A Sneak Peek Into WVPB’s New Documentary ‘Rosemary’

On this West Virginia Morning, we hear a conversation between kids in Appalachia and kids in the western coalfields. Also, in this show, we have a conversation with two WVPB producers who worked on our new documentary “Rosemary,” which airs tonight on WVPB TV at 9 p.m.

Coal mining communities around the country are reckoning with the decline of the industry. This month, the Ohio Valley ReSource, Wyoming Public Media and America Amplified connected a group of high school students from Wyoming, eastern Kentucky and West Virginia to talk about their experiences in “coal country.” As Brittany Patterson explains, the decline of coal, past and present, loomed large in their conversation about what the future may hold for them and their communities.

Next, we meet 26-year-old Rosemary Ketchum, who just became the first transgender person in West Virginia to be elected to office. She’s now a city council member in Wheeling where she assists in efforts to clean up the city and helps residents who are struggling with food insecurity and homelessness. The film follows Rosemary for a year as she campaigned for city council.

Producers Corey Knollinger and Chuck Kleine followed Rosemary to document her campaign. Mason Adams spoke with them about the project.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.

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