Indiana News Service: New Programming Fills Gaps in Rural Areas

Indiana radio stations and online media will have free access to high quality, public interest news with today's launch of an early morning, state-level newscast - Indiana News Now! - plus additional updates throughout the day. The new program from Public News Service, a national network of news producers, is part of a larger effort in Indiana (and beyond) to bolster independent reporting at a time of alarming declines in state and local media coverage.

The Indiana enterprise is spearheaded by two veteran journalists from the Hoosier State with decades of experience in radio, television and print journalism, Terri Dee and Joey Graham.

"Our goal is that Indiana News Now! will leave you better informed and connected to what happens in your community," said Terri Dee, the co-leader of the Indiana News Service, launched in 2011 by Public News Service.

This coverage is offered at no cost to Indiana radio stations and online media through the Indiana Local News Initiative. The Initiative, organized by the American Journalism Project, and announced last month, is dedicated to expanding the local news ecosystem to ensure everyone in Indiana has access to the news they need.

"I take my role as a storyteller quite seriously, especially when it involves my home state of Indiana," said INS co-leader Joey Graham. "I believe the most important component in successfully sharing any story is listening."

Indiana News Service is part of Public News Service (PNS), a national network of news producers working in more than three dozen states. PNS founder Lark Corbeil got her start in television at what became Thomson Reuters, and she's no novice at innovation.

"It's a tough time for both the public to get trustworthy information, and for the news industry as it reinvents itself," Corbeil said. "The growing pains can be quite painful. State-level reporting is one of the gaps we seek to fill, helping to make more quality content and often marginalized voices easily accessible to outlets, particularly those hard hit in rural areas."

Funding from Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation allows Indiana News Service to expand its news coverage - already free of charge - and partner with other outlets to increase the availability of public-interest broadcast news, and to help partners' content reach more diverse audiences across Indiana and beyond.

Indiana News Service is unique, in that it exists primarily to serve other newsrooms, not compete for audience share. Current Indiana Local News Initiative partners include Capital B, launching a newsroom in Gary; The Statehouse File, powered by Franklin College students; The Indianapolis Recorder and The Indiana Citizen. The initiative also will create a new Central Indiana newsroom.

Indiana News Now! and other multi-format Indiana News Service stories are available for media outlets to download and air at newsservice.org. A brief message from Terri Dee and Joey Graham and a short video on how to access newscasts is here. The public may access online versions at indiananewsnow.org.

More on Indiana News Now! Hosts:

Terri Dee has worn many hats in her nearly 30-year career in radio, television, and print, most recently as local news anchor for "All Things Considered" on NPR member-station WFYI-FM in Indianapolis. Before that, Dee worked as a news reporter and anchor for Emmis Communications, and filled a wide variety of roles, both technical and editorial, including reporting, hosting and managing the newsroom for Urban One ("The Chat Room" and "Community Connection.")

Joey Graham has more than 35 years experience working in Indiana newsrooms. He started his first job at age 16 in Logansport, at his hometown radio station. He loved broadcasting so much he eventually joined the team full-time. Graham worked his way from being a young, local news reporter to News Director. For several years, Graham anchored Indy's Morning News at legendary news-talk radio station WIBC in Indianapolis, where he also hosted a weekend talk show.

Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester is facing legal action from the League of Women Voters of Arkansas.

The organization filed a federal lawsuit over five bills it said are unconstitutional and restrict the work of canvassers.

Kristin Foster, special projects coordinator for the league, said the ballot initiative process allows citizens to propose statutes or constitutional amendments and collect signatures to place the proposals on a ballot. She added recent bills passed by lawmakers take away such rights.

"They have put so many restrictions on, and they are so layered and complex, that the ability to just get a petition out in the field and let people sign it is nearly impossible," Foster contended.

In a written statement, Jester argued the petition system is filled with fraud and bad actors. There have been only five criminal convictions related to election fraud in Arkansas over the last 20 years, according to the Heritage Foundation.

The lawsuit challenges restrictions including a ban on paying canvassers per signature and the requirement that canvassers are residents of the state.

David Couch, legal counsel for the league, said lawmakers have been adding restrictions since 2013.

"You have to show a photo ID to sign a petition. There's no need to do this because every signature on the petition, when you turn it in to the Secretary of State, is matched against the voter registration logs," Couch pointed out. "You have to read the entire ballot to the person before they sign the petition. These laws are not to prevent fraud."

The complaint also noted voters rejected proposed election restrictions in 2020 and 2022.

Foster added the over 300 volunteers who work for the league all played a role in getting the lawsuit filed.

"The entire lawsuit has really been driven by volunteers, people who participated in ballot initiatives, to the folks working on the actual suit," Foster explained. "We are very much a volunteer-driven organization and that makes it challenging when they're putting laws in place that threaten people with criminal action if they make a very simple mistake."

Groups working for human rights causes in Iowa warn proposed cuts being debated in Congress would trickle down to the people least able to sustain them.

The Trump administration has proposed $880 billion in cuts over the next decade to Medicaid and other services, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Progress Iowa Executive Director Mazie Stilwell said those cuts would fall most squarely on average Iowans, many of them kids, who don't have a voice in the process.

"There is so much fear right now, and it's fear from everyday working Iowans who know there's no one fighting for them," said Stilwell. "It's the Iowans who know that when push comes to shove, and when programs are put on the chopping block, they're the ones who are going to suffer."

The Trump administration has said it is working to downsize the federal government and cut expenses.

About 270,000 Iowans receive SNAP or federal food assistance, and more than 700,000 get their health coverage from Medicaid.

Stilwell contended that Iowans aren't the only ones afraid of potential social service cuts, but politicians are too.

She said she suspects that's one reason they aren't showing up at town hall meetings, that have long been the hallmark of grassroots democracy in the state.

"What we've seen is these members of Congress running away from their constituents," said Stilwell. "They are refusing to answer their questions. They are trying to make a mockery of their constituents and their efforts."

Stilwell said in light of the just-passed income tax filing deadline, Iowans want to know their money is being used to represent their interests - and not to fund tax cuts or corporate interests.

Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn, both Republicans, voted in favor of the measure that would social service programs.

Adrian Fontes, Arizona's Secretary of State, argued there is nothing wrong with American elections but some leaders in Washington, D.C., disagree.

The U.S. Senate will consider the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act this week. It would require people to show documents in person, like a passport or birth certificate, to register to vote. Republican proponents said it is needed to keep noncitizens from voting.

Fontes countered it is an exceedingly rare occurrence and he has yet to see proof of widespread voter fraud or abuse.

"This 'documented proof of citizenship' issue, where is the data that shows that we have a significant and severe problem with nonqualified voters, voting? Where is the data?" Fontes asked. "This is another example of the tail wagging the dog."

The measure faces a long shot in the Senate. At the same time, one of President Donald Trump's latest executive orders would overhaul major facets of the nation's election system, in part by restricting people's ability to register by mail or online. Voting rights advocates said the president does not have the legal authority to do it.

Liz Avore, senior policy adviser for the nonpartisan Voting Rights Lab, said many states have taken Trump's executive order as a call to action, as 24 states so far this year have considered legislation to impose or expand proof of citizenship requirements. Since 2013, Arizona voters have had to provide documents proving their citizenship to vote in state and local elections. Avore suggested it was not the administration's intent to change federal law.

"The goal of the executive order was and is to send clear marching orders to the states, and also to Congress, to tell them exactly what President Trump wants them to be doing," Avore contended. "The states are listening."

Democratic attorneys general in 19 states, including Arizona, have a filed a lawsuit, arguing the Trump executive order "sows confusion and sets the stage for chaos" in state election systems.


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