Connecticut Public to Lead Regional Partnership
HARTFORD, Conn. (February 24, 2016) – Led by the Connecticut Public, eight public media stations from the New England region have received a $625,538 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to establish a regional news collaborative.
The New England News Collaborative (NENC) will produce multimedia coverage focusing on the region’s energy usage, climate, transportation infrastructure, and its people and immigration issues. This robust partnership will produce dynamic reporting projects for on-air broadcast, digital and web presentations, and a series of public Town Hall-style meetings designed to discuss and debate the issues facing New England and its residents. The CPB grant will support the hiring of a managing editor, seven reporters, a multimedia reporter, a data journalist, and a project coordinator/administrator.
“The New England News Collaborative will be a multimedia boon to this region. By working together, the eight public media stations that make up this effort will have the opportunity to delve deeper into news coverage and share high-quality reporting at the local, regional, and national level,” said Bruce Theriault, CPB Senior Vice President of Journalism and Radio. “CPB is proud to support this new partnership.”
“Public media organizations from around New England have been collaborating since WNPR started the Environmental Reporting Initiative more than a decade ago,” said John Dankosky, Vice President of News at CPBN. “We realized then, as we do now, that New England states share common geography and history, political organization and people. We think the New England News Collective will help to tell the stories of this connected and rapidly changing region.”
Partner stations in this regional collaborative are: Connecticut Public, WBUR, Maine Public Broadcasting Network, New Hampshire Public Radio, Vermont Public Radio, New England Public Radio, Rhode Island Public Radio, and WSHU Public Radio.
The NENC will report for partner stations and collaborate with national programs, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Here & Now, and other public media programs in New England.
About Connecticut Public Broadcasting
The Connecticut Public (CPBN) is home to CPTV, WNPR and the Learning Lab. CPTV is a locally and nationally recognized producer and presenter of quality public television programming, including original documentaries, public affairs and educational programming. WNPR is an affiliate of National Public Radio, Public Radio International and American Public Media. The Learning Lab serves high school seniors through a partnership with Hartford Public Schools and the Journalism and Media Academy Magnet School. It is also home to the Institute for Advanced Media, a program that provides the men and women of our armed forces and adult learners an opportunity to learn skills necessary for the 21st century digital media workplace. For more information, visit cpbn.org.
About the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,400 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television and related online services.