Those without broadband struggle in a stay-at-home nation
While more people have been connected in recent years, tens of millions still lack access to high-speed internet because phone and cable companies hesitate to invest in far-flung rural areas.
Rural America watches pandemic erupt in cities as fear grows
Those living in rural America fear the spread of the disease to areas with scarce medical resources, the social isolation that comes when the only diner in town closes its doors and the economic free fall that's hitting hard in…
Watch 7:42
Local newsrooms across the country are closing. Here’s why that matters
Across the country, local newspapers are printing fewer pages, less frequently -- and sometimes collapsing entirely. Recent studies paint a grim picture of the decline in local newspapers and the impact it has on American politics. Jeffrey Brown reports and…
Watch 7:11
With emphasis on arts, rural communities challenge national narrative of decline
Americans have been drawn to rural areas in recent years partly due to the appeal of a higher quality of life. These regions have not traditionally been known as art hubs, but some residents say that trend is changing. Jeffrey…
The one-room schoolhouse may seem like a distant memory from U.S. history, but about 200 of them still exist today, including Wyoming’s tiny Valley Elementary School. It has only six students, but in Wyoming, education funding is redistributed so that…
Across rural America, a bandwidth gap separates communities like Weston from an increasingly digital world where high-speed internet has become a fundamental component of modern life, putting them at a disadvantage.
The financial problems — and wholesale shutdowns — affecting an escalating number of colleges and universities touch not only students, faculty and staff but also local economies, often in rural places where they are among the most important employers and…
Photographers Fred Baldwin and Wendy Watriss traveled and worked abroad for years before meeting in the late 1960s. As a couple, they decided to shift their professional focus to the U.S., and specifically to the rural south. Their imagery documents…
Although this year’s midterms sent several new women to Congress, two prominent female senators--Heidi Heitkamp and Claire McCaskill--are preparing to leave Washington after losing bruising reelection battles. Judy Woodruff sits down with both to discuss voters who feel forgotten, the…
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