Taylor Q. Scott

I was honored to use the Shackelford Shines Stipend to attend the 2025 AAN annual convention in Madison, Wis. For our small, all-volunteer publication serving a rural community, the stipend was transformative, making it possible for us to be in the room. Two sessions, in particular, provided profound, lasting insights:   

The conversation with WIRED's Global Editorial Director Katie Drummond. Her perspective reframed technology not as a niche beat but as an omnipresent force shaping our democracy. This was a powerful affirmation of our own watchdog mission, crystallizing the idea that our hyperlocal work—investigating local government and holding power accountable—is a vital front line in the same fundamental battle for democratic health that national publications are fighting.This reinvigorated our perspective, cementing the understanding that rigorous watchdog journalism is not separate from community journalism—it is one of its most essential forms.

The session "Beyond the Byline: Community Events as Powerful Engagement Tools" with Jake Hylton, executive director of LOOKOUT Publications. LOOKOUT is a newer, LGBTQ+-focused news organization that has achieved remarkable growth by placing community events at the very center of its strategy. Hylton demonstrated a proven model where events are not a luxury but a primary engine for building trust and audience engagement. For a volunteer-run outfit like ours, this provided a tangible roadmap to evolve from being solely a provider of news to becoming a convener of the community, a far more sustainable and impactful role.

The AAN convention did not change our core mission, but it fundamentally transformed our strategy for achieving it. Valley Sentinel remains a fiercely independent, editor-owned, and majority woman-owned publication committed to serving a rural region that has seen other news sources disappear. The convention forced us to ask if our methods were serving our mission effectively, leading to a significant strategic pivot.   

Our work is now shaped by a new, audience-centric operational model with three core pillars:

Engaging our existing audience. We recognized our 500+ email subscriber list was a dormant asset. We are now building a robust digital framework—including a consistent newsletter—to finally nurture the relationship with community members who have already raised their hands to support us.

Redefining our print and digital roles. We recognized that continuing with the status quo—directing our time and all our efforts toward a biweekly print schedule—was a strategic dead end. Therefore, we have taken the deliberate step of temporarily pausing our print edition to reallocate our volunteer hours toward building this digital infrastructure. Print remains our most effective marketing tool and will return as a powerful instrument for discovery, while our digital offerings will become the primary engine for daily engagement and community dialogue. This strategic pivot, directly attributable to the insights gained through the stipend, will yield a far higher long-term return on our efforts.

Making community presence foundational. Inspired by proven models, we now view in-person events as a core strategy for building trust and fostering civic connection, rather than an unaffordable luxury.

To be direct, the Shackelford Shines Stipend was the sole reason we were able to attend the AAN convention. The opportunity was in our backyard, but for a publication started with less than $5,000 and no investors, where every dollar goes back into printing costs, the registration fee was an insurmountable barrier. We simply do not have a budget for professional development. The stipend was the key that unlocked a door that would have otherwise remained closed.   

This access was critical. As AAN’s smallest member outlet, serving its smallest market, the connections we made with peers and mentors are invaluable. Ultimately, the stipend was an investment in a model for the future of rural journalism. By funding our attendance, the foundation supported a real-world experiment in how a scrappy, independent paper in a news desert can leverage elite industry knowledge to build a more resilient and impactful future. The return on this investment extends far beyond our publication; it contributes to developing a potential solution to a national challenge. The door the stipend opened was not just to a hotel conference center in Madison. It was a door to a more sustainable, impactful, and connected future for Valley Sentinel and the community we are so proud to serve.

Thank you for this profound opportunity.