100 Days in Appalachia, a media organization based at West Virginia University, is looking for people from across Appalachia who are interested in talking to national news outlets about life in their community and the issues that are important to them.
This group is being brought together for the first time ahead of the 2020 election to help the rest of America better understand what is really happening in Appalachia.
The group will be known as the Appalachian Advisors Network, and the goal is to help national and international news outlets better understand Appalachian communities communities from the people who actually live in those communities. By their own admission, America’s major national news outlets did a terrible job of understanding and reporting on Appalachia and how the people here were feeling ahead of the 2016 election.
After the election, there was a lot of earnest remorse and promises to do better. But by and large, newsrooms on the east and west coast and overseas have done very little since 2016 to actually improve their reporting on Appalachia.
So, we’re going to help them.
We’re not looking for Mayors and CEOs and the kinds of people that journalists usually contact for comment.
We’re looking for workers, grandparents, students, volunteers – the people that don’t usually get a chance to shape media coverage of a community, but whose feelings and insights are an important representation of that community.
Participants will receive a small stipend.
By being a part of the Appalachian Advisory Network you’ll help make sure our national media doesn’t just cover this region with lazy stereotypes and assumptions.
You’ll be able to speak to reporters and tell them what’s really happening on your streets and in your communities, who you are and what you feel about your state and your country, and all those big questions that we aren’t always asked here.
Learn more or apply to be considered for participation in the Network by visiting: www.100daysinappalachia.com/2019/10/13/appalachian-advisors-network/. Please apply by December 10, 2019.
Written by Jake Lynch, Community Engagement Editor for 100 Days in Appalachia.
