2024 Rural Journalism Conference

In their award-winning feature, “LEGACY,” filmmakers Matt Moyer and Amy Toensing pull back the curtain on a problem that journalists report on, but rarely approach: the impact of substance abuse on many generations to children. The complex roots of the problem are well documented: the lack of economic opportunity for millions of Americans; the availability of cheaper, stronger opioids; and lack of treatment options.

But the impact on children now and later in life is a story that will rarely be told. “LEGACY” follows a boy, Curtis, aged 11 to 18 as he struggles to keep up in school and is placed in foster care while the adults around him lose their lives to excessive drinking. This session will explore the filmmakers’ approach to the difficult subject.

How did they gain the trust of the family shown in the film? How did they manage to preserve the dignity of the film’s participants while telling such a horrific story? You will leave this conference with a new appreciation for the importance of serious reporting and a focus on vulnerable opioid victims.

Katherine Reed

Director of education and information, AHCJ
Reed was an adjunct professor at the Missouri School of Journalism for 17 years and editor of the Columbia Missourian — a newsroom lab for students studying print and digital journalism — where he taught autobiography. public health and safety. She also designed and taught a course on trauma coverage and a course for STEM faculty and journalism students on improving science communication.

Reed came to journalism school from Prague in the Czech Republic where he was an editor at the Prague Business Journal and an instructor at the Journalism Institute. He was a journalist and copy editor for several years and taught journalism before moving to the Czech Republic. He was a member of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma and is a long-time member of AHCJ. Reed announced the hospital’s model of journalism education, training in trauma reporting and providing more accountability, mass shooting behavior.

Matt Moyer

Producer, director and cinematographer, “LEFA”
Matt Moyer is a photographer and filmmaker committed to telling inspiring stories and working to improve our world. Moyer covered 9/11 in NYC, the war in Iraq for The New York Times, and photographed numerous stories for National Geographic magazine. As a National Geographic Explorer, Moyer photographed the impending water disaster in Egypt. He has directed short documentaries produced by many institutions including the National Geographic Society and PBS. Moyer was named a Knight Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan in 2008 and received a Knight Fellowship at Ohio University in 2012. He teaches regularly for National Geographic Photo Camps, an organization that teaches photography to underserved youth around the world. in width. Moyer also sits on the Board of Advisors for the Siena School, a school for students with language-based learning differences, headquartered in Washington, DC.

Amy Toensing

Producer and director, “LIKE”
Amy Toensing is a visual journalist committed to telling stories with sensitivity and depth. A regular contributor to National Geographic magazine for more than 20 years, Toensing has photographed and reported on cultures and topics around the world, including indigenous peoples and their relationship with the land, the impact of drought on Australian cities, and land and civil rights for women in Uganda and India. His most recent projects focus on the relationship between people and conservation efforts in the United States, including a restoration project in Montana and The Northern Forest Canoe Trail, a 740-mile protected trail that runs from New York to Maine. Toensing has also directed two short documentaries, one about urban refugee children in Nairobi and the other about women’s land rights in Uganda. In 2018, Toensing was named the Mike Wallace Fellow in Investigative Reporting at the University of Michigan. He is now a National Geographic Explorer and a FUJIFILM Creator.