In a year full of challenges, ideastream continued to implement its 2019–2021 Strategic Plan and further aligned ideastream’s strengths to better serve the community. To address a growing need for local journalism and the changing media landscape, ideastream conducted research in support of the development of a statewide public radio and digital news collaborative. When the collaborative is implemented, it will be the state’s largest newsroom and Ohio’s only daily statewide radio and digital news service. ideastream also began a collaboration with Kent State University’s public radio station, WKSU 89.7, to explore opportunities for growth and expansion of public media service in Northeast Ohio.

As the COVID-19 pandemic impacted lives across the globe, ideastream produced several content series and initiatives to keep the local community in-the-know. Across its broadcast and digital channels, ideastream provided important health updates, reported on the local impacts of the pandemic and shared Governor Mike DeWine’s COVID-19 briefings statewide. ideastream also offered educational resources to assist children, families and educators adapting to at-home learning. With in-person events canceled and many of Northeast Ohio’s iconic arts institutions closed, ideastream connected the community with engaging music and entertainment — offering a new daily classical music radio program, on-demand concert recordings and live digital performances that gave audiences access to local art and music.

ideastream embarked upon a new series of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives with its staff as our nation continued to struggle with legacies of injustice, racism and inequity. These efforts were implemented to help disrupt the vicious cycle of disinvestment and displacement that negatively impacts the vitality of communities of color. In addition, through its public media workforce collaborative, ideastream offered staff members professional opportunities to increase staff diversity and share best practices among regional public media stations.

Thanks to generous contributions from our members and supporters, ideastream was able to significantly increase its commitment to serving Northeast Ohio in a time of great need. On behalf of ideastream’s staff and board, thank you for helping ideastream expand community services and deliver innovative solutions. We’re here for you, and because of you.

Kevin E. Martin, President and CEO

Sandra Kiely Kolb, Board Chair

As Americans faced a global pandemic, an election and political polarization, the One Small Step project brought people together. In collaboration with the national nonprofit StoryCorps, ideastream facilitated conversations between Ohioans with opposing political views.

The project resulted in 25 recorded conversations with 50 people that were shared online, broadcast on 90.3 WCPN and featured during a live digital event. ideastream was one of six stations across the U.S. chosen to lead in this initiative.

The live digital event, The Sound of Ideas Community Tour: One Small Step Across the Political Divide, received over 1,600 views on Facebook.

Event Attendee Marshall A. commented, “Gail and Maria, great interview. Makes me proud to have you as fellow citizens!”

SHARED STORIES FROM PUBLIC HOUSING

Homes, a two-year reporting project, explored Cleveland’s Woodhill Homes, one of the oldest public housing developments in the nation. This series told the stories of the neighborhood and its people, ensuring residents’ views were accounted for as Woodhill Homes undergoes a planned rebuild. In the second year of Homes, an in-person event, The Sound of Ideas Community Tour: Public Housing in Cleveland, and 16 multimedia stories were produced. 

86^% OF WOODHILL HOMES RESIDENTS surveyed on-site reported learning something new about their neighborhood as a result of ideastream’s coverage. A Woodhill Homes resident commented, “If it’s on [the radio], it would mean what I said was worth hearing. It would have to be, I’d love it.”

CONVENED COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS

The Sound of Ideas, a weekday radio program on 90.3 WCPN, and The Sound of Ideas Community Tour, an event and livestream series, delivered a comprehensive analysis of news and offered explorations of community issues. In addition, ideastream broadcast The City Club of Cleveland’s City Club Forums live each week as the primary media partner.

200 PEOPLE attended The Sound of Ideas Community Tour: Future of the West Side Market. The livestream of the event generated over 3,000 VIEWS.

COMMEMORATED THE 50^th ANNIVERSARY OF THE KENT STATE UNIVERSITY SHOOTINGS

Through a series of reports, ideastream remembered the tragic events of May 4, 1970, when Ohio National Guard troops killed four students and wounded nine others during the course of an anti-war protest at Kent State University.

In response to one of ideastream’s stories, Nancy Tuttle [pictured above], the sister of William Schroeder, who was killed by guardsmen that day, said "Thank you for this narrative. I was out of state and have had to piece together what happened when my brother was killed."

In a time of great need and uncertainty, ideastream prioritized relevant, responsible, quality coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. ideastream reporters focused on providing critical news and information relevant to Northeast Ohio.

The Coronavirus Questions and Answers reporting series directly addressed questions from the community about COVID-19 with local experts. Top stories included answers to Will Steam Kill It?, Can Hydrogen Peroxide Sanitize Hands? and Can I Go for A Walk?

ideastream reporters were able to answer over 100 QUESTIONS AND COUNTING from the community. The resulting answers published on ideastream.org were some of ideastream’s most popular digital stories of the year.

The Coronavirus Questions and Answers stories received over 274,000 PAGEVIEWS from over 226,000 USERS.

EXAMINED THE LOCAL IMPACTS OF THE PANDEMIC

ideastream collaborated with veteran local journalists, formerly of The Plain Dealer, to produce the reporting series, Coping With COVID-19. Stories published during this ongoing reporting project expanded coverage of the local impacts of COVID-19. The series investigated how the coronavirus pandemic reveals existing inequities that stem from decades of disinvestment in public health, the social safety net, communities of color and more.

The series Postcards from the Pandemic told the stories of Northeast Ohioans navigating the coronavirus pandemic. FORTY-FIVE STORIES were published as a result of the project. A social media initiative, #CoronaKind, focused on sharing stories about neighbors helping neighbors as communities navigated the COVID-19 crisis. ideastream asked users to share their own stories of kindness on social media.

EXPLORED THE RISE OF RURAL SUICIDES

The long-form digital series, The Rise of Rural Suicides, focused on the increasing rate of suicides across Ohio. The project explored how older adults are particularly vulnerable to suicide, why rural areas have seen more deaths by suicide, and how groups are figuring out how to better tailor their services to those who need help. The series was also shared with national audiences on NPR.

The Rise of Rural Suicides received over 16,300 PAGEVIEWS from over 19,200 USERS.