''Small Town Big Deal'' is an American television

news magazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories, in greater depth than do newspapers or new ...

that runs in first-run

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

with a focus on

human interest stories In journalism, a human-interest story is a feature story that discusses people or pets in an emotional way. It presents people and their problems, concerns, or achievements in a way that brings about interest, sympathy or motivation in the reader ...

rural America Rural areas in the United States, often referred to as rural America, consists of approximately 97% of the United States' land area. An estimated 60 million people, or one-in-five residents (17.9% of the total U.S. population), live in rural Ame ...

. The TV program is co-hosted by Rodney K. Miller and

Jann Carl Jann Carl is a co-host and part owner of the syndicated TV show ''Small Town Big Deal''. Carl and her co-host, Rodney K. Miller, report on uplifting stories about people, places and events throughout communities big and small across the United S ...

. Together, they travel the United States sharing inspirational stories about communities, people, events and happenings. The show first aired on September 6, 2012 on the

RFD-TV RFD-TV is an American pay television channel owned by Rural Media Group, Inc. The channel features programming devoted to rural issues, concerns and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United Sta ...

network. In 2017, the show was being viewed on over 150 local stations and 80 percent of the country each week across America, including several of the

ABC Owned Television Stations ABC Owned Television Stations is a division of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution operated by Disney Networks Group that oversees the owned-and-operated stations of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), a division of The Walt Disney C ...

, which air the program in weekend morning

graveyard slot A graveyard slot (or death slot) is a time period in which a television audience is very small compared to other times of the day, and therefore broadcast programming is considered far less important. Graveyard slots are usually in the early mor ...

s, as well as low-power and digital 24-hour networks

Youtoo America YTA TV (an initialism for its former full name, Youtoo America; commonly referred to as just YTA) is an American television network which originally launched in February 1985 as a cable channel. Unusual for a network of its type, it has had multi ...

(which airs the show several times a week),

AMGTV AMGTV is an American family-oriented television network featuring television programming consisting of drama, sports, movies, entertainment, how-to, hunting and fishing, children's shows, and other features, much of it repackaged from off-netw ...

Total Living Network Total Living Network (''TLN'') is a religious broadcasting channel based in Aurora, Illinois. TLN operates two feeds, one for the Chicago metropolitan area and carried mainly on Comcast/Xfinity digital cable systems in that area with a schedul ...

, CTN Lifestyle and

Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...

. ''Small Town Big Deal'' has received the

Parents Television Council The Parents Television and Media Council (PTMC), formerly the Parents Television Council (PTC), is an American media advocacy group founded by conservative Christian activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995, which advocates for what it considers t ...

Seal of Approval.

Episodes

''Small Town Big Deal'' has aired nearly 100 episodes since September 2012 and broadcast from 150 local stations. ''Small Town Big Deal'' is viewed in more than 80 percent of U.S. markets as well as other outlets including Sky Angel TV, Pure Flix, and Comcast outlets in California. Overseas, the show is viewed on the

Armed Forces Network The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which i ...

(AFN). A sample of the types of stories that ''Small Town Big Deal'' has covered includes: "Mackinac Bridge and Tractor Crossing" The hosts scale the heights of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

’s

Mackinac Bridge The Mackinac Bridge ( ) is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac, connecting the Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Opened in 1957, the bridge (familiarly known as "Big Mac" and "Mighty Mac") is the worl ...

, lead the world’s largest antique tractor parade across the bridge. "A Famous Lake & Lumberjacks" The hosts see how residents along the shores of

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Lake Geneva is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Walworth County and situated on Geneva Lake, it is home to an estimated 8,105 people as of 2019, up from 7,651 at the 2010 census. It is located about 40 miles southwest of Milwa ...

receive their mail every summer by boat. This is followed by a visit to the Lumberjack World Championships. "Silver Lakes Sand Dunes/Sanbol Lighthouse" The hosts race high-powered four wheelers on sand dunes. Then Rodney climbs to the top of the Little Sabol Lighthouse on the coast of Lake Michigan. "400 Mile Yard Sale" The hosts travel across the length of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

on Highway 68 for the annual 400 Mile Yard Sale. "Totally Epic Tug-O-War" The

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

is the fourth-longest river in the world and important commerce corridor. For one day a year the Army Corps of Engineers with a Tug-of-War.

Hosts

The series is co-hosted by Rodney K. Miller, an executive in the agricultural machinery industry, and

, a longtime news personality who prior to joining this series had a 14-year run on the syndicated magazine ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...

''.

References

External links

* * *https://www.pauladeen.com/small-town-big-deal-show *http://www.wsbtv.com/video?videoId=24672612&videoVersion=1.0 *https://www.nationwide.com/agribusiness-teams-up-small-town-big-deal.jsp *http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/grits-with-glitz-georgia-farmer-hollywood-reporter-bring-family-tv-show-to-atlanta-300134660.html {{US Newsmagazine 2012 American television series debuts 2010s American television news shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States RFD-TV original programming English-language television shows Rural society in the United States