VPR & Vermont PBS Join PMFA
Scott Finn, President & CEO of VPR, offered the following about why they decided to participate.
"This invitation to join Public Media for All could not come for a better time for VPR and Vermont PBS, as we merge into one organization this year.
Our mission and vision work is still in progress, but after listening to many diverse groups I can share one overriding theme: the desire for this new organization to be more inclusive, to live up to our promise to serve ALL people. To be a place that tells all our stories and where everyone belongs.
Our hope is that by joining Public Media for All, we can join with other organizations who are committed to this mission, and hold ourselves and each other accountable."
Alaska Public Media Joins PMFA
Ed Ulman, President & CEO of Alaska Public Media, offered the following about why they decided to participate.
“As dear friends manage their anguish, distress, and fear for loved ones in what has been an unending cycle of racist acts, violence, and death during our lifetimes, I feel deep sorrow for my friends and colleagues directly traumatized by atrocities committed by those in power. I am repulsed by individuals who fail to see all people as equal, worthy of dignity, respect, empathy, and due process under the law. I believe that words alone can not assuage our collective grief nor can these words eliminate the systemic racism that permeates American society.
Instead, we must act. We must do, with even greater vigor, what we are charged to do. Each and every day we must Do Democracy through the media and news we broadcast, program, gather, promote, and create.
Alaska Public Media journalists and producers make daily contributions in support of the Fourth Estate. NPR and PBS provide a national scope, context, and reach for our local work. Together, AKPM, PBS, and NPR strive to frame political issues, document social activities, chronicle history, and illuminate what works and what doesn't work, while providing a platform for Alaskan voices so that we can better represent all citizens. And, we speak truth to power -- hard truths as revealed through historical precedent, science, just and humane laws, and social data.
In everything we do, let us recommit ourselves to egalitarianism. Let's connect and inform by fostering civic engagement, education, public safety, and social justice. Let's fulfill our mission, vision, and values with renewed vigor.”
DEI Update from St. Louis Public Radio
We reached out to St. Louis Public Radio for an update on how their DEI work has been progressing since joining Public Media for All. They offered the following.
What’s one DEI success you’ve had at your organization recently?
Our Leadership Team has evolved in nine months from 7 white people (2 male, 5 female) to 2 African American women, 1 African American man, 3 white women and 2 white men. Diversity on the team is just the first step; inclusion is our primary focus.
What’s one lesson you’ve learned about DEI work at your organization?
Don’t expect accolades. This is important work, it needs to get done.
What resources and support do you need to improve DEI at your organization?
This work requires significant resources and sustained effort. It requires complete commitment at the leadership level. In our case it also requires engaging with and support from our university and university system as the steps needed often interface with university policy. We have received that support and have raised some funds for additional resources. We also appreciate how public media organizations are regularly sharing strategy sessions.
PMFA is dedicated to helping organizations that sign up to join us, including St. Louis Public Radio, reach impactful DEI goals. We provide community support, educational resources, and are evolving our services to meet industry needs.
PMFA Inaugural Development Award
Public Media for All will present its inaugural Development Award at Greater Public's Public Media Development and Marketing Conference this year. We’re currently accepting nominations for public media fundraising and marketing professionals who champion diversity, equity and inclusion at their station or organization. Celebrating the commitment to this work is vital for sustainability and encourages BIPOC who are often under-recognized for their accomplishments. Nominate a colleague or yourself.
Nominees meeting the following criteria will be considered:
Criteria
Must identify as a BIPOC
Works in a revenue generating or marketing role: Membership, Development, Corporate Development, Marketing.
Makes outstanding contributions to enhancing the practice of inclusion, equity and diversity at their station or organization.
Demonstrates history of excellence in fundraising and development for public media.
Please complete this form with your nomination by June 25. If you have any questions contact us at contact@publicmediaforall.com.
KZMU Joins PMFA
Serah Mead, General Manager, offered the following about why they decided to participate.
KZMU is a small station in rural Utah. One of our core values is to lift up marginalized voices and the lived experiences of Indigenous, Latinx, Black, and people of color in our community, and we recognize that in order to do that lifting, we need to build a strong foundation and infrastructure within the organization to sustain that effort and truly reach a diverse, inclusive, and equitable state. KZMU is committed to taking this pledge seriously, by working as a team, involving not only staff and board, but volunteers and listeners as well, to set goals based on the PMFA Action Items and meet them. We are grateful for the opportunity and support Public Media for All provides.