WBHM selected to be part of America Amplified initiative

Audrey Atkins | October 25, 2021

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WBHM has been chosen as one of only 20 stations nationwide to be part of national initiative called America Amplified that prioritizes meaningful in-person and online engagement in order to build trust, expand audiences and deepen the impact of public media journalism.

The initiative is hosted by WFYI in Indianapolis and is funded by a $983,451 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to support community engagement journalism in traditionally underserved areas and builds on a similar project launched in the fall of 2019 to produce innovative journalism through engagement.

Through America Amplified, WBHM aims to put people, not preconceived ideas, at the center of its reporting process. Because of ongoing concerns around the pandemic, we will be using tools such as crowd-sourcing, virtual town halls, polls and social media to listen first to the concerns and aspirations of our communities. Whenever possible, we will also be hosting live events and meeting with community members in places where they gather.

Specifically, WBHM plans to focus on the ongoing issues of food deserts and food insecurity in two areas – Ensley and Tarrant. Through an almost year-long series of community meetup beginning in early 2022, we aspire to engage with these communities in a deeper, concentrated manner, establish trusting relationships, and identify resources and solutions for these communities through the engagement of citizens, policymakers and stakeholders.

America Amplified is working with 20 public media stations, including WBHM. The other stations are: 

• WWNO in New Orleans; 
• WUSF in Tampa, Florida; 
• WSHU in  Fairfield, Connecticut; 
• WNIN in Evansville, Indiana, 
• WMMT in Whitesburg, Kentucky;  
• WNIJ in Rockford, Illinois; 
• WITF in Harrisburg, Pennsylvanial;  
• North Country Public Radio in Canton, New York; 
• North State Public Radio in Chico, California; 
• Montana Public Radio in Missoula, Montana; 
• Maine Public in Lewiston, Maine; 
• KUNR in Reno, Nevada; 
• KUNC in Greeley, Colorado; 
• KTOO in Juneau, Alaska; 
• KSJD in Cortez, Colorado; 
• KOSU in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; 
• KMUW in Wichita, Kansas; 
• Blue Ridge Public Radio in Asheville, North Carolina; 
• Austin PBS in Austin, Texas 

America Amplified’s goal is to create and share models of community engagement success stories to inform and strengthen future local, regional and national journalism. Follow America Amplified on Twitter at @A_Amplified or visit www.americaamplified.org to sign up for their newsletter.  And follow us at @WBHM on Twitter, on Facebook, and @WBHM903 on Instagram.