The Rapidian

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.

Claudia Rodriguez Biezunski

Only Here

The “Only Here” podcast provides an intimate look at one of the world’s busiest border crossings, where San Diego and Tijuana meet. Over time, the podcast has attracted an audience on both sides of the border with stories about the culture and creativity forged in this tense region. Hosted by a member of a bilingual hip-hop band in Tijuana, the podcast deepens understanding and connection between listeners on both sides of the border.

San Diegan Allison Justice is applying her green thumb to a very green enterprise.

KPBS Explore Local Content Project

KPBS launched the “Explore” program in 2012 as an experiment to grow the station’s library of local programs while cultivating new, young and diverse talent. Every two years, KPBS opens a community-wide call for content ideas and offers seed funding to create local TV shows, web series and podcasts. The producers retain ownership of their project and are responsible for raising the extra funds needed to stay afloat. The program has spawned four podcasts and more than a dozen TV and web series.

The Bay

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.

A Parent’s Guide to Public Schools (2019 Finalist)

A Parent’s Guide to Public Schools is a free magazine-style guide from Voice of San Diego that is distributed to 50,000 families annually. It aids parents in making decisions about their children’s education by providing an overview of every public school’s performance in easy-to-read charts and answering common questions about local public school options.

Local Switchboard NYC

Local Switchboard NYC is a collective of women who produce multimedia content for and by the communities of New York City’s varied boroughs. Local journalists and community members are trained in audio production so they can cover their own neighborhoods and tell stories often overlooked and underreported by larger media organizations. This new initiative was piloted at WBAI-FM.

Breaking Grass performs at a Bluegrass Monday concert.

Bluegrass Monday

On the fourth Monday night of each month, KASU presents “Bluegrass Monday,” a concert series in its 17th year, bringing professional bluegrass musicians to Paragould, Arkansas, for affordable, family-friendly concerts. Admission is always free. KASU feels presenting these concerts not only promotes its radio broadcasts of bluegrass music, but the concerts also help to promote the culture of the region that includes the nearby Ozark Mountains. All concerts are recorded for broadcast on KASU at a later date.

Promise of Paradise: Back to the Land Oral Histories of Mendocino County

“Promise of Paradise” is a sense of place interview series, launched in June 2018 at KZYX, with members of the “Back to the Earth” movement and their children about their lives and experiences of 20th century homesteaders who arrived in Mendocino County, California, as college-educated hippies were streaming away from the cities to rural areas to re-learn ancient homesteading skills and to reject the cultural norms of post-World War II America.

Understanding 1898: America’s Only Coup D’état

This web page documents the only known coup d’état in American history. You will find video interviews conducted with Wilmingtonians on the topic of 1898 and what it means in the 21st century, links to WHQR’s related audio coverage, and an interactive map which chronicles the historical events surrounding the coup.

Volunteers Roger

North Shore Morning — a community radio model

North Shore Morning is a daily, two-hour morning news and information program that connects residents of remote Lake Superior communities with the people, culture and events of their region. Daily content includes live interviews, local news, weather updates, event announcements, music, school news, a daily Pop Quiz and features on the area’s arts, culture and history, all geared toward creating a sense of place and a spirit of community.

The Reno Arch was erected in 1926 and remained in place until 1963. KUNR’s segment "Time & Place" has highlighted various topics about the history of Northern Nevada

Time & Place

Time & Place is a regular segment on KUNR in which historian Alicia Barber presents narratives and voices from the past, focusing on the rich and diverse heritage of Northern Nevada and the Eastern Sierra. Alicia has produced roughly 50 segments on a wide range of topics, including Reno’s unique gambling and divorce industries, along with historical examination of how racism and sexism have shaped current civic life. Digital reporters from the University of Nevada’s School of Journalism create audiograms of these stories for social media.

Framed by WDET (2019 Winner)

“Framed by WDET” is a multimedia series that integrates photography and audio storytelling to present the story of Detroit’s ethnic and cultural communities on the radio, online, in a photobook, and at pop-up exhibitions in more than 20 art spaces in the Detroit region and beyond. It explores the moments and spaces that Detroiters share with one another through the work of 18 Detroit-based photographers and audio producers.

I just want to testify…

To celebrate the 65th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, PBS in Topeka created this two-hour community conversation with students and teachers from the segregation era. Shot in a modern-day Cinema Verite’ style on a single day in 2019, students and teachers from the four segregated Black schools in Topeka talked about their lives prior to and after integration. The five-part series included: Growing up in Topeka’s Black Community; Family, Friends, Neighbors; School and You (Segregation); School and You (Integration); and After-effects (outcomes, impact).

Iowa Land and Sky

Iowa Public Television’s Iowa Land and Sky project provides general and classroom audiences with a unique perspective of the state’s geology, biodiversity, and environmental issues. Through short video stories, online experiences, classroom resources, and social media conversations, this initiative has helped Iowans better appreciate the ecological and geological diversity of the state.

The Slice

The Slice is a digital project from WDSE, Duluth, MN, that reflects the unique character, events, and experiences found in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. Episodes of The Slice are often captured while gathering b-roll for other local programming. The format allows snippets of video to be shared at appropriate lengths for social media consumption. The most popular clips of the month are sent to members and supporters through the monthly e-newsletter.

One Greater Minnesota

Twin Cities PBS launched the multi-year reporting initiative, One Greater Minnesota (OGM), to engage a broad statewide audience in learning more about the many ways Minnesota communities are interconnected. OGM has produced a total of 140 pieces for digital and statewide broadcast distribution, including video reports, articles, social media posts, and more. Segments and public forums foster civic participation, cultivate a more respectful civic environment, and aim to enhance public media programming in Minnesota.

TPToriginals.org

Twin Cities PBS put a stake in the ground with the launch of TPToriginals.org. The site showcases the station’s extensive library of local productions. It also serves as a learning laboratory for developing digital-first, short-form video storytelling aimed at engaging Minnesota audiences that may not see themselves or their communities reflected in broadcast programming. The site provides a steady stream of local content that triggers pride of place, shares and challenges viewers’ perspectives on what it means to call this state home.

Food Traditions

A collaborative project between WPT and WPR, Food Traditions explores expressions of identity through food. From the Mississippi River to lake Michigan, the Apostle Islands to Beloit, we learn about ingredients Wisconsinites choose to grow, collect, use and leave out, how they prepare a dish, whom they share it with and how these traditions construct their sense of identity. This project explores underrepresented identities, touching on topics like family tradition, food sovereignty, assimilation, integration, community building, health, immigration and sustainability. With popular shows like Wisconsin Foodie and Around the Farm Table and with the recent success of the Great Wisconsin Baking Challenge, food has become part of the WPT brand. This project is leveraging our digital community and asking them to engage with us around food in a more comprehensive way.

The Intersection (2018 Finalist)

The Intersection is a series of hyper-local audio documentaries co-produced by David Boyer and KALW that look at the changing Bay Area of California through physical intersections — street corners — where different histories, motivations, policies, and people meet every day. The show pinpoints the different forces and factors at play there and, over the course of a piece or a season, connects the dots between the past, present, and future.