Special Shares Voters' Voices From Around New England on the Issues That Matter to Them.
Springfield, Mass. (March 3, 2020) -- On Wednesday, March 4, at 11:00 a.m., New England Public Media, the new alliance of NEPR and WGBY, will air an America Amplified Special from the New England News Collaborative that takes a voter’s eye view on the issues that matter to the people of New England, even as the national media move on from Super Tuesday. The hour-long program will air on the stations of the NEPR News Network, and stream on nepr.net. The show will repeat at 8:00 p.m.
This special is the first of a series of engagement journalism efforts that New England Public Media will participate in this election year as a member of the New England News Collaborative and regional host of a national reporting initiative called America Amplified: Election 2020.
The America Amplified Special is hosted by John Dankosky, engagement editor for America Amplified’s New England bureau, based at New England Public Media, along with Jane Lindholm of Vermont Public Radio and Jennifer Rooks of Maine Public, and will feature voters and issues from all three regions. At the center of the show are three central questions, posed to voters from Holyoke to northern Maine:
• What most concerns you about your community or the country in the coming year?
• What do you want people to understand about your community or your life?
• What issues are motivating you to vote this year?
Voters are invited to share their comments on the above and other questions about this year's election issues on Twitter @NEPRnet, @VPRnet or @mainepublic, or by email to AmericaAmplified@nepr.net. Voicemail responses can be left by calling 207-370-3487.
"We're excited to bring together voices from all over New England to talk about the issues that are on their minds,” said Dankosky. “It's a kickoff for this project that we hope will help us better understand what voters care about in our region, beyond the horserace for President."
America Amplified: Election 2020, a $1.9 million national public media collaboration funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, was launched in the fall of 2019 to bring a different kind of reporting into public media coverage of this year’s election.
America Amplified aims to put people, not preconceived ideas, at the center of its reporting process -- using listening events, public forums, crowd-sourcing, polls and social media to listen first to the concerns and aspirations of American communities. The results will then be reported back through a network of participating public media stations across the country.
America Amplified is working with seven established public media collaborations -- the New England News Collaborative, StateImpact Pennsylvania, Side Effects Public Media, Ohio Valley ReSource, the Mountain West News Bureau, I-4 Votes, Harvest Public Media -- as well as with WABE in Atlanta. Other partners include APM Research Lab, BBC and the Public Agenda/USA Today/Ipso Hidden Common Ground initiative.
“We are excited to host America Amplified and John Dankosky at New England Public Media,” said Martin Miller, President of New England Public Media. “Because many sources of local journalism are contracting, or disappearing all together, New England Public Media has re-committed itself to featuring reporting and analysis about our hometowns, and our region.”
John Dankosky will also appear on WGBY’s Connecting Point Wednesday evening to share some of the key takeaways from the special. Tune in to WGBY beginning at 7:00 p.m. for Connecting Point.
ABOUT NEW ENGLAND PUBLIC MEDIA
Based in Springfield, Massachusetts, New England Public Media is the new alliance of NEPR and WGBY-TV. Through a deep commitment to independent local journalism, trusted educational content, inspired cultural offerings, and civic engagement, NEPM endeavors to share new voices and inspire new conversations. It provides audiences with a broad array of local and national programs across all media -- TV, radio, online, and mobile, including PBS and NPR programs as well as locally produced series, podcasts and specials. Its four digital TV channels, and two radio networks present news, jazz and classical music, documentaries, talk, drama, plus cultural and educational programming. New England Public Media is a community-supported, independent non-profit organization. nepm.org
ABOUT WGBY
With four digital television channels, video on demand, and streaming video, WGBY brings quality public broadcasting programs to audiences across western New England. WGBY is available over the air on digital channel 57-1 and on cable throughout western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut and can be seen in high definition in western Massachusetts at Comcast 857, Time Warner 1221, Spectrum 782, and over the air on channel 57.
ABOUT NEPR
NEPR's flagship signal, 88.5FM WFCR (and 5 repeating stations in Berkshire County), presents news, jazz, and classical music, while the six stations of the NEPR News Network provide the region with news, talk and cultural programming 24/7. NEPR.net offers three streams including an all-classical selection, NEPR-produced podcasts, and other digital offerings.
ABOUT THE NEW ENGLAND NEWS COLLABORATIVE
The NENC is an eight-station consortium of public media newsrooms. Our multimedia coverage delves into energy usage, climate, transportation, infrastructure, and stories of people and immigration affecting the region. The NENC includes Connecticut Public, Maine Public, New England Public Media, New Hampshire Public Radio, Vermont Public Radio, WBUR, WCAI, WGBH, WSHU, The Public's Radio. The collaborative's executive editor is Vanessa de la Torre.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Vanessa Cerillo
Senior Director, Marketing, Communications and Events
New England Public Media
WGBY-TV and New England Public Radio
413-735-6605
vcerillo@nepr.net