The Patagonia Regional Times has teamed up with the University of Arizona School of Journalism to bring a class of journalism students to report on the interesting people and vital issues of this region.
This is where you come in.
We’d like as many of our readers as possible to take a short survey about the issues facing Patagonia, Sonoita, Elgin, Canelo and surrounding areas. We’d also like those of you who have an interesting story to tell or a keen observation to make, to sign up to be interviewed.
The students will make their first visit to the region on February 7 to get the lay of the land, hear from local experts and conduct their first interviews.
The class, Arizona Sonora News, is designed to give students real-world experience and generate news stories for the School of Journalism’s news service. The class is a mix of graduate students and upper-division undergraduates led by UA Assistant Professor Ruxandra Guidi.
We think you will enjoy meeting the students and reading the stories they produce. We plan to publish the most timely stories in the spring editions of the newspaper and compile all of them in a special summer edition of the Patagonia Regional Times.
The project is tentatively titled “Region in Transition,” and we expect it to shed light on the impacts of changes taking place in our communities with a resurgent mining economy, a troubled border, a growing conservation movement and increasing numbers of tourists and retirees.
Additionally, we hope it will paint a realistic picture of life in our communities and of the people who live here. So we’re seeking participation from miners, merchants, ranchers, conservationists, preservationists, wine makers, artists, new arrivals and long-time residents.
Please take a few minutes to anonymously complete a survey we’ve created online. It lists some topics we’ve identified and asks you to pick the most important ones and to tell us what we’re missing. If you would like to be interviewed, let us know a little bit about yourself and how to contact you.
Complete the survey below on this page which will be open from Jan 1 to 20th.
This project is part of our commitment to provide more local news in our free, nonprofit newspaper and it is made possible by your generous support of our efforts. Thank you for that support, and thank you in advance for participating in this exciting, new project.