Public media station KBIA, based in Columbia, planned a listening session at Centralia’s Public Library. They organized tables and chairs, loveseats, and a portable radio studio to talk with local experts – that is residents –  about the town of Centralia. 

WITF is safeguarding Pennsylvania's elections by preemptively countering misinformation, hosting events with officials, and partnering with organizations like Votebeat. They emphasize transparent, accurate coverage and use new tools to keep voters informed and confident.

Public radio stations produce a ton of local content on a wide range of platforms: news features, digital stories, videos, talk shows, newscasts, announcer breaks, promos. But it’s difficult to actually listen and read in real time to evaluate how well we are serving communities. News directors and other managers may carve out time to evaluate the work, but we really need more diverse observations to continually improve.

Ed Mahon, now with Spotlight PA, was a legislative reporter for WITF in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a partner station of America Amplified. His 2020 community engagement work centered around being embedded in Erie, a city in the northwest corner of the state.