Notes from the Network

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.
Notes from the Network

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? It's a fair question. And honestly, it's one I don't mind answering, because the people asking it aren't wrong about…

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.
Notes from the Network

More Channels, Fewer Voices

Pick up your phone and you can access more media than any generation before you. News channels, streaming services, podcasts, social media, the options never end. It looks like we have more choices than ever. But here's what that picture…

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.
Notes from the Network

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 in the process. A rezoning has been working its way through a planning commission for months. A contract was approved…

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.
Notes from the Network

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 without reliable information about the things that shape their daily lives. It's a real problem, and it deserves serious attention.…

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.
Notes from the Network

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 behind what many of us already know from experience. The Michigan Media Ecosystem Report, published in November 2025 by The…

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.
Notes from the Network

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 sit down with an elder and ask about their life. They record a local nonprofit explaining what they do and…

Illustration of a house connected by dotted lines to a cell tower, car, and location markers over a blue map background, symbolizing community communication networks and infrastructure.
Notes from the Network

Communication Is Infrastructure, Too

When I was finishing my environmental studies degree, our capstone class focused on sustainable communities. Each of us was assigned a system to study. Some looked at roads.Some studied housing and land use.Others focused on water, parks, or energy. I…

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