WUFT created a first-time event for North Florida fans of Downton Abbey. This in-person event included a costume contest, admission to a movie screening and an opportunity for the community to interact with other local PBS supporters to discuss their one of their favorite shows. Two events took place in one day, and participants were able to give back to WUFT monetarily with a donation for admission to the event.
School, Interrupted from WFDD’s Hive education program is the manifestation of what happens when we stop being afraid of what teenagers have to say and we start listening instead. Students in WFDD’s for-credit Radio 101 high school class delved into the issue of school violence through a series of stories that developed into a Town Hall exclusively for teens to discuss their fears, assumptions and experiences in today’s high schools.
St. Louis Public Radio’s livestream on Twitch has transformed the way our journalists connect with our audience and gives both the space and support to examine challenging news thoughtfully.
KPCC/LAist gave 12 Southern California parents cameras and asked them to document their lives. Over the course of a year, the “Parenting, Unfiltered” project captured the challenges and joys of raising young children during a pandemic, shaped our reporting and supported community members in telling their own stories.
Concert 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.
The Faces of Hunger project was a yearlong journalism and community dialogue initiative from Carolina Public Press that focused on issues of hunger and food insecurity in rural North Carolina. Through in-depth multimedia reporting, resource sharing and free community events, and news and community partnerships that highlighted dialogue and potential solutions, Carolina Public Press shined the spotlight on the issues and systems contributing to hunger and food hardship in the state.
You Know the Place (YKTP) is a podcast that examines the small local businesses most of us never enter or even notice. YKTP gos to the stores overlooked by any form of media to ask: What do you sell or make? Who’s your customer? How long have you been in business? How do you compete with Walmart and Amazon? Hosted by two local writers, YKTP will enter its fourth season with 18,000 loyal users and more than 33,000 regular downloads.
WXXI’s “Classical 91.5 Presents” is an annual film series that exemplifies the power of music to enhance a story’s narrative. Each year Classical 91.5 presents a series of four films that are related to classical music in some way. Each film session includes film-related live music in The Little Theatre Café in Rochester and a lively panel discussion with WXXI hosts, as they explore the significance and unique use of music in each film.
In the summer of 2019, Arizona Public Media published “Finding Home,” a radio news series focused on housing and issues of access, affordability, discrimination, cultural identity, and the changing neighborhoods of Tucson. Content included multiple episodes of our half-hour radio programs, a slate of feature radio news stories, a dedicated web page, and a live community conversation. At a public event, held a month after the series aired, the show host moderated a discussion between panelists representing development, fair housing, and neighborhood associations.
In May 2018, Houston Public Media launched the Young Leaders Council with one overarching goal in mind: creating lifelong public media ambassadors. A nominating committee selected an inaugural class of 16 members following interviews with candidates. Ultimately, 30-35 young professionals will represent a cross section of the many communities Houston Public Media now serves and actively encourage others to engage with the station’s content.
Ross Fest was organized by WNIN to celebrate painter and art instructor Robert Ross, the creator of The Joy of Painting. The station asked a certified Bob Ross landscape instructor to help create an experience that would give participants a certified Bob Ross painting to take home and enjoy forever. WNIN added a light wall to play a Joy of Painting episode, threw in some music, food trucks, a bar trailer and a Bob Ross costume contest… attracting hundreds of people to a made-for-social-media engagement event.
¿Qué Pasa, Midwest? is a bilingual podcast that tells the stories of Latinx in the Midwest. Funded with support from CPB, the podcast facilitates difficult conversations and explores policy issues, such as immigration and the U.S. Census. WNIN reaches out to educational institutions to host listening parties share these stories with students. ¿Qué Pasa, Midwest? gives voice to the the region’s growing Latino community and fosters greater knowledge, connection and understanding.
Modeled after NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts and KLRU/PBS’s Austin City Limits, Small Studio showcases some of the best bands in Indianapolis, giving local and regional talent a chance to shine. National and regional artists have also performed in WFYI’s Small Studio, with an emphasis on bands and musicians with a connection to public media and/or the Hoosier state. The series is WFYI’s inaugural digital-first program.
“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.
Maine Public’s Deep Dive is a space for complex, in-depth, high impact reporting. The first edition focused on childcare issues in the state, and utilized the entire 18-member news team to create web, radio and TV stories. Maine Calling, the local talk show, broadcast two editions that opened and closed the series. The station developed a communications plan to inform the audience, politicians and other stakeholders. The capstone moment was a public event at Portland Public Library where reporters discussed their work and took questions from the public.
The Bay is a local KQED podcast about news and information relevant to the local community. The team has hosted several well-attended live events and has created spaces, both in person and digital, where community members can connect with one another and the podcast. It connects with younger audiences and fills a gap in KQED’s traditional television and radio programming lineup.
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.
Next City is a nonprofit news organization, founded in 2003, that believes in the power of journalism to amplify solutions from one city to the next city. Next City hosts live seminars, free hour-long webinars in which we ask practitioners to share lessons from successful projects in a 30-minute presentation followed by 30 minutes of moderated questions. Access is “pay what you wish;” the highest response has been 539 registrants contributing $3,500.
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.