WKAR Partners with Award-Winning Science Series NOVA as part ... - WKAR
WKAR Partners with Award-Winning Science Series NOVA as part of “Climate Across America” Initiative | WKAR Public Media
WKAR Partners with Award-Winning Science Series NOVA as part of “Climate Across America” Initiative
EAST LANSING, MI; Mar 9, 2023 – WKAR has partnered with the award-winning PBS science series NOVA, a production of GBH, to produce and distribute multiplatform, climate-focused content as part of the series’ national Climate Across America initiative. Leveraging the reach and power of the PBS system—with major support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the initiative will spotlight how climate change affects communities across the U.S. and engage audiences in productive conversations about innovative climate solutions. WKAR is one of 10 public media stations working closely with NOVA to create, share, and amplify solutions-oriented climate content including short-form videos, radio/audio stories, articles, e-newsletters, and social media posts. Climate Across America content will roll out in spring 2023.
“Climate change is a global problem, but the varied impacts are felt at a local level,” said NOVA Co-Executive Producer Chris Schmidt. “This timely initiative provides an opportunity to shine a light on the impacts of climate change in communities across America, and to engage audiences in conversations about innovative solutions. We hope these stories will serve as inspiring and hopeful examples to others.”
“NOVA’s Climate Across America Initiative gives WKAR the opportunity to put a spotlight on our state and region,” said Julie Sochay, senior director of content and communications at WKAR. “Climate is an important topic for our region and for our local high school students. We look forward to sharing the digital content created through this initiative, with our local, state, and national audience.”
The local schools participating are Sexton High School in Lansing, Ovid-Elsie High School, and Davison High School. NOVA and WKAR producers and production professionals work with the students regularly as they create short digital segments for consideration to be released nationally by NOVA and WKAR.
“The mounting impacts of climate change are among the greatest challenges our society will face in the next century,” said NOVA Co-Executive Producer Julia Cort. “As crucial as it is, communicating effectively about climate has also become extremely challenging. We’re excited that this national-local collaboration will allow us to share our expertise with the wider PBS system–and to tell diverse, personal stories that resonate powerfully with our audiences.”
Timed with the locally produced content, NOVA will premiere two documentaries nationally as part of the initiative: Weathering the Future, premiering Wednesday, April 12, and Chasing Carbon Zero, premiering Wednesday, April 26, both at 9 pm ET/8C on PBS and streaming at pbs.org/nova, on NOVA’s YouTube channel, and via the PBS App.
Audiences can follow the initiative online starting April 10, using the hashtag #ClimateAcrossAmerica.
Climate Across America is part of NOVA’s Science and Society Project, with major support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The project is dedicated to telling stories at the intersection of science and society—stories that provide exceptional opportunities for audience engagement around the role of science and technology in our lives. In addition to NOVA partnering with 10 public media stations to produce localized multiplatform content and regional screenings, NOVA Education will provide an outreach toolkit for stations and communities throughout the U.S. to host their own events beginning this spring.
The full list of Climate Across America local station partners includes WHRO (Norfolk, VA), Nebraska Public Media (Lincoln, NE), WKAR (Lansing, MI), KPBS (San Diego, CA), Rocky Mountain PBS (Denver, CO), Alaska Public Media (Anchorage, AK), WFSU (Tallahassee, FL), Vermont Public (Colchester, VT), PBS North (Duluth, MN), and Northwest Public Broadcasting (Pullman, WA).
NOVA is the most popular primetime science series on American television, demystifying the scientific and technological concepts that shape and define our lives, our planet, and our universe. The PBS series is also one of the most widely distributed science programs around the world, and is a multimedia, multiplatform brand reaching more than 55 million Americans every year on TV and online. Executive Producers for NOVA are Julia Cort and Chris Schmidt. NOVA is a production of GBH.
Major funding for Weathering the Future and the Climate Across America Science and Society Project is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding is provided by the GBH Planet Future Fund.
Funding for NOVA is provided by the NOVA Science Trust, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS viewers.
Climate Across America is part of a multiyear, multiplatform initiative from PBS that explores every aspect of how climate change impacts communities, countries, and the entire planet. The comprehensive focus represents PBS’s biggest-ever commitment to the topic, providing a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding climate change and exploring its intersections with conservation, biodiversity and the ecosystem. PBS and its member stations will create a rich destination of storytelling that details the challenges of a changing climate, while highlighting examples of hope and positive impact.