KALAMAZOO, MI -- Public Medic Network was awarded multiple grants to help in efforts to change and enhance media narratives in Kalamazoo County.
The media organization was awarded nearly $1 million in grant funds to supports its efforts toward increasing underrepresented and unheard voices in local media, according to a press release from Public Media Network.
The organization made a strategic decision in 2018 to put efforts toward shifting existing media narratives toward those that are more authentic and reflective of the community. The three grants, totaling $800,000, will help those traditionally unheard voices tell their stories, said Executive Director Matt Schuster.
“The funding allows us to increase programs co-designed by members of our community to challenge dominate narratives that shape our understanding and perspectives,” Schuster said.
PMN is a media arts organization founded in 1983 in Kalamazoo. The organization is “a dynamic community of individuals, special interest groups, nonprofit and government organizations who value the power of authentic voices in media,” according to the network’s website. Among other things, Public Media Network provides access to live streaming and recorded video from meetings of public bodies in the community.
The Kalamazoo Community Foundation and the John E. Fetzer Institute Fund combined to award a $40,000 grant to PMN.
Another $760,000 grant, over three years, was awarded by the Stryker Johnston Foundation, the release said. This grant will provide resources for ongoing efforts to support Black residents of the North and East sides of Kalamazoo who want to change existing narratives, the release said.
“In conversations with Black residents in Kalamazoo, started this past spring, Public Media Network understood that Narrative Change will have a wide-reaching impact on quality of life,” the release said. “Black residents indicated they want more of their positive stories and uplifting successes shared because much of commercial media is sensationalized and narrow in focus. They want to see an increase of authentic representation.”
The Stryker Johnston Foundation’s mission is to invest and collaborate with organizations working toward the elimination of intergenerational poverty in Kalamazoo County, the release said.
“Social change needs a shift in the narratives embedded in our systems and influenced by those in power,” the release said. “The funds will allow a deeper involvement with residents who will determine the direction and path towards success for their community in collaboration with PMN.”
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December 24, 2020 at 08:54PM
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