participate. Students conduct interviews, shoot photos and video footage, and meet informally with community members.

Stories from this project have been published with media partners including Northwest Public Broadcasting, The Spokesman-Review and KHQ.

About This Project

The Journalism and Media Production Department at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication launched the Rural Reporting Project in partnership with Northwest Public Broadcasting. The project involves experimentation with community-guided rural reporting and the potential to improve rural news coverage and immersive student learning.

During the 2018-19 academic year, this project was administered by the Online News Association with support from Excellence and Ethics in Journalism Foundation, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, Knight Foundation, the Democracy Fund, Rita Allen Foundation and the Scripps Howard Foundation. The 2019 Rural Reporting Plunge is supported by a grant from the from the Samuel H. and Patricia W. Smith Teaching and Learning Endowment at Washington State University. The 2022 Rural Reporting Plunge is supported by a grant from the Solutions Journalism Network.

Send project inquiries to Prof. Lisa Waananen Jones at lisalynn@wsu.edu.

Header photos by Claire Martin-Tellis, Carmen Jaramillo and Zana Crites; photos of students by Cheryl Aarnio, Jasmine Brown, Claire Martin-Tellis and Yasmeen Wafai