Reporting on Rural Schools virtual discussion
The Rural Assembly and Daily Yonder hosted a livestream discussion about rural education coverage. Reporting on Rural Education features Nick Fouriezos, the only rural higher education reporter in the country, and Alan Richard, news manager for the Southern Regional Education Board and former education reporter.
Students in rural America often face higher barriers when it comes to support, access, and quality of education. But not all rural schools are a “tragedy,” either. Far from it. Join Nick Fouriezos, the only rural higher education reporter in the country, and Alan Richard, news manager for the Southern Regional Education Board and former education reporter, to explore why rural education is a beat no one seems to be covering exclusively these days. We’ll also talk about the influence of school boards recently, the crucial nature of internet access, and more
About our guests
Alan Richard
Alan Richard works with the news media to bring more attention to critical education issues in SREB states. Previously a national writer for Education Week, he also covered education for newspapers in his native South Carolina. The winner of multiple National Awards for Education Reporting from the Education Writers Association, more recently he was an independent writer and advisor to nonprofit organizations. He also served as SREB’s director of communications from 2006 to 2011—and is thrilled to be back at SREB. He lives in Atlanta.
Nick Fouriezos
Nick Fouriezos covers the role of colleges in rural America.Nick is an experienced enterprise and investigative reporter with bylines in The New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, and Atlanta Journal-Constitution, among others. As OZY Magazine’s Washington correspondent for six years, he wrote stories from six continents and covered two presidential elections. In 2017, he created and led “States of the Nation,” a year-long reporting project where he spent a week each in all 50 U.S. states to spotlight under-covered communities and reintroduce people to their neighbors.
About the Rural Journalism Collective
The Rural Journalism Collective developed from a breakout session during the Rural Assembly’s Rural Women Everywhere event in October 2021. The session, Women Working in Rural Journalism, was a featured panel that highlighted and gave a platform to women in the industry. As a result of conversations that happened during this breakout panel, the Rural Assembly & Daily Yonder are partnering to bring you the Rural Journalism Collective.
We are inviting everyone working in, or even simply interested in, rural journalism to join and encourage you to be a part of this community we’re building, regardless of gender identity, race, or background. We want you to become a part of a community where we can network, share ideas, and uplift each others’ work.
We look forward to connecting & working with you!
