Notes from the Network

Latest in Notes from the Network
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
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
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
Alt text: A two-panel illustration contrasting the challenge and solution of civic information access. The top panel shows social media content flooding through an algorithm filter while civic buildings and voter turnout fade into the background. The bottom panel depicts a central media archive — with icons for video, audio, and recording — connected by roots and circuits to pillars of civic infrastructure, books, and film, representing the preservation and distribution of the public record.

What Happens When No One’s Watching

There's a moment in a lot of local government decisions where the public finally takes notice, and it's often late…

By
Matt Schuster, PMN Creator
A diagram illustrating how information flows through a community — from media sources including a microphone, megaphone, book, and group discussion — through a civic building, broadcast tower, mobile device, and ballot box — culminating in an active circle of engaged community members sharing and amplifying information.

What If We Built It Right?

Most conversations about the future of local news start in the same place: decline. Shrinking newsrooms, disappearing coverage, communities left…

By
Matt Schuster, PMN Creator
A blurred collage of neighborhood and civic scenes, including a zoning notice sign, a school board meeting sign, houses, and a construction site, with the cover of the Michigan Media Ecosystem Report centered in the foreground at an angle. The report cover shows people recording a podcast in a studio and includes the logo of The Pivot Fund.

What Michigan’s Media Landscape Tells Us About the Future We Need to Build

Something is broken in how communities get the information they need to function, and a new statewide report puts data…

By
Matt Schuster, PMN Creator
A dark blue network diagram showing human figures connected by glowing lines, radiating outward from a central figure highlighted in green, representing the interconnected community members who document and share local stories.

The People Who Keep the Record

Every community has people doing quiet, important work. They show up to a neighbor's art show with a camera. They…

By
Matt Schuster, PMN Creator
- Public Media Network Supports -