Independent websites team up to boost rural journalism
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By DAVID BAUDER
AP Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Several independent websites are joining forces to create a network for news about rural America, hoping to fill a void in areas hit hard by the shrinking media industry of the past two decades. The Rural News Network is being put together by the Institute for Nonprofit News, which counts some 60 of its members with a concentration in this coverage area. The hope is that working together can create wider-ranging, more impactful journalism. The network is getting started early next year with two projects. One is on the economic problems of indigenous communities. The other project will look at equity issues surrounding the water supply, mostly in the western U.S.