Chicago Public Media

Chicago Public Media (CPM) is home to WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Vocalo. Its mission is to amplify the public conversation by reporting fact-based unbiased news, and by telling stories that provoke thought, entertain, capture emotion, and inspire action. The WBEZ newsroom, which is the Chicago affiliate of National Public Radio, includes enterprise reporting desks focused on Politics and Government, Criminal Justice, Education, and Race, Class, and Communities. Vocalo 91.1FM launched in 2007 to engage a younger audience of Chicagoans through hip-hop, rhythm and blues, and dance programming that features independent artists with an emphasis on Chicago’s distinctive sound. Beneficiaries include more than 3.5 million weekly audience members across broadcast, print, and digital platforms. This award provides general operating support to CPM in the Culture, Equity, and the Arts area of the Chicago Commitment strategy.

Chicago Public Media (CPM) is a nonprofit public media organization rooted in community and dedicated to serving the Chicago region across audio, digital, and print platforms. Its mission is to amplify the public conversation by telling the stories that matter; stories that provoke thought, entertain, capture emotion, and inspire action. Under the Chicago Public Media umbrella, there are three primary brands, WBEZ, Vocalo, and The Chicago Sun-Times. This grant provides flexible support to CPM to strengthen and expand Vocalo, the nation’s first 24/7 urban alternative public radio station focused on music and culture created to serve an audience that is younger and more diverse than public media audiences have been historically. MacArthur funds support the increased capacity of Vocalo to produce original content and better reflect the cultural interests and current events coverage of all of Chicago’s diverse communities. The intended outcome of this work is that Vocalo continues to become a more robust platform for music, news, and cultural coverage serving diverse Chicagoans.

Chicago Public Media is a nonprofit public media organization rooted in community and dedicated to serving the Chicago region across audio, digital, and print platforms. Its mission is to amplify the public conversation by telling the stories that matter; stories that provoke thought, entertain, capture emotion, and inspire action. Under the Chicago Public Media umbrella, there are three primary brands, WBEZ, Vocalo, and The Chicago Sun-Times. This grant supports Vocalo, the nation’s first 24/7 urban alternative public radio station focused on music and culture created to serve an audience that is younger and more diverse than public media audiences have been historically. MacArthur funds support the increased capacity of Vocalo to produce original content and better reflect the cultural interests and current events coverage of all of Chicago’s diverse communities. The intended outcome of this work is that Vocalo continues to become a more robust platform for music, news, and cultural coverage serving diverse Chicagoans.

Chicago Public Media is a nonprofit public media organization dedicated to serving the Chicago region across audio, digital, and live event platforms. With this professional development grant, staff members attend the Public Media Development and Marketing Conference in Chicago.

Chicago Public Media (CPM) is a nonprofit organization that operates WBEZ (Chicago’s public radio station) and Vocalo, an urban alternative radio station that has been at the forefront of crafting new formats to engage younger and more diverse audiences and serves as a model across public radio in the United States. The Race, Class, and Communities desk focuses on issues that have a disproportionate impact on Chicago’s communities of color and the implications of systemic racism. Vocalo focuses on community engagement through the lens of music and culture and serves a growing audience. WBEZ and Vocalo increasingly cross-pollinate their content and collaborate on events in order to reach wider and more diverse audiences across the Chicago area. This grant supports the continuation of this increased collaboration and activities in service of CPM’s overarching goals to create a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive organization. The intended outcomes of these activities are greater public access to inclusive news and culture coverage for all Chicagoans.