Local that Works is an annual contest that spotlights innovative and replicable content, engagement and revenue initiatives at public radio and TV stations, and nonprofit news organizations in the U.S.
Explore the curated LTW database of 350+ projects. Entries from the 2020 contest will be added to this database this fall.
Tips on using the database: If viewing this on a computer, all projects are listed in the left column. Click on a project name and its longer profile will appear in the right column. If viewing on mobile, clicking on a project name will load the full listing on your screen.
You can filter your results by selecting a tag or multiple tags in the categories drop down menu and clicking on search. IMPORTANT: If you want to change, broaden or narrow the results, make sure to uncheck categories for subsequent searches.
To see previous Local that Works contest winners, finalists and semi-finalists, click on green, purple or orange tags and our judges’ favorite projects will show up in the left column.
Get inspired!
78 results found.
Classical IPR’s Kids Commute
WIAA - Classical Interlochen Public Radio 88.7 FM, Interlochen, MIEvery weekday morning, Interlochen Public Radio (IPR) presents Kids Commute, an interactive exploration of classical music centered around weekly themes such as mermaids, opera, and elephants, that are designed to educate and entertain our youngest listeners. We also explore ballets, their stories, and the music that goes along with them. This interactive radio experience delivers strategies for early childhood artistic development that can be easily replicated in a variety of genres.
Radio Milwaukee – Grace Weber’s Music Lab
WYMS 88Nine Radio MilwaukeeGrace Weber’s Music Lab (GWML) is a free monthly music education program and talent accelerator for Milwaukee area high schoolers, providing opportunities to refine performance skills; build connections between engaged and talented young people; expose participants to the multiple career opportunities available in creative industries; and to participate in performances and talks by professional musicians, entertainment industry professionals and artists. This program is critical to meeting the growing and changing needs of our city and youth – Grace Weber’s Music Lab reaches kids with art forms that are increasingly relevant and central to their lives, including diverse music from hip-hop to alternative to spoken word.
RadioWest Book Club
KUERThe RadioWest Book Club brings listeners together to read and talk about books and has proven to be a great way to reach new audiences, engage with librarians, scholars and other community partners and create an enduring podcast of the monthly club discussions.
Songversations
WFAE 90.7 FM (Charlotte's NPR News Source)Part performance, part conversation, Songversations feature live music and interviews from the comfort of home. Each Tuesday and Thursday at noon (on Facebook Live and WFAE.org), Joni Deutsch (host of WFAE’s award-winning Amplifier podcast) sits down with some of Charlotte’s brightest music-makers for a transparent conversation about the impact of COVID-19 on the local music community, including the challenges and newfound perspective the pandemic has presented to creatives both personally and professionally.
Concert on Your Lawn
KBBI AM890KBBI AM 890 is hosted an on-air remote ‘Concert on YOUR Lawn’ Fundraiser- a socially distant homage to our Concert On The Lawn days and an opportunity for us to celebrate our amazing listener-supporters. Throughout the two days listeners heard the regular shows they love as well as live music, KBBI testimonies, and giveaways all culminating in the Concert on Your Lawn Event with local musicians broadcasting from their homes.
Rabbett Before Horses
PBS WisconsinBy building strong, consistent relationships with tribal leaders and by representing Wisconsin’s First Nations authentically and accurately by using first-voice narration, PBS Wisconsin shares consistent programming that highlights tribal history, culture, and lore.
Safe & Sound: VPR’s Celebration of Vermont Music
Vermont Public RadioCreated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, weekly episodes of Safe & Sound follow relevant themes through music and interviews. From how musicians are continuing to create and connect while isolating, to how BIPOC musicians experience racism while living and working in Vermont, the show aims to elevate our understanding of Vermont’s music and culture in a time of social distance.
COVID Diaries: Stories of Resilience
WDET, 101.9 FM“COVID Diaries: Stories of Resilience” is a 10-week multimedia visual, audio, and written word series that tell stories of resilience in the local community. It focuses on our local shared experience of the coronavirus pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests over the killing of George Floyd and others. WDET partnered with Documenting Detroit, a photojournalism and arts organization, to produce and tell these stories through the eyes of five local documentary photographers and one spoken word artist.
HomeStage
WXXI Public BroadcastingConcert halls and theatres closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and people are mostly staying at home, which has changed the way we enjoy music performances. WXXI’s HomeStage is a virtual concert experience, with local musicians of all genres performing in their homes for all to enjoy in our homes.
Classical IPR’s Kids Commute
payettepc@interlochen.org
http://www.interlochenpublicradio.org/programs/kids-commute
Our mission is to inspire love and appreciation for classical music among young people by providing history, context, and insights into composers and their works. Every week, we ask our young listeners a trivia question related to the current theme. Those who answer correctly receive a Kids Commute Prize Pack. We also encourage them to participate in the Kids Commute Story Challenge to create artwork or a story inspired by a specific piece of music. We then pick our favorites and bring them to life in a dramatic reading voiced by Interlochen Arts Academy theatre students.
In addition to its weekly broadcast, Kids Commute has hosted popular live concerts in cooperation with Interlochen Arts Academy faculty. For example, the Circus Extravaganza concert featured students from the IAA Theatre Department who, in collaboration with the IAA Wind Ensemble’s performances, depicted clowns portraying how various emotions can be expressed musically.
Kids Commute educates and inspires our audience by not only connecting them to the mainstays of classical music, but also introducing them to what’s new and relevant in classical music. Our “Pop! Goes the Classical Week” highlighted classical arrangements of pop songs by modern classical ensembles and interviews with renowned musicians and composers.
Many of our young listeners are learning to play a musical instrument themselves, and we encourage them to record their version of our show’s theme song and send it in. To date, dozens of students have submitted their greetings, artwork, and stories, and the program features them regularly. Through these efforts, we are creating a generation of listeners who have the capacity to appreciate music and hear with a more sophisticated ear.