Rural Health Webinar Series
This webinar is part of our 2026 Rural Health Webinar Series. Attend at least four of our five sessions, complete a brief knowledge check and earn an AHCJ Certification in Covering Rural Health for your resume. Learn more »
Access to accurate, varied rural data is key to accounting for, supporting, and enabling rural residents and their communities to thrive. It’s also crucial for journalists reporting on the health of people living in rural areas and the institutions serving them. At the same time, constraints and limitations in the collection and use of rural data can complicate those efforts. This webinar will focus on the current landscape of rural areas as it relates to health, healthcare and public health.
You’ll learn about the challenges in the collection and measurement of rural data, limitations related to geographic scope, and the administrative burdens associated with purchasing or accessing rural data. Lastly, you’ll learn where to find rural data and what to keep in mind when covering or reviewing this data. You’ll leave with a better understanding of the rural health story, how data supports that story, and how data challenges can be detrimental to supporting people and their communities.
September 2 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT
Katherine Reed
Director of education and content, AHCJ
Reed was a professor of practice in the Missouri School of Journalism for 17 years and an editor at the Columbia Missourian — the newsroom lab for students learning print and digital journalism — where she taught health and public safety reporting. She also designed and taught a course on covering trauma and a course for STEM field and journalism students on improving science communication.
Reed came to the school of journalism from Prague in the Czech Republic where she was the editor of Prague Business Journal and an instructor at the Center for Independent Journalism. She was a reporter and copy editor for several years and taught journalism before moving to the Czech Republic. She was a fellow of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma and is a longtime member of AHCJ. Reed has published on the teaching hospital model of journalism education, trauma reporting training and more responsible, ethical coverage of mass shootings.
Michael Meit, MPH
Director, East Tennessee State University Center for Rural Health and Research
Michael Meit, M.A., M.P.H., Director of the East Tennessee State University Center for Rural Health and Research, is a senior researcher with 25 years of project management and leadership experience. Housed within the ETSU College of Public Health, the Center for Rural Health and Research works with partners from across sectors and disciplines to improve health and well-being in East Tennessee, Central Appalachia, and nationally.
Center initiatives focus on the root causes of health disparities, with an emphasis on intergenerational poverty, public health interventions, and geographic inequities, among others. Meit is responsible for oversight and management of center activities, including staffing, strategic direction, and direct project management. Meit also maintains a role with NORC as a Senior Fellow, leading select NORC research initiatives and creating synergies between ETSU and NORC activities