18 pages., via online journal., Findings in rural communities prompt authors to recommend a customized policy framework that is responsive to the diversity and uniqueness of local contexts in connectivity and digital inclusion.
6 pages., via website,Ryerson Review of Journalism., Between the hours of about 4 p.m. to midnight, Ashleigh Weeden goes dark. Not for the usual reasons, though. In Weeden’s southwestern Ontario town, the internet connection becomes—for all practical purposes—nonexistent during those hours. The PhD student at the University of Guelph lives in Ariss, Ontario, a “dispersed rural community” sandwiched between urban centres like Guelph and Kitchener. Despite paying about $250 monthly for internet access, she finds herself shut out of the internet. “…[S]ometimes [internet speed] goes one, maybe half a megabyte down,” she says. “I can’t grade, I can’t do anything, there’s no point, I might as well give up until about midnight.”
The award-winning editorial (two pages)is attached to this document. It is available online at https://www.farmprogress.com/farm-life/beware-rural-outrage-cycle., Via online issue. 2 pages., This editorial was written by the author of the winning entry in the Editorial Opinion category, 2019 AAEA communications contest.
Online from the New Yorker., Fibre-optic cables strung above a home in Jackson County, Kentucky, one of the poorest countries in the country. High-speed broadband has been used to bring internet-based jobs to the region.
Shors, Benjamin (author) and Jones, Lisa Waananen (author)
Format:
Research report
Publication Date:
2019
Published:
USA: Journalism and Media Production Department, Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 124 Document Number: D11227
Notes:
Via online. 10 pages., "In the context of post-secondary journalism education, we investigated whether community guidance and involvement can improve 'parachute' journalism to create meaningful coverage in rural areas." Findings offered strong evidence of benefits for student learning, as well as interest from regional news organizations in greater collaboration with student journalists and need for a complete and ongoing assessment of information needs of rural communities in the region during a time of rapidly changing technology and loss of local news resources.
8 pages., Online via Ryerson Review of Journalism website. Published on February 19, 2020., Tara de Ryk, owner and publisher of a rural Saskatchewan weekly newspaper, decided after 21 years to retire from the newspaper business. This article describes how community interest in local news and an adventuresome spirit prompted her to conduct a give-away contest in late 2019. Interested persons were invited to write an essay (500 words maximum) about how they would be ideal owner and publisher of the Davidson Leader. The article describes the contest and winning entry, which led to change in ownership.
