CPB Awards Harvest Public Media $1 Million for Rural Journalism Expansion

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 6, 2025) -- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has awarded a $1 million grant to Harvest Public Media, a public media journalism collaboration covering agricultural and rural issues that gives insight into the lives of people in the Midwest, Great Plains, and farming communities throughout the country. The three-year grant will help the station collaboration expand from nine to 15 states, increasing its reach and daily coverage of rural issues.

"Agriculture and farming in rural America are the backbone of our country, driving our economy and contributing to our national security," said Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of CPB. "So many rural newsrooms are gone and it's important for CPB to support the growth and reporting capacity of Harvest Public Media."

The grant will enable Harvest Public Media, led by KCUR in Kansas City, to add three reporters at new partner stations in additional states in the central U.S. The collaborative will also hire an audience editor to work with partner stations on data analytics to create scalable strategies for accelerating audience growth and produce digital-first video and visual journalism to expand the reach and depth of Harvest reporting. Its digital features are currently carried in nearly every state, from national news sites to small community newspapers, by both non-profit and for-profit commercial news organizations.

"Harvest's collaborative reporting comes from the ground up and provides a richer, more nuanced picture across a wider region of rural areas than any other media outlet can provide," said Sarah Morris, general manager at KCUR. "This grant will allow Harvest to grow its coverage footprint and to better serve audiences across the country."

This grant brings CPB's total discretionary support for regional journalism collaborations to more than $48 million since 2010. That same year, Harvest Public Media was among the first collaborations launched with CPB funds, involving six partner stations providing reporting on food production and issues in small towns in the Midwest.

Today, the collaboration among KCUR, Illinois Public Media, WNIJ (Illinois), Iowa Public Radio, St. Louis Public Radio (Missouri), KOSU (Oklahoma), Nebraska Public Media, and 15 associate station partners covers topics ranging from rising food prices, the impact of changing weather on agriculture, health risks among farmers, food deserts, and rural life in the heartland of America.

About the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation authorized by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,500 locally managed and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. CPB is also the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television, and related online services. For more information, visit www.cpb.org and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and subscribe for email updates.

About KCUR
KCUR 89.3 first broadcast in 1957. A charter member of NPR, KCUR holds itself to the highest journalistic standards in service to the citizens of Kansas, Missouri, the broader Midwest, and the nation. Today, KCUR serves a diverse listenership of more than 1 million each month through a mix of local and national news, cultural programming, and educational content. KCUR is home to three regional collaboratives, including Harvest Public Media, the Kansas News Service, and the NPR Midwest Newsroom. KCUR is a service of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. For more information, visit kcur.org.