Exploring What it Really Means to be an American Today: WOSU Public Media and PBS Partner in Storytelling Project
COLUMBUS, OHIO, MARCH 16, 2021 – WOSU Public Media is partnering with PBS to capture the stories of Ohio as part of the American Portrait national storytelling initiative. User-generated content from across Ohio – captured through video, photo and text – can be uploaded to pbs.org/americanportrait.
Through a multiplatform experience, American Portrait allows people across the country to participate in a conversation that will spotlight what we have in common as well as the many differences that make up the American experience.
Watch this American Portrait submission from Ohio State University Marching Band Director Dr. Christopher Hoch. He constantly strives to uphold the band’s traditions while continuing to innovate.
“WOSU has a long track record of engaging with Central Ohio to tell the stories of our people, places and shared history,” said Cindy Gaillard, WOSU content director for television. “We are uniquely suited to offer this unprecedented opportunity for Ohioans to share the rich diversity of their experiences through a national project. It’s important to feel heard. Individual stories of joy, hardship, triumphs and sorrow can help us understand what we have in common and what differentiates us as a nation.”
The American Portrait website will accept stories through June 2021.
About WOSU Public Media
The mission of WOSU Public Media is to engage, inform and inspire our diverse community. An NPR and PBS affiliate, WOSU is a noncommercial multimedia organization serving over two million citizens in Central Ohio through broadcast, digital, programming, events and education experiences. A licensee of The Ohio State University, member-supported WOSU Public Media moves its headquarters and studios to the new 15+HIGH District on campus in 2021. Learn more at wosu.org.
About PBS
PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 120 million people through television and 26 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’s broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. Decades of research confirms that PBS’s premier children’s media service, PBS KIDS, helps children build critical literacy, math and social-emotional skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality educational content on TV – including a 24/7 channel, online at pbskids.org, via an array of mobile apps and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by followingPBS Pressroom on Twitter.
Contact:
Amy Tillinghast
Senior Director of Marketing and Communications
2400 Olentangy River Road | Columbus, OH 43210
614-688-2166 | amy.tillinghast@wosu.org | wosu.org