The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) has announced the launch of the website RuralNewsNetwork.org (RNN). 

RNN was initially launched in 2021 as INN’s first sustained editorial collaboration consortium. With funding from the Knight, MacArthur, and Walton Family foundations and general operating and series support from other funders, INN will expand its editorial collaborations across rural America. The newly launched website includes RNN’s collaborative series and daily stories pulled from INN’s participating newsrooms operating across 46 states—a subset of the more than 400 members of the INN Network. Together, the newsrooms aim to redefine current mainstream narratives of the lived experiences of the 46 million people who live in rural areas of the United States, a quarter of whom identify as people of color.

To date, the consortium has produced five collaborative series centering rural voices; hired a dedicated editor, Alana Rocha; invested $300,000 in local newsrooms; and facilitated republication of its series in more than 100 news outlets, including major national publications such as the New York Times. 

“It’s exciting to be able to bring larger newsrooms together with smaller ones who may have a great story but lack the resources to pursue it,” said Rocha. “Through our behind-the-scenes collaboration and now, with this website, more stories will get written and more people will understand the realities of life in rural America today.” 

(Photo credit: Getty Images/David De Lossy)