About Rural Intelligence
We're an online magazine celebrating 15 years of delighting residents, second home owners and visitors in the Rural Intelligence region.
Launched in 2008 by Marilyn Bethany and Dan Shaw, both former editors and reporters at The New York Times and New York magazine, Rural Intelligence is the only website of its kind in Berkshire, Columbia, northern Dutchess and northern Litchfield counties. This sprawling region is not well served by mainstream media, which tends to hew to conventional jurisdictional lines. Only Rural Intelligence treats this uniquely sophisticated region as one big neighborhood, fostering community and transcending county and state boundaries. Rural Intelligence is the place where full-time residents and weekenders can share their passion for the good rural life.
Our readers are a mix of full-time residents and second home owners (as well as visitors) who rely on our lively mix of features about food (including recipes by prominent food writers in the area), restaurants, farm-to-table trends, parties and philanthropic social events, real estate, music, theater, visual arts, books, wellness, shopping, garden, community, excursions and lodgings, and the region’s best curated event listings. We take our readers on discoveries from one end of our region to the other. If you want to know what’s happening in the region, Rural Intelligence is the definitive online guide.
We produce two weekly e-newsletters and update the site with new feature stories every Thursday, but we update our calendar listings, considered the best in the region, on a daily basis.
As of May 2020, Rural Intelligence had more than 700 member-donor households contributing amounts ranging from $5/month to more than $500 a year. This has allowed us to upgrade the website, optimize it for all devices, and plan additional editorial features. Supporters are invited to special events and are the first to hear what’s happening in the Rural Intelligence community. The financial support of our readers and advertisers is vital. Take a look around the site. Chances are, you’ll be happy to become a supporter.
Be sure to sign up for our email newsletters, follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook.
Curious about advertising on Rural Intelligence? You'll be in good company. Learn more.
If you would like to report an error, pitch a story, or have other ideas, email the editor.
Want to send an event for posting in our calendar of events? Here’s how.