Gary Smith, of Sports Illustrated, sure knows how to tell a good story in a rural setting

This is a poignant story by noted Sports Illustrated writer Gary Smith, about a female track star in rural Texas. One of the best in journalism, doing what he does best. And here is perhaps his most famous piece, "Someone to Lean On." You might recognize it as the hit movie "Radio," starring Cuba Gooding Jr.

Coming soon: A reality show about a smalltown paper?

The newspaper gossip website run by Jim Romenesko says NBC is looking into creating a reality show based on the doings of a small-town newspaper. (Not surprising, some of the cynics who read the site have some views about the matter.)

Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions: Rural vs. Urban

This TEDS report details the differences in rural vs. urban areas' treatment admissions for substance abuse.

New Jersey profile from Rural Policy Research Institute

This information was released in February 2009.

Broadband in New Jersey

Here are a couple of links about the breadth and depth of broadband in New Jersey. Visit the New Jersey Office of Technology here. Visit Connecting New Jersey here. View the map of New Jersey broadband coverage here.

Rural poverty

If you blow up the map on this post and look really, really close, you will find that Salem County, N.J., is among the counties showing a slight rise in poverty from 2007 to 2011.