Current (https://current.org/project-category/collaboration-with-community-institutions/page/7/)
“The Learning Space” is an educational program created by Maine Public in partnership with the Maine Department of Education and Educate Maine. It is geared toward students in grades 3-5 and their teachers, and is intended to help bridge the gap for students without reliable internet access during COVID-19. It aired on Maine Public’s primary television channel and reached more than 180,000 people per episode, or roughly 90 classrooms.
Storytime in the Commons is Nine Network’s successful response to PBS’s national commitment to kindergarten readiness and the literacy needs expressed by the local community. The community educational experience has seen tremendous growth in diversity of attendees and funders. Activities at Storytime include reading stories (including one story in Spanish), photo ops with PBS KIDS® characters and the Delta Dental Tooth Fairy and Tooth Wizard, games that help children grow, like building blocks, visits from the St. Louis Fire Department, Republic Services recycling, and the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Healthy Kids Corner.
HomeWork Hotline is a live science and math program that helps students with homework questions, and showcases the projects that young scientists are working on. Teachers on HomeWork Hotline excel at explaining difficult math problems in real time to students, including those who may be too shy to ask questions in the classroom. The program also trains local college and high school students in television production.
The Playtime Pad Research Project investigates the effectiveness of tablet-based learning initiatives in early childhood math literacy, while providing access to the latest digital learning tools for students, teachers, and parents. Initiated by the College of Communication Arts and Sciences and WKAR Public Media at Michigan State University, the Playtime Pad Research Project is a unique partnership connecting PBS KIDS, the College of Education at MSU, and the Lansing School District.
The Eva project started off as “Eva: A-7063,” a documentary by WFYI Public Media and Ted Green Films about Holocaust survivor turned global peace advocate, Eva Mozes Kor. Through extensive, community-based work and engagement, it expanded into the Eva Outreach and Education Program, which includes the Eva Educational Toolkit and the Eva Virtual Reality Traveling Exhibit, which have had national and international exposure.
A recent survey showed 22% of Millennials “haven’t heard or are not sure if they have heard of the Holocaust.” Fifty-eight percent of Americans believe “something like the Holocaust could happen again.” Working with the Holocaust Education Resource Center, WVIA filmed the stories and recorded the voices of Holocaust survivors to share their stories with children in Northeastern Pennsylvania in the hope that “Never Again” will be a life-long reality for all.
The Rapidian is an online platform for citizen journalism where community members can share positive stories about their neighborhoods and post calendar listings of events in Western Michigan. The Rapidian aims to fill the void in a local news desert that lacks even a daily newspaper. It is a collaboration between Grand Rapids Television (GRTV), WCYE-FM, and The Wealthy Theater.
Ahead of Illinois’ April 2019 municipal elections WILL worked with three high school classrooms and 80 adult community members to develop local candidate questionnaires that met the specific needs of municipalities in our listening area. IIllinois Public Media (IPM) partnered with community organizations on events that facilitated civil discourse, increased media literacy, democratized editorial decision-making, inspired civic action, and educated young Illinoisans. This “Democracy Series” was designed to demonstrate that public media is uniquely equipped to facilitate dialog about local concerns.
Catalyst Radio is the weekly public affairs radio program of the Grand Rapids, Michigan, Community Media Center. It features interviews with organizations and people working on social change, community support, and media issues. This effort is a partnership between The Rapidian, an online platform for community journalism, and WYCE, an independent community radio station in Grand Rapids.
“Eye on the Arts” is a half hour TV series that showcases a diverse range of local artists, artistic organizations, events and stories, demonstrating the power of arts in people’s lives. The series draws attention to regional artists and cultural programs across the entire Chicagoland area, including many of Northwest Indiana’s under-served populations, people who often feel that the arts are inaccessible. “Eye on the Arts” also retains a radio presence through weekly segments on Lakeshore Public Radio.
“Working Together” is an ongoing project to establish deep and meaningful connections with the Alaska Native community in Southeast Alaska. KTOO partners with the local Native communities to use television, radio, and engagement events to preserve Native languages, cultures, and identity.
Even though San Diego is full of festivals and street fairs, in 2011 Voice of San Diego decided to create a new festival about local politics. Politifest featured a dunk tank, a mayoral debate, a tug of war and an “idea tournament.” Now eight years old, Politifest includes debates, panels, and interviews with experts. It’s a platform for residents to raise their voices, ask tough questions, and get a crash course that provides insights on local issues and into how local government works.
Matter Mobile is a portable, pop-up studio taken to different community events to conduct high-quality audio and video interviews about thorny issues like urban development. The collapsible studio is constructed of wood, soundproofing foam and windows made out of acrylic sheets. This structure offers interviewees more privacy than recording vox pops openly in the field.
Strike a Chord is a campaign that aims to bring awareness to local issues in the New York metro area and connect volunteers with opportunities to make a difference.
VPM’s Instagram shares the story of Virginians who educate, entertain and inspire.
Missouri Health Talks is a conversation-based journalism project that shares Missourians’ stories about access to healthcare. Health Reporter Rebecca Smith travels throughout the state to network with community organizations, record conversations and edit them into four-minute pieces. The interactive Missouri Health Talks website enables visitors to find stories from their own communities. In the project’s first two years, it has produced 79 original conversations, a rural community health resource fair, many live events, in-depth 30-minute specials broadcast on the local talk show, and a spin-off podcast.
MPT’s Digital Studios partnered with the local NASA Goddard campus to create four digital shorts about Maryland’s contributions to space research, as part of the PBS Summer of Space programming, MPT held a public screening at the Old Greenbelt Theatre. The station’s digital team worked at Goddard’s social media staff to orchestrate cross-posting; NASA promoted the series to their 1.2 million on Facebook fans, and 543 thousand on Twitter contacts, resulting in 13,000 Facebook video plays.
Public Media Network (PMN) is a Public, Education, and Government (PEG) media arts organization founded to serve five Michigan towns. Say Something! Youth Voices provides young residents access to training, equipment loans, media production facilities, programming distribution, and vocational instruction in media production to local high schools. PMN also operates WKDS 89.9 FM, a 100-watt FM non-commercial/educational radio station licensed to the Kalamazoo Public Schools.
Twin Cities PBS’s “Out North: MNLGBTQ History” was designed to explore the untold histories of Minnesota’s LGBTQ pioneers, legislators, change makers, and resistors. Starting as one idea from one donor, it grew organically into a comprehensive initiative comprising one two-hour film, more than seven shorts, and more than 45 community events. It combined local community partnerships, screenings, intergenerational conversations, and watch parties — all in response to appetite and demand for engagement around these histories.
In collaboration with the Minnesota Housing Partnership, TPT Partnerships produced “Sold Out: Affordable Housing at Risk,” a documentary that examines the shrinking supply of affordable housing in Minnesota through the experiences of displaced tenants and concerned experts. They also produced a number of digital shorts and a discussion guide to aid in meaningful engagement with the project.