I try not to repeat myself, but these are repetitive times. Change is constant. Turning this institution into a real modern media center takes heavy lifting, and it takes many hands, many minds, all pulling in the same direction.
That’s the mission. Make this space a community space. Share our stories and our skills with the people who call this place home.
At this time, so much of that community is aching. There’s real fear moving through it, fear that’s being inflicted, not imagined. And in times like these, coming together matters more, not less. We open our doors as a safe space and a communal one, a place to hold and share the stories of who we are.
Portland Media Center keeps changing and evolving as the community around it also changes and evolves. We tell stories on broadcast, on podcast, in video, in spoken word, in improv.
However you tell yours, there’s a place for it here.
Come in. Join us. Share your story.
July brought some visitors in.
Story Corps
was here at Portland Media Center for the last week, conducting interviews for the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress about what it was like to live through the COVID-19 pandemic. This brought in so many from the community to share their stories. These will be available for generations to come to hear the experiences of those who lived through the pandemic.
Charlie Hewitt the creative genius behind the sculpture across the street and the ‘Hopeful’ sign was here and he gave us the sign you can now see in our front window. Such a great message to display to Portland.
NEW YOUTH TIMES 2.0
For the second year in a row we have offered a cohort of students an opportunity to engage with Portland Media Center, Portland at large and the tools of the trade of media storytelling with the New Youth Times Initiative. They are working very hard on creating their project.
Watch The New Youth Times at work.
It is exhilarating watching them work together and learn the basics of our profession. Young media makers are our future.
ONE MORE THING! OUR ANNUAL MEETING!
We are planning our annual meeting for September 24. Please hold the date so we can discuss the past year and what the future holds. There are big ideas brewing. We’re looking forward to seeing you then.