Past Event

Media Coverage of Urban and Rural Communities & Sustaining Positive Momentum

How has coverage of urban and rural communities in Illinois by regional and national media influenced those communities’ self-images and reputations?

Once a community begins to overcome the effects of detrimental publicity and its self-perception begins to improve, how can the positive momentum be sustained?

The Country and the City: Common Ground in the Prairie State? logo

Coverage of urban and rural communities by regional and national media outlets can affect those communities’ self-images and reputations in a variety of ways. In some instances, such publicity reinforces or accelerates existing trends within a community, whether for better or for worse. In other cases, it yields unexpected results and changes a community’s trajectory. Panelists representing several rural and urban Illinois communities will discuss the local repercussions of regional and national media coverage. They will also address the question of how positive momentum can be sustained in a community once it has started to overcome the effects of detrimental publicity and improve its self-perception.

The panelists will draw upon their own experiences as well as the brief texts shown below. Members of the audience will have opportunities to participate in the conversation, as well.

(The rural counterpart to this event, which will address the evolution of local media landscapes within rural and urban communities, will take place at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in Du Quoin on May 30.)

Doors open and refreshments available: 5:30 PM

About The Country and the City

This event is part of The Country and the City: Common Ground in the Prairie State?, a year-long, statewide initiative that features text-based discussions of issues that affect both rural and urban Illinois communities, involving panelists who are well-versed in those issues from both perspectives.

For more information, please contact Matt Meacham at matt.meacham@ilhumanities.org or (618) 468-5580.