Current (https://current.org/project-status/finalist/page/2/)
Community in Unity is a solutions journalism project and event series from Alaska Public Media to begin critical and thoughtful dialogue between different people. APM works with community partners to invite people inside homeless shelters, community centers, prisons, and TV studios for recorded conversations about topics that are affecting them. Topics have ranged from race and identity to mental health, immigration, and incarceration.
Via a four-year community engagement campaign that began in fall 2017, WTVI PBS Charlotte partnered with local workforce-related organizations to roll out a three-part media project (Dreamers, Doers, Destiny) designed to empower youth to capitalize on their dreams. The target goal is to engage with and help educate 600 local public high school students in career pathways and leadership training, leading to education completion and lasting success in the workforce.
North Country at Work (NC@W) has been collecting photographs and audio content that tell historic and contemporary stories of people at work, town by town, across the vast rural geography of New York State served by North Country Public Radio. NC@W is now returning to the featured towns, setting up photo exhibits, and hosting work-related story slams, which are recorded and added to the NC@W permanent archive.
Grace Weber, a Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter hosts a monthly session – Grace Weber’s Music Lab — where she invites local high school musicians to perform in an “open-mic” setting. In addition, a professional musician or entertainment industry guest shares professional advice and critiques the students’ performances. Each session includes an educational module, guest interview, and student performances.
Made Here is an initiative designed to bring local Vermont (and other regional) filmmakers work to Vermont PBS viewers, on air and online. The station hired a Local Content Manager, Eric Ford, and tasked him to find and acquire Vermonter-produced content. With Ford’s guidance and focus, the station was able to significantly increase the amount of local content they procured enabling the station to dedicate 12-14 hours per week to local programming in addition to new show premieres every month.
90.5 WUOL, a member station of Louisville Public Media, provides access to classical music to more citizens of the region than all other arts organizations combined. The station has made a concerted effort to embrace its role as a leader in education, young artist development, and community service, through the creation of outreach programs that encourage children, families, and schools to engage with classical music and public radio stories.
Radio Milwaukee has the mission to foster community engagement through music and stories. A pillar of this mission is to provide a platform for local musicians to share their work with an engaged and supportive listener base. Key pieces: 414 Music Live a weekly live performance by local artists in front of a live audience, that is broadcast and streamed live; the annual Radio Milwaukee Music Awards; and 414music.fm, an HD channel and digital stream broadcasting only Milwaukee music.
Radio Milwaukee believes music is a powerful force to bring people together – a belief that drives their mission to utilize music to connect diverse audiences. In 2016, they launched Band Together to act on that belief, creating a unique evening of music and food, with diverse, live music – featuring four local bands from four genres – and a variety of ethnic appetizers from local restaurants. Between bands, the station puts on storytelling performances about race and people coming together.