Teri Finneman is an associate professor of journalism at the University of Kansas, USA. She is a journalism historian who also studies local news. She coedited Social Justice, Activism and Diversity in U.S. Media History. She is the founder of the Journalism History podcast.

Nick Mathews is an assistant professor at the School of Journalism, University of Missouri, USA. He studies local and rural news and information ecosystems. He often seeks to represent the audience, translating their lived experiences for news organizations to help those news organization's stability and viability in their communities.

Patrick Ferrucci is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Journalism at the University of Colorado, USA. His research is in media sociology and primarily concerns itself with how shifting notions of "organization" in journalism lead to influence on journalism practice. He is the author of Making Nonprofit News: Market Models, Influence and Journalism Practice, and coeditor of The Institutions Changing Journalism: Barbarians Inside the Gates.

Acknowledgements

1. Introduction. Rural Journalism in Crisis

Patrick Ferrucci and Teri Finneman

The History of How We Got Here

The Norms of Journalism

An International Problem

Project Overview

References

2. The Uniqueness of Rural News

Patrick Ferrucci

Defining Rural News

Disruption of Local News

Understanding the Rural News Weekly

Disruptive Innovation

The Urgency of a New Model

References

3. Publishers: Stuck in the Status Quo

Nick Mathews

The Survey

Tradition vs. Innovation

Resources vs. Growth

Potential vs. Perception

Summary

Acknowledgement

4. Readers: Seeking Change

Teri Finneman

Finding Rural Readers

Readers and Revenue Streams

Reader Motivation for Financial Support

Who Supports Local News?

Summary

References

5. Press Club: Implementing Change

Teri Finneman and Nick Mathews

Who is Harvey County Now?

Getting Started: Forming the Experiment

The Model: Press Club

After the Launch

The Model: E-newsletters

The Model: Events

Reflecting on the Experiment

6. Rural Journalism and Disruption

Nick Mathews and Patrick Ferrucci

Rural Journalism and Disruption

The Final Words

References

Index