The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is inviting proposals to increase public media station services to rural communities through innovative, community-informed content strategies that identify and address vital news and information gaps.
Locally owned and operated public media stations have a record of delivering fact-based, relevant journalism that is trusted by the American public. Many public media stations are now the only locally based media outlets in rural communities, where local newspapers have largely disappeared, and residents struggle to find information they need to make decisions affecting the quality of their lives. Through this Initiative, CPB will support public media stations and entities to grow and sustain content services that address news and information gaps in rural communities, prioritizing those that have the greatest potential to be sustainable beyond the grant term.
The goals of this RFP are to:
A. Strengthen the capacity of public media station newsrooms to serve rural audiences through the growth of local relationships and the production of audience-informed content;
B. Increase the number of public media journalists providing Rural News and Information Services;
C. Measure the reach, utility, and impact of the Rural News and Information Services;
D. Pilot new business models to sustain the increased editorial capacity; and,
E. Document successes and lessons learned from these efforts, to be shared across the public media system.
Eligible applicants include:
• Public media stations receiving Community Service Grants, in good standing;
• Collaborations of CSG recipients in good standing, with a single leading station.
