Arthur, Illinois, population 1,600, is “The Heart of the Illinois Amish Country,” a place where “You are a Stranger Only Once.” For this 7th edition of a continuing series we invited Arthur’s leading citizens too help us shape the program. We partnered with the newspaper. We trained 28 residents as “storytellers,” who captured video footage, provided photos and memorabilia. Their work was edited into a 2-hour program that became a treasured experience of community celebration, made possible by WEIU TV.
Lost Rivers Sessions started as a musical TV program and expanded to a monthly radio and live concert series showcasing emerging artists in Bowling Green.
WETA launched Boundary Stones Local History Blog in 2012 to dig up interesting stories from the community past. To date, over 400 articles have been posted on a variety of DC-area history topics including politics, music, pop culture, crime, sports, and weather. Pieces are promoted via the station’s Facebook and Twitter accounts where they are routinely among the most popular. The station also has a dedicated Boundary Stones Twitter account to discuss the articles and engage around local history topics.
A collaborative statewide effort by Florida’s public radio stations: WLRN, WJCT, WUSF, WFSU, WQCS, WUFT, WMFE, WUWF and WGCU. We hired an editor for a 6-month election project. 11 stations aired features. Five talk show hosts worked on a state-wide talk show focused on the election (1 hr. per week each week for 10 weeks).
Collaborative, digital first effort to produce local music acts. Used for radio, TV and digital. We tapped into local interest in behind the scene music to be delivered to phones, iPad and laptops. “Skyline Sessions is a web series showcasing exceptional music performances by artists based in Houston and beyond. Our state-of-the-art George B. Geary Performance Studio hosts musicians in an intimate setting with an emphasis on capturing the unique experience of live studio recording.
For two years WXXI Classical has presented Performance Rochester. During April, the station broadcasts live performances of local groups recorded in local concert halls or at WXXI, highlighting one group performance each day. Many ensembles are involved and the music covers all time periods and a variety of instrumentation and voices. WXXI’s lists all pieces on its website with links to pages with more detail and podcasts of each piece. Social media is used to promote the initiative.
Our local discussion series hosted at bars, brew pubs… it’s growing in popularity. “Politics and a Pint is back! Join WOSU Public Media for a second round of lively political discussion in a casual setting on Wednesday, March 16 from 5:30-7:30pm at Dempsey’s Food & Spirits on S. High Street.
Columbus Neighborhoods is a multi-platform project that originally produced 12 one-hour historical-cultural TV documentaries. It is now a magazine-type weekly primetime 30 min TV series with a robust digital presence. The project has high local recognition and is now partnering with WOSU’s radio news operation on a series about Vietnam vets and another about the wealth disparity in Columbus. The video segments are evolving from pure history to history as context for serious local issues.
West Virginia and Central Appalachia have some of the worst health statistics in the country, but almost no reporters devoted to covering health. We obtained foundation support to hire a full-time health reporter to produce features on insurance coverage, addiction, obesity, etc., always with a view toward causes and possible solutions. We distribute these stories for free to public media outlets throughout the region, as well as newspapers in West Virginia. Several have been picked up by national outlets.
Over an intensive two-days in November 2016 WGBH welcomed parents, early childhood educators, librarians, pediatricians, designers, and developers to brainstorm apps that parents could use with their children. Working teams focused on apps for family health and wellness. Outcome ideas, included Lil Chef that involves children in cooking and mealtime prep, and, Arthur Out Loud that allows children to practice speaking aloud by themselves or with others using ARTHUR characters as their avatars.
Have you ever wondered what makes a new song into a good song? Or why we like the songs we like? West Virginia Public Broadcasting hosts #WhyListen: First Listen Music Party at venues throughout the state. Free by RSVP required by email. Meet Mountain Stage hosts and vote on your favorite new bands and songs.
A partnership between WXXI and the Golisano Foundation to promote inclusion for people with intellectual and physical disabilities in all aspect of community life. As a result of this project, the news department has developed an inclusion beat — the Inclusion Desk — that will develop stories of inclusiveness to be broadly shared. Partnerships include local universities, museums, educators, and major local foundations.
In 2015 Kansas City PBS became a partner of Hearken, a public-powered journalism initiative that collects questions from the public and bases reporting from those questions. Curious KC asks: “What do you wonder about Kansas City, the region or its people that you would like KCPT to investigate?” Reporting on community-submitted questions has added a kind of user testing to the station’s editorial process.
Local news outlets led by KQED and the San Francisco Chronicle coordinate a full day of news coverage on homelessness. They produced 200 stories on this critical issue.
When our long-time classical music retired, we rearranged our schedule and created In the Moment, a daily news and culture magazine program….”[with] a rooted sense of place, and that place is South Dakota. In the Moment features authentic conversations with news makers, scholars, artists, and everyday South Dakotans. We bring you world-class radio storytelling featuring the highest journalistic integrity.”
WHYY Media Labs is a partnership between WHYY and the Philadelphia School District. The after-school labs – now at 27 schools – are designed to teach the fundamentals of media production as a tool for learning in all curricular areas. A media instructor teaches students to tell stories about topics that concern them and brings WHYY’s teacher professional development to the school. WHYY curates student content for the TV station and leads a student team to create a regular TV news magazine.
Each weekday in June we post a new audio diary, as it is aired on Maine Public Radio and Maine Public Classical, with listeners sharing their passion and love for a particular piece of music that has affected them. It’s a powerful reminder of the role music plays in all our lives.
In 2016, GPB was awarded a grant to produce and air 1:40 minute segments highlighting local businesses in Macon and Bibb County, in middle Georgia. The station now airs 1:40 minute segments every Monday in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. The station also now has a dedicated section on the web and the segments are shareable via social media posts.
Atlanta PBA has launched a year-long series of community events focused on civic engagement and policy education with a secondary goal of enticing a younger, more diverse audience into political involvement. PBA plans to develop community conversations on Governance & Politics, Education, Health and Healthcare, Gentrification & Income inequality, Environmental Sustainability & Conservation, and Diversity in Arts & Culture. Each of the events will be recorded for broadcast on either the radio, TV or web.
