Pressroom
For Immediate Release January 17, 2008
CPB Announces Public Media Innovation Grants
Washington, DC -- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) today announced the second round of recipients of CPB's Public Media Innovation Fund Program.
The Public Media Innovation Fund, established by CPB to support public broadcasters' efforts to experiment with emerging platforms, provides up to $20,000 per grantee for new media initiatives which demonstrate technical or service innovations. Round two projects will embrace Web 2.0 strategies to interact with listeners, viewers and users. Results of the projects will be shared with the public broadcasting system though webinars, presentations at conferences and project reports.
"These funds will help enable stations to stay on the cutting edge of new media," said Pat Harrison, President and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. "Public media will indeed be a source of exciting new technologies in the years to come."
Public Media Innovation Fund Recipients:
KET/The Kentucky Network
"Connectivity, Choice and Participation" will test a wide variety of Web 2.0 strategies to increase secondary school student proficiency and engagement in the study of German.
Oregon Public Broadcasting
"Invasive Species Online Hotline" will employ user-generated content and social networking tools to connect the public with invasive species experts to help stop the spread of invasive plants and animals in Oregon.
WGBH/Boston
"Virtual Radio" will launch a branded virtual radio station in Second Life in the form of a concert hall/music café.
WFUV/New York
"WFUV Online Local Music Network" will create an online social network for musicians and music lovers to access independent, emerging music.
Penn State Public Broadcasting
"Back from Iraq: The Veterans' Stories Project" will use a course-based model and Web 2.0 strategies to empower and train Iraq veterans to complete in-depth audio and text portraits of fellow Iraq veterans.
Northwest Public Broadcasting
"Our Northwest News" 2008 will test the use of online game-playing, blogs, wikis and other strategies to engage the audience with regional news stories in Washington state.
About CPB
CPB is a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 and is steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,100 locally-owned and -operated public television and radio stations nationwide, and is the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television and related online services.