Civic education
Engaging ‘we the people’ to form a more perfect union
Our local news teams and personalities cut through the noise and build authentic connections within communities. We’re using those deep connections with our audiences to bolster Americans’ civic knowledge and give them tools to effect change in their communities.
Youth participation
We support the Institute for Citizens & Scholars’ Civic Spring Project, which converts civic education into action by equipping young people to design and implement local community solutions. With this firsthand experience creating impact in the world around them, these youths become empowered, emboldened, and civically engaged.
In Minneapolis, WCCO-AM profiled Civic Spring youth leaders as they advocated for unemployment and pandemic benefits for working high school students – amplifying their voices, and inspiring others to continue civic action and engagement.
KYW Newstudies
For more than five decades, KYW Newsradio has been organizing one of the nation’s most unique educational programs, the KYW Newstudies Program. Station staff members teach local high school students about news writing, journalism, editing, social media, interviewing, and what goes on behind-the-scenes at one of the country’s most respected news brands. With more than 7,500 graduates to date, notable alumni include Michael Smerconish, host of CNN TV show Smerconish; Trenae Nuri, podcast producer at the Wall Street Journal; Perry Russom of NBC Boston; Steve Butler, former KYW Program Director; Susan Schiller, former CBS3 News Director; and Steve Capus, former NBC and CBS News executive.
Voter education
Ahead of the 2020 national election, we launched “Vote: Make it Count” in partnership with nonpartisan VOTE411.org to ensure voters had timely, accurate access to state-specific voting requirements. Our trusted local voices in communities across the country explained state-specific voting requirements and helped our listeners understand how to participate in this foundational element of our democracy.
- 230 stations delivering eight PSA messages per brand per day
- 1.3M social media impressions across our network
- +414% VOTE411 homepage visits
- 100 million participants in early voting
Key highlights
Centralized digital news team
7,500+
Vote 411
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