NPR and Member stations in Appalachia and the Mid-South have launched a collaboration aimed at strengthening local news coverage and bringing more stories from this region to the rest of the country. The new Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom is a collaboration between West Virginia Public Broadcasting, WPLN and WUOT in Tennessee, LPM, WEKU, WKMS and WKU Public Media in Kentucky.
Sign up today for the Porch Light newsletter and Text Rural to get the latest news from public media stations across the region.
-
The emergence of artificial intelligence is prompting changes in several industries, including journalism, as they contemplate how to utilize the new technology.
-
An atmosphere of fear and uncertainty has set in on campuses across Appalachia where at least a dozen faculty and staff at colleges and universities have lost their jobs after sharing negative opinions about the conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
-
Classical Host Laura Atkinson and Reporter Justin Hicks trace the American musical tradition of shape note singing from colonial America up to today in an emotional, and joyful sonic journey.
-
The Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom’s latest hire will lead audience strategy, ensuring our reporting is not only excellent but also accessible, engaging and trusted.
-
The CSX Santa Train recently made its 83rd annual voyage across parts of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia to greet thousands of people and deliver gifts to kids of all ages.
-
Eastern Kentucky is full of isolated, rural towns that have experienced decline alongside the coal industry. But some who want to stick around are trying to reverse that by revitalizing the region's downtown spaces.
-
President Donald Trump’s administration has promised financial relief for soybean farmers when the federal government reopens. The hardwood lumber industry, which has been struggling with impacts from Trump’s first term, wants to be included.
-
Kentucky utility regulators could approve a rate increase for Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities customers. They’ve approved new power plants to meet the electricity demands of data centers. Customers may not have known about the hidden cost they’re paying for two coal plants.
-
For thousands of years, pearls have been a prized gemstone used to craft jewelry and other adornments. But North America has just one freshwater pearl farm that cultivates the shiny objects, located at Kentucky Lake in western Tennessee.
-
Kentucky Public Radio analyzed quotes from the state’s health insurance marketplace and found premium increases ranging from 60% to 600% compared to 2025.