Community Journalism: Courage and tenacity

American Journalism Review has an extensive piece on how the Times-Tribune in Corbin, Ky., won the Gish award given by Al Cross and the Instituted for Rural Journalism and Community Issues this past Friday:

Samantha Swindler, then the managing editor of the daily Times-Tribune in Corbin, Kentucky, had been spearheading an investigation of the local sheriff when a Kentucky state trooper came to her office and told her, "You really need to be careful." ...

Another day, her reporter on the story, Adam Sulfridge, received phone calls from three different law enforcement officers telling him to leave his house because of a credible death threat.

Both Swindler and Sulfridge bought pistols "because, quite frankly, I thought my reporting might get me killed," Swindler wrote in an article for Nieman Reports. She never had to use hers, but Sulfridge -- who lived and reported in the county seat, Williamsburg, in closer proximity to the sheriff -- had his pistol close at hand when two men drove to his house on a dead-end street. In her article, Swindler describes the driver as a "man we suspected as part of a group of drug dealers associated with the sheriff."

"That was the only time I actually had to pull my gun," Sulfridge recalls. The men drove away, and a week later the driver was arrested on federal drug charges.

But Swindler and Sulfridge didn't back down. They kept asking tough questions, the paper kept running stories, and in November the Whitley County sheriff, Lawrence Hodge, was indicted and arrested on 21 counts of evidence tampering and abuse of public trust.

Nominations sought for rural journalism award

The Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues recognizes exemplary rural journalists, providing examples for others to follow.

As part of that effort, the Institute presents an award in honor of Tom and Pat Gish who published The Mountain Eagle in Whitesburg, Ky., for more than 51 years.  Tom died in 2008; Pat has health issues but remains publisher, and their son Ben is editor. The Gishes have withstood advertiser boycotts, declining population, personal attacks and even the burning of their office to provide the citizens of Letcher County the kind of journalism often lacking in rural areas. They exemplify the courage, tenacity and integrity that is often  necessary to render public service in journalism, especially in rural communities. That’s why the award is named for them, and they were the first recipients of it, in 2005.

Nominators for the Tom and Pat Gish Award should send detailed letters to Director Al Cross at the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, explaining how their nominees show the kind of exemplary courage, tenacity and integrity that the Gishes demonstrated in their rigorous pursuit of rural journalism. Documentation does not have to accompany the nomination, but is helpful in choosing finalists, and additional documentation may be requested or required.


 Letters should be postmarked by Sept. 1 and mailed to: Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, 122 Grehan Journalism Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington KY 40506-0042. For more information, contact the Cross at 859-257-3744 or Al.Cross@uky.edu.

Rural Journalism loses a friend and champion

Many COMJIG members are familiar or involved with the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky, which is directed by active COMJIG member Al Cross. Earlier this week, Al sent us some bad news: Rudy Abramson, a nationally known journalist who helped start the IRJCI, died Feb. 13 from injuries suffered in a fall at his home in Reston, Va. Rudy was 70.

Rudy's professional chops are solid: He was a Washington reporter for the L.A. Times for three decades, his biography of American statesman Averell Harriman was critically acclaimed, and along with Jean Haskell he edited the very useful Encyclopedia of Appalachia. Most recently, he was working on a biography of Eastern Kentucky lawyer and author Harry Caudill, and he was active in efforts to prevent an amusement park from being built next to a Civil War battelfield.

For the IRJCI, Rudy was an enthusiastic champion of community journalism, particularly those editors in small towns who showed bravery, integrity, and tenacity in holding accountable the powers that be. Those who had the pleasure to hear Rudy's detailed and enthralling tales of brave community journalists at IRJCI functions will no doubt miss Rudy's storytelling skills.

A full obituary is currently on the front page of the IRJCI Web site, but I wanted to include here an excerpt of that obit, a quote from IRJCI co-founder Al Smith:

“Although he was always a big city reporter, Rudy never forgot his rural roots in northern Alabama,” said Al Smith, the Lexington journalist who co-founded the Institute with Abramson. “He was passionately concerned about environmental and economic problems in Appalachia. While writing stories about the region, he concluded that one major improvement might be to help local news folks do a better job covering the serious issues. That’s how we came up with the ideas for the Institute, which we sold to President Lee Todd at UK.”

I urge COMJIG members to keep our friends Al Cross, Al Smith, and others at the IRJCI in our thoughts as they mourn the loss of their friend, who was a true champion of community journalism.

A memorial service for Rudy will be held at the Freedom Forum's Newseum in Washington, D.C., at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26.