CPB has awarded a $1 million grant to Harvest Public Media to help the collaboration add three reporters at new partner stations.
Harvest Public Media, led by KCUR in Kansas City, Mo., will also add an audience editor to help partner stations with data analytics, strategies to accelerate audience growth, producing digital-first journalism and expanding their reporting’s reach, a news release said.
The new partner stations will be in the central U.S. and expand the collaboration’s footprint, Harvest Managing Editor Maria Altman told Current in an email. She said Harvest is beginning discussions with stations now that the grant has been approved.
The collaboration already includes KCUR; Iowa Public Radio; St. Louis Public Radio; KOSU in Oklahoma; Nebraska Public Media; WNIJ in DeKalb, Ill.; Illinois Public Media in Urbana; and 15 associate station partners. It focuses on covering agricultural and rural issues.
“Harvest’s collaborative reporting comes from the ground up and provides a richer, more nuanced picture across a wider region of rural areas than any other media outlet can provide,” said KCUR GM Sarah Morris in the release. “This grant will allow Harvest to grow its coverage footprint and to better serve audiences across the country.”
The grant is over three years and brings CPB’s discretionary support for regional journalism collaborations to more than $48 million since 2010, the release said.
“Agriculture and farming in rural America are the backbone of our country, driving our economy and contributing to our national security,” said CPB CEO Patricia Harrison in the release. “So many rural newsrooms are gone and it’s important for CPB to support the growth and reporting capacity of Harvest Public Media.”