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Corporation for Public Broadcasting awards ideastream grant for national journalism collaboration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Marissa Norris, Communications Coordinator
216.916.6318 | marissa.norris@ideastream.org

Dec. 7, 2016 (Cleveland) – The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) recently awarded a $500,000 grant to three public radio and television joint-licensees to develop a cross-platform approach to local journalism. ideastream, Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) of Portland, Ore. and WXXI in Rochester, N.Y. are the three broadcasters selected to collaborate on local stories of community importance—or what CPB is billing as “Big Footprint” journalism.

OPB, the lead station for this project; WXXI; and ideastream will combine newsroom resources and station strengths to create four Big Footprint projects, with at least one reflecting on a commonality across all three media markets. With the goal of maximizing the impact of enterprise journalism, the three partners will measure the impression of their reports on the community and share outcomes and tips with the entire public media network.

“We are pleased to be a part of this important journalism collaboration,” said Kit Jensen, chief operating officer at ideastream. “Together with our partners, ideastream will be able to experiment with multiple media reporting techniques on a broader scale and set best practices that can inform and inspire other public media stations in their reporting.”

Under the proposal, the four Big Footprint reporting projects will share branding across partner stations and will incorporate radio, television, digital, mobile and live events in collaboration with community partners. While specific themes and topics for the joint reporting are still being determined, all projects will employ authentic community engagement before, during and after content creation.

“Through a more integrated approach to service to their communities, stations have an opportunity to achieve more impact for their most important journalism,” said Joyce MacDonald, CPB vice president, journalism. “Oregon Public Broadcasting, ideastream and WXXI are industry leaders in the ways they integrate television and radio in their reporting and how they collaborate with community partners and other media. Through this project, the entire public media system can benefit from their lessons learned.”

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About ideastream
The mission of ideastream is to strengthen our communities. ideastream pursues this mission as a multiple media public service organization by providing distinctive, thought-provoking programs and services that enlighten, inspire, educate and entertain.

About WXXI
WXXI is the essential, life-long educational media resource for the Greater Rochester area. WXXI puts the community first with programming that stimulates and expands thought, inspires the spirit, opens cultural horizons and promotes understanding of diverse community issues. WXXI also has a long-term affiliation with Little Theatre, which helps enhance the cultural life of the community and strengthens two of Rochester's most vital arts institutions. Log on to  wxxi.org for more information about our services and programs.

About OPB
OPB is the largest cultural and education institution in the region, delivering excellence in public broadcasting to 1.5 million people each week through television, radio and the Internet. Widely recognized as a national leader in the public broadcasting arena, OPB is a major contributor to the program schedule that serves the entire country. OPB is one of the most-used and most-supported public broadcasting services in the country and is generously supported by members across Oregon and southern Washington.