Next City and CivicLex are thrilled to welcome Anabel Peterman as our Equitable Cities Reporting Fellow for Rural-Urban Issues.
She will join the organizations for a one-year reporting fellowship. Based in Lexington, Kentucky, the fellowship will explore the complexities of rural-urban dynamics playing out across the Central Kentucky region, from downtown Lexington to rural Estill County — and everywhere in between — and show what’s possible when people collaborate across geographic, political, and other boundaries.
“I hope this fellowship helps me build relationships and strengthen understanding between Lexington and the surrounding rural communities. I have deep ties within both, and each environment is so beautiful,” says Peterman, a homegrown journalist born and raised in eastern Kentucky.
Peterman’s rural landscape meant she lacked many typical opportunities throughout her youth, but it also provided a unique perspective into this area’s needs and intricacies. A 2024 graduate of Morehead State University, Peterman spent most of her university career at Morehead State Public Radio. At MSPR, Peterman learned every step of reporting and audio-journalism from the ground up. She is a recipient of multiple first and second-place Kentucky Broadcaster’s Association Impact Broadcast Awards, as well as awards and recognitions inside and around the newsroom.
Peterman’s degree in Traditional Music Performance (she’s also a member of The Newsroom Band, which plays acoustic folk string music) with a minor in Psychology has also allowed her the opportunity to fully immerse herself in Appalachian culture.
“We at CivicLex are incredibly excited to partner with Next City in hosting the Rural-Urban Reporting Fellowship. Kentucky is a state where people are actively having conversations across rural and urban geographies to honor the ways in which each place, region, and individual are different – but also entirely dependent on one another to thrive,” says Adrian Bryant, Civic Information Specialist at CivicLex.
“We know Anabel, as a native Kentuckian who has lived across Central and Eastern parts of the state, will be the perfect person to highlight these regional conversations and share homegrown Kentucky solutions that can be models for communities across the country.”
In her career so far, Peterman’s stories have highlighted issues impacting rural communities in and around Morehead, Kentucky. These areas see unique issues with affordable housing, the invisibility of rural homelessness, barriers to participating in municipal government, and disability and health stigma.
“Disability has been underrecognized in Appalachian Kentucky, hitting rural and low-income spots particularly hard,” Peterman says. “In my reporting, I aim to highlight the voices of disability advocates and those with lived disability experiences.”
As the newest Equitable Cities Fellow, Peterman aims to take a leap forward in her reporting career and tell stories that resonate with people in all walks of life, across Kentucky and beyond.
“We’re excited to continue our relationship with CivicLex by partnering on this fellowship,” says Next City Editorial Director Deonna Anderson. “Their work to empower communities through civic engagement and public education has been transformative for central Kentuckians. We look forward to contributing to their ongoing efforts through this collaboration and supporting Anabel’s budding journalism career.”
CivicLex makes it easier to get involved in the important issues facing Lexington. It is a nonprofit civic education organization strengthening Lexington’s civic culture through education, media, and relationship building. The organization envisions a Lexington in which all residents can meaningfully participate in the decisions that shape where they live.
Founded in 2003, Next City’s journalism centers marginalized voices while amplifying solutions to the problems that oppress people in cities. Next City’s readers are the city-builders who share our vision for the transformation of cities. Our core audience consists of individuals working in city planning, finance, architecture, media, academia, transportation, the arts — or within any sector that must collaborate to make cities run more equitably.
Established in 2014, Next City’s Equitable Cities Fellowship offers journalists the opportunity to report on solutions that level the playing field for those who have long been denied equal opportunity because of power structures based on race, gender, sexual orientation and other marginalized identities.
Supported by a generous grant from the Knight Foundation, the fellowship is designed to bring underrepresented voices to the forefront of the conversation about cities and their future.
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