PMN Connector

Latest in PMN Connector
Outfront Kalamazoo team members tabling at an event.

A neighbor saw themselves — and their neighbors saw them, too

A video gives OutFront Kalamazoo's staff, volunteers, and neighbors the chance to describe, in their own words, what the organization…

By
Public Media Network
Raven Allen sits in the vidcast studio in front of a microphone at Public Media Network

One neighbor’s new beginning turned into trusted local stories

After 30 years in San Francisco, Raven Allen moved back to Michigan. Here, he wanted a way to build a…

By
Matt Schuster, PMN Creator
Composite digital illustration representing community media as civic infrastructure. In the center, a community television studio records a local talk show while a camera operator films. To the left, residents attend a public government meeting being recorded for public access television. Above the scene, silhouettes of community members stand in front of a small-town skyline connected by a broadcast tower, symbolizing local voices and communication networks. Media-related icons—including a microphone, satellite dish, video camera, monitor, smartphone, and play button—surround the composition. Along the bottom are visual elements representing local media centers, community connection, geographic reach, and sustainable funding, including a map with location markers, a community media building, a bridge, and stacks of coins sprouting green leaves. The image uses a blue and green color palette and conveys themes of local storytelling, free expression, civic engagement, public access media, and long-term investment in community communication systems.

More Than a Backdrop

Last week, Stephen Colbert closed out eleven years at the Ed Sullivan Theater and showed up, just 24 hours later,…

By
Matt Schuster, PMN Creator
An illustration of two figures seated across from each other at a round table, each with a speech bubble containing audio waveforms, with sound waves radiating outward — suggesting active dialogue and the exchange of ideas.

The Courage to Keep the Table Open

I want to say something I believe deeply, and I want to say it plainly. We are living through a…

By
Matt Schuster, PMN Creator
A graphic of many silhouettes of people's heads and profiles in multiple different colors, all partially transparent and overlapping.

“Knowledge, empowerment, and expression…”

Some of the most meaningful things that happen in a community begin with something simple: a place for people to…

By
Cody Watson
An illustration showing a diverse group of people surrounded by media and communication icons — including a microphone, camera, speech bubbles, and data charts — alongside a network diagram connecting voices and information, representing community media and public access to communication.

You Don’t Need a Press Credential

Somewhere along the way, we started treating civic life as a spectator sport. Not because people stopped caring. Most people…

By
Matt Schuster, PMN Creator
David F. Gakodi gives a big smile. He is a young Black man wearing a black t-shirt with a microphone in front of him. A pink banner at the bottom of the photo reads ALL STORIES MATTER with Marvinetta Woodley-Penn

In honor of David F. Gakodi

Last fall, video podcast host Marvinetta Woodley-Penn sat down with a young man named David F. Gakodi. She had no…

By
Cody Watson
An illustrated graphic contrasting community media and corporate media. On the left, a green panel shows a community-rooted media ecosystem — people with microphones, a local broadcast station, public infrastructure icons, and community investment. On the right, a blue panel depicts corporate media consolidation — a skyscraper controlling chained screens, money changing hands, and crumbling public spaces. Created with NotebookLM.

Media You Own vs. Media That Owns You

Someone asked me recently why Public Media Network even needs to exist. YouTube is free. Facebook reaches everyone. Why bother?…

By
Matt Schuster, PMN Creator
Alt text: A side-by-side illustration contrasting two media models. On the left, a blue funnel filters many media voices — represented by icons for video, audio, and people — down to a few controlled outputs, representing corporate media consolidation. On the right, a green speech bubble filled with the same variety of media icons surrounds the PMN logo, representing an open, community-centered media network where many voices are heard.

More Channels, Fewer Voices

Pick up your phone and you can access more media than any generation before you. News channels, streaming services, podcasts,…

By
Matt Schuster, PMN Creator
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