N.C.’s Border Belt Independent Provides a New Approach to Rural Journalism

There are news stories that make headlines only after they survive never being told at all. 

Sometimes news outlets consciously avoid doing stories. But other times it’s a matter of being strapped for reporters and resources. Those gaps in coverage can be harder to fill in rural areas.

“I first want to apologize if Ms. Chardoudi was made to feel as if her mother’s story was old news. That was not our intention,” read the email in response to Bonnie Wathey’s story tip in August of last year.

Bonnie Wathey...