The Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) said all the newly launched programs are aimed at inventing “new storytelling models with and for communities that public media doesn’t typically reach.”

As a result, the 15 Finding America projects reflect diversity in topics, communities, approaches, and participants. Independent producers are paired with local radio or television stations to capture and share community stories in innovative ways with different platforms. 

“Localore looks at how and where community talks about itself, where its data is gathered, and where the flow of information moves or is interrupted,” Sue Schardt, AIR’s executive director and the executive producer of Localore, said in an announcement. “Our independent producers are building media with and for that community, on the radio, on the Internet, and in the streets.”

A detailed list of the Finding America projects are available online. Here are three examples: 

Frontier of Change (KNBA in Anchorage, Alaska) will explore how climate change threatens cultural history of rural and Native communities through immersive soundwalks of a land and community caught in sudden, radical transformation.

Beyond Belief, Kansas City's Mosaic of Faith and Spirit (KCPT in Kansas City, Missouri), will use digital and broadcast storytelling and events, designed with partners in the interfaith community, to explore the interplay of religious life - and lives in which religion is absent - with youth culture, race, civic engagement and economic disparity. 

TruckBeat (WUOT in Knoxville, Tennessee) will use a  “Question Truck” to record Tennessee’s Appalachian voices. In real time, online and on the air, TruckBeat’s multimedia reporting will uncover hidden stories in this underreported region. 

Finding America is the third installment in AIR’s Localore series of public media research and development initiatives. The new projects began November 1 and continue through July 31, 2016. Funders for Localore include the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Wyncote Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and AIR’s network of more than 1,100 producers in 47 states and 30 countries. 

You can follow the projects with the hashtag #FindingAmerica on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.