Community Solutions Journalism will be a featured topic of Radically Rural, which is a national two-day summit focused on issues and opportunities in small cities and towns.

This year, Radically Rural opens Sept. 19 and is expected to attract 800 people from the Monadnock Region, the Northeast and throughout the country.

The Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship and The Keene Sentinel, a member of Granite State News Collaborative, partnered to present Radically Rural, which provides a uniquely rural point-of-view for community building, news coverage, entrepreneurship and economic development. Radically Rural includes program tracks on entrepreneurship, arts and culture, community journalism, Main Streets and downtowns, working lands and renewable energy.

Leah Todd, regional manager of the Solutions Journalism Network in New England, will present a session called “Solutions Journalism – Helping Communities Take Next Steps.”

The session will feature Todd and Amy Maestas, the digital editor at the Salt Lake Tribune, and explores how news consumers can come away from the experience feeling depressed, disengaged, powerless, and hopeless. Solutions journalism envisions a more productive experience, one that builds engagement, trust and a renewed hope in democracy, by reporting rigorously on the responses to social problems — in addition to the problems themselves. Participants will discover how this is being done in rural places, the training behind it and the encouraging results from this disruptive approach.

The summit builds upon impressive success from last fall’s first Radically Rural summit. Some 500 engaged, locally focused attendees from 21 states gathered and shared the advantages and opportunities of rural living.

 “Last year’s event exceeded all expectations in attendance and the quality of programs. More is planned this year, and we are delighted with our slate of speakers and panelists,” said Terrence Williams, president and chief operating officer at The Keene Sentinel.

To learn more about Radically Rural, visit https://radicallyrural.org/